colin blunstone

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its really lovely stuff. the string arrangement are not over the top but have the pretty subtleness of tim hardin's second album. am listening to misty roses at the moment and its just ... such a warm ... arrangement. usually, not many come off credibly using such extravagant string arrangements (boettcher, wilson and usher) are the only ones that come to mind) ... but my god. colin really was the consumate pop artist, was he not? how come history has forgotten him?

tim do you not have a copy of one year? is it out of print?

Yes, the sleeve on the original is a fantastic thing, great sleeve note too. Shame my brother drew all over it in crayon.

second chorus of
"She's Not There," so poignant, strange,
wistful, pathetic

I do have a soft spot for "Ain't it Funny" as mentioned by Bob H.

The key thing that was needed in the later albums was consistently strong repertoire.

I only wish that Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent would tour more widely - to the other side of the world for instance.

To learn more go to http://www.retrosellers.com/features45.htm for a great interview. Or to www.colinblunstone.co.uk for Andy Barnes at the official WWW site.

In some ways, I've been a fan for decades as I have LOVED the songs he has done for The Alan Parsons Project (and Keats). For any Blunstone fans, I recommend Pyramid by the Project simply for the one song, The Eagle Will Rise Again! But only recently have I had the opportunity to hear him (and Argent) in concert in Atlantic City, NJ. And I was totally blown away!

The man's voice is even BETTER live, if such a thing is possible. His speaking voice is as lovely as his singing voice, and his talent is unmistakable. At the concert I bought the really new album As Far As I Can See (pretty good), available for sale online only this month, Out of the Shadows (which I adore), The Light Inside (which is ok, but too many love songs), and online I have bought the Zombies Box Set (which I also adore). And I got myself on the list for Photograph. :)

After the show Colin and Rod were so kind. Although I was at the end of the line, they each greeted me as if I'd been the first. They were so warm and gracious, it seems almost as if they performed the concert in order to do the aftershow!

I have almost nothing of Colin's 70s solo career. **sigh** And I'm gonna go broke trying to afford English imports. I have Andorra. That's it.

Anyway, I just discovered this site. This is my first post, but I'm delighted to find that there are other Colin Blunstone fans out there!

The Zombies I would rate every bit as good as any of those Brit Invasion bands, and I certainly prefer them to the Beatles. Really tough stuff actually and CB is far, far more credible as a soul/r&b singer than Winwood or almost any other person you could name. In fact, having listened to the "Zombie Heaven" box and assorted other comps, I find virtually nothing below a B+ in their whole output 1964-1968.

I also own the two post-Zombies CDs...it's pretty MOR, but CB does sing well. "New World" features all of the orig. Zombies on one track or another. Decent but unecessary remake of "Time of Season." Disappointing cover of Prefab Sprout's "When Love Breaks Down," sung not by Blunstone but by Chris White.

The very latest one is also somewhat MOR, but I really like a song called "Memphis," which is lush pop at its most worrying, but heck, I'll listen to anything Colin Blunstone wants to sing.

The show here, by the way, was just amazing and all the Nashville hipsters and musicians came out to see it. Pretty funny to see John Prine boppin' to "Hold Your Head Up." Blunstone was incredibly charming and totally cool...and soulful. When he hit that bit in "I Love You"--"and I don't know what to doo"...wow...

But you hit the nail on the head with that bit in I Love You... Total tingle moment! I'm almost 30 and he had me swooning like a teenager!

At the show I saw, Colin Blunstone sounded a bit flat on the first number. But when he hit "I Love You," the crowd went nuts, and I knew he was going to be great. I always liked the Zombies, but since that show, I've come to realize just how great a singer he is.

I'm willing to wager that the rest of the band was sharp. :) In my mind, Colin can do no wrong! :)

What amazed me was how much his speaking voice sounds like his singing voice. You don't find that often.

And I'll agree with you about the MOR part. I'm a serious Alan Parsons Project fan, and the whole progressive rock thing moves me more than the endless love songs on Colin's solo albums. But the old Zombies stuff is incredibly creative!

I've been listening to the last Zombies record a lot the last few days. "As Far As I Can See" is truly amazing, easily my favorite song on the record. Very cool writing/arranging, amazing strings.

So the Alan Parsons Blunstone work is good? I agree that Colin's solo work can be a bit saccharine...but I like a good love song myself from time to time.

I think that Colin B. was such an underappreciated influence on so many singers, too. I'm an Alex Chilton fan (another singer whose speaking voice is quite similar to his singing voice), and I hear a similarity between CB and Chilton, particularly in the phrasing.

From the first Blunstone/Argent album, I fell in LOVE with Only the Rain... Jazziness at its best, and Colin sings it admirably.

Colin has taken good care of his voice. It pains me that all my favorite artists are aging... My dad turned me on to his music, so here I am in LOVE with men 30 years my senior... **sigh**. What'r ya gonna do?

Why style of music does Alex Chilton sing, and would you recommend anything first? I need some younger musicians to love, hehe.

Actually, Blunstone's performances with the Project are first-rate. I don't know how you feel about orchestral pop music (most of what the Project did) but you MUST buy Pyramid if for only The Eagle Will Rise Again... The song is sung by a loyal subject to his beloved pharaoh. It is the love of a man for his diety, and only Colin's voice could have give that song so much life! It's breathy, dreamy, and haunting (and has a harpsichord!). And Eric Woolfson's surreal lyrics don't hurt, either. "And the days/ of my life are like grains of sand/ as they fall from your open hand/ and vanish upon the land..."
His other works with The Project aren't such obvious hits, but they're better than most of the stuff on The Light Inside or Echo Bridge. From the album Eye in the Sky, Old and Wise was a HUGE number one hit in many European countries, and should have been a hit here. He sang that one in concert, if you'll remember. :) Like violins, you're in luck!

Have you heard Keats? It falls into the category of 80s pop bordering on prog. It's decent rock 'n' roll, just a bit mainstream with an 80s sound to it, and no orchestra. Keats only put out one album of that name. Most of the members were related to The Project, which is how I found it. Colin sang lead on all but one song (that one song, Walking On Ice, is more prog than any of the others, and is considered to be better as a result. It is sung by David Paton of Pilot). Colin's voice is unusual on this album, high-pitched and intense. It almost sounds like he's singing out of his range, but he's not. I think this album made Colin stand out for me as a Project singer (the Project has used MANY good singers!) and I've favored him ever since.

The other Project songs he has sung qualify as "ok." They still beat the stuffing out of a lot of his blander solo stuff. For the record, he sang Somebody Out There on Vulture Culture (Colin conveys the feelings of fear and betrayal with a thin, high-pitched voice. The lyrics are interesting, too), Dancing on a High Wire on Ammonia Avenue (Like Pyramid, a really good album to have for its other treasures, but this song only falls in the middle of the quality scale and isn't particularly mentionable. Good lyrics, though), and Ignorance is Bliss on The Time Machine (released under Alan Parsons, not The Alan Parsons Project. This song is one of the highlights of the album, reminiscent of Echo Bridge. But the album itself isn't all that great).

And I'm not even a Baby Boomer. Heck, I'm almost too young to be considered Gen X. :) I ain't 30 yet! But close. Way too close. That motto will be temporary.

Did ya'll hear that on April 1 we lost Paul Atkinson? He was the guitarist for the Zombies (I believe) and my heart breaks for the surviving members. Paul was too young.

Oh! And word has it that Colin and Rod are hoping to release a DVD of one of their live performances this summer! I can't wait!

Looking forward to hear Old And Wise live and especially I Want To Fly, cause it's simply beautiful (2 me) and so typically "Blunstone-classical"

By the way can anyone give any advice to find out more about Colin Blustones life, classical influences, etc.

I heard "Caroline Goodbye" and thought it was a Belle & Sebastian song. This stuff is fantastic!

best song ever