Time of the Season

What makes Time of the Season so special is the way it grabs you from the very first moment. Colin Blunstone's voice intertwines with Rod Argent's rapid keyboard improvisations, creating a fascinating sonic dialogue. Listening to it is like immersing yourself in a psychedelic experience, with that question-and-answer structure in the vocals that invites you to be part of the song. It's a track that, despite being composed in 1967, still sounds fresh and with an energy that makes you want to play it again and again.

This piece, written by Rod Argent, was recorded at EMI studios in London in September 1967. It is part of The Zombies' album Odessey and Oracle. Curiously, this song did not have an immediate impact upon its initial release. It was almost a year and a half later, in early 1969, that Time of the Season took off as an unexpected hit in the United States, reaching third place on the Billboard Hot 100 and first place on the Cashbox chart. Despite its success in America, in its homeland, Great Britain, it did not manage to enter the main charts, although over time it became a widely recognized track there. Producer Al Kooper was key to the song seeing the light of day as a single, insisting on its release even after other tracks from the album did not have the expected impact.