The Zombies - Video Anthology [DVD]

All Music Guide

The problems plaguing this hourlong DVD are the ones that plague many such unauthorized compilations. The quality of the sound/image/transfers is highly variable and often a littletovery subpar; most of the clips (most taken from TV programs) are mimed, not live; and there's not all that much material overall (about an hour, including three versions of "She's Not There" and two of "Tell Her No"). Nevertheless, if you are a big Zombies fan, this is the only video of note that had ever surfaced prior to its emergence in 2006 or thereabouts. Though the repetition of their two big hits is a bit of a drag, at least this does include mimed clips of a few of their lesstraveled tracks, those being "She's Coming Home," "Summertime" (two versions), and "It's Alright with Me." They also do show singer Colin Blunstone to be a more photogenic, kinetic frontman than is usually remembered, though the limitations of the era's lipsyncing and hokey, staged sets don't allow full appreciation of the band'...s live performance abilities. Fortunately, there is one live clip, from a 1967 French TV show, that is live, and what's more one of them is a song (the Miracles' "Going to a GoGo") of which no version had appeared on any Zombies release, the other being another soul cover (of the Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart of Mine") that only exists on official releases as a BBC radio performance. Original compositions, not soul covers, were the Zombies' strengths, but at least that clip does offer something different and unexpected. Also on the DVD are their brief appearances in the 1965 Otto Preminger movie Bunny Lake Is Missing (and their appearance, singing a ditty called "Come on Time" to the tune of their single "Just Out of Reach," in the film's trailer); and an interesting documentary of about a halfhour's length, including interviews with the original members, done in the 1990s from the looks of things. Closing the disc is a mysterious mimed "promo video" for "Time of the Season," though none of the musicians bear any resemblance to any of the group's original members; perhaps that's a TV clip of a "fake" Zombies that formed to exploit the success of "Time of the Season" (which became a hit after the group broke up), though the track listings don't reveal any details. - Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide Read more Less