The psychedelic joy and influence of the Zombies’ 1968 album “Odessey and Oracle” continues to be cherished 50 years later as a pop-rock masterpiece that only belatedly got its due. Recorded by the British icons at Abbey Road Studios in 1967, “Odessey and Oracle” (the name was mistakenly misspelled on the album cover) became a surprise hitmaker for a short-lived band dismissed by critics at the time as a Beatles clone. (The band even separated before the late-blooming hit “Time of the Season” became their best-known track.)
On the 50th anniversary of “Odessey and Oracle,” ranked No. 100 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, the Zombies will perform the album in full on Tuesday, Jan. 9, at Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale. There’s no denying the album’s enduring greatness, a pristine pop paean to memories, love and the passage of time: There’s the jaunty prison letter “Care of Cell 44,” the delicate pop-soul of “This Will Be Our Year” and “A Rose for Emily,” a gentle melody recently featured as the theme music to the hit podcast “S-Town.”
The Zombies of 2018, led by original vocalists Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent, are also a tighter, more self-assured unit than the one that disbanded a half-century ago, even if the band narrowly missed being inducted into the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after being nominated in December for the third time. Will 2019 finally be their year?
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9
Where: Parker Playhouse, 707 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale