The 1960s produced an extraordinary number of records that seem to exist outside of time. Despite being together for only five years, English band The Zombies left an enduring mark on that era with just two albums and a handful of 45s. Colin Blunstone, the voice of The Zombies, has had a career spanning more than 60 years and is still performing. At 81, he continues to sing beloved songs like “Time of the Season” and “She’s Not There” in their original keys, something Blunstone attributes partly to good fortune and partly to taking care of his voice. “I did study with a singing coach, not when I was young, quite late on,” Blunstone said. “He taught me a little bit about singing technique, and he gave me a set of singing exercises which, when I’m on the road, I do twice a day.” “I think that singers, particularly as you get older, have got to look after their voice,” he continued. “I’ve never smoked. I don’t drink. I try to get as much sleep as I can. I try to eat sensibly, and probably most important of all, I try to stay hydrated. So it’s just common sense, really, combined with a little bit of knowledge about singing technique and singing exercises to warm your voice up.” Blunstone’s approach to singing has evolved considerably since those early Zombies recordings, when he was still finding his way in the studio. On “Time of the Season,” the final song written for 1968’s landmark album “Odessey and Oracle,” keyboardist-vocalist Rod Argent was particular about how Blunstone delivered the vocal as the group worked under pressure to finish the album. The Zombies in 1964. “I knew that we were running out of time, and the song had just been written,” Blunstone said. “Rod quite rightly wanted it sung in the way that he’d written it, and he’s always very conscious of the phrasing of his songs, so it was quite challenging in that particular instance.” Those early recordings remain part of what Blunstone is carrying on today. With The Zombies unlikely to tour again following Argent’s serious stroke nearly two years ago, Blunstone has expanded his current set to include more of the group’s material alongside his solo work, including the top-10 hit “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No” and some deeper cuts like “Indication” and “Hung Up on a Dream.” “Odessey and Oracle” and its predecessor, “Begin Here,” have also both recently been revisited in their original mono mixes. “There’s only three years’ difference between those albums, and there’s a huge difference,” Blunstone said. “There’s a lot of energy on ‘Begin Here,’ but certainly speaking from my performance, there’s probably a naive edge to my phrasing that started to get ironed out. By the time we got to ‘Odessey and Oracle,’ I think I was a better singer. I’d been singing on the road for three years, and you would hope I would be a better singer.” Zombies vocalist Colin Blunstone in the recording studio in 1967. Credit: PHOTO BY KEITH WALDEGRAVE Blunstone has no plans to stop performing anytime soon. For him, writing, recording and touring have always been inseparable parts of being a musician. “To me, they go together, and I think performing is in your blood,” he says. “After you’ve been doing it for 50 or 60 years, you do it while you’re physically able. It’s really the traveling, not the show itself, that can drain you. But overall, I really enjoy it and, as long as I’m able, I will keep touring.” Colin Blunstone performs with The Fixx and Peter Asher at 7:30 p.m. at the RIT Performing Arts Center on September 29. Tickets and more information here. The post The Zombies’ Colin Blunstone brings psych-pop sounds of yesteryear to RIT appeared first on CITY Magazine. Arts. Music. Culture.. ...read more read less