Different Game
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Different Game
| type = Album
| artist = The Zombies
| cover = The Zombies - Different Game.jpeg
| alt =A van being loaded onto a tow truck by the side of a rural road
| released = 31 March 2023
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = *Rock
| length = 39:16
| label = Cooking Vinyl
| producer = Rod Argent
| prev_title = Still Got That Hunger
| prev_year = 2015
}}
Different Game is the seventh studio album by English rock band the Zombies, released on 31 March 2023 through Cooking Vinyl. It is their first album since Still Got That Hunger, which was released in 2015.
Recording and production
Work began on the album in 2019 shortly after the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed after lockdown restrictions were lifted. The album was designed to sound like a live performance to "capture that magical, fleeting quality of energy and immediacy of performance".{{Cite web|url=https://www.resident-music.com/productdetails&path=77&product_id=96076|title=the zombies - different game - resident|website=www.resident-music.com|accessdate=22 June 2023}}
Composition
Different Game is eclectic in style.{{Cite web |last=Sokol |first=Tony |author-link=Tony Sokol |date=31 March 2023 |title=The Zombies' Rod Argent Breaks Down Their New Album Different Game |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/the-zombies-rod-argent-breaks-down-their-new-album-different-game/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407153210/https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/the-zombies-rod-argent-breaks-down-their-new-album-different-game/ |archive-date=7 April 2023 |access-date=18 April 2023 |website=Den of Geek}} The album has been described as having "rockers" as well as "tender acoustic ballads with classical string arrangements". The Telegraph{{'}}s Andrew Perry writes the album "harks back to the prog-rock era", bringing advanced composition and "instrumental virtuosity" to pop songs.
"Love You While I Can" is described by Clash editor Robin Murray as "[b]eatific baroque pop with a decidedly English feel, ... meld[ing] together West Coast harmonies with something soothing, and almost psychedelic."{{Cite web |last=Murray |first=Robin |date=14 February 2023 |title=Music Legends The Zombies Share Romantic Hymn 'Love You While I Can' |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/music-videos/music-legends-the-zombies-share-romantic-hymn-love-you-while-i-can/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330221658/https://www.clashmusic.com/music-videos/music-legends-the-zombies-share-romantic-hymn-love-you-while-i-can/ |archive-date=30 March 2023 |access-date=29 April 2023 |website=Clash}}
"I Want to Fly" is a chamber pop song that draws from classical music, featuring only strings and vocals.{{Cite web |last=Papadatos |first=Markos |date=1 April 2023 |title=Review: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band The Zombies release their new album 'Different Game' |url=https://www.digitaljournal.com/entertainment/review-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-band-the-zombies-release-their-new-album-different-game/article |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429004140/https://www.digitaljournal.com/entertainment/review-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-band-the-zombies-release-their-new-album-different-game/article |archive-date=29 April 2023 |access-date=29 April 2023 |website=Digital Journal}} Argent explained he had arranged it for a previous album but wanted to revisit it for Different Game, with a new arrangement by Chris Gunning. Argent described it as "an affectionate look back" to Blunstone's 1971 solo album One Year, which Argent produced with former Zombies bassist Chris White.
"Got to Move On" is a harmonica-driven blues stomp{{Cite web |last=Matthew |first=Nathan |title=The Zombies: A Different Game |url=https://www.oxmag.co.uk/articles/the-zombies-a-different-game/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230429005240/https://www.oxmag.co.uk/articles/the-zombies-a-different-game/ |archive-date=29 April 2023 |access-date=29 April 2023 |website=OX Magazine}} that Perry characterises as "Spencer Davis Group-style R&B."
Cover
The album's cover photo, taken by Argent, shows the band's tour van after it broke down outside of Phoenix, Arizona.{{Cite web |last=Ruggiero |first=Bob |date=28 February 2023 |title=The Zombies Resurrection Continues with New Album, Tour and Documentary |url=https://www.houstonpress.com/music/things-to-do-listen-to-the-zombies-different-game-and-see-them-at-the-house-of-blues-15162559 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313025747/https://www.houstonpress.com/music/things-to-do-listen-to-the-zombies-different-game-and-see-them-at-the-house-of-blues-15162559 |archive-date=13 March 2023 |access-date=18 April 2023 |website=Houston Press}} Blunstone explained: "We were traveling from Southern California to Tucson, when our tour van's engine suddenly caught fire! We spent about 5 hours stranded in the remote Arizona desert [...] It was a harrowing experience, but also beautiful and surreal."{{Cite news |last=Reilly |first=Nick |date=12 January 2023 |title=The Zombies announce new album 'Different Game' |url=https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/news/the-zombies-announce-new-album-different-game-25746/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404074434/https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/news/the-zombies-announce-new-album-different-game-25746/ |archive-date=4 April 2023 |access-date=18 April 2023 |website=Rolling Stone UK}} Argent said he felt the photo "seems to sum up what being in a band is truly like!" The event further inspired the lyric video for "Dropped Reeling & Stupid".
Release and reception
{{Music ratings
| MC = 72/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/different-game/the-zombies|title=Different Game by The Zombies Reviews and Tracks|website=Metacritic|access-date=18 April 2023}}
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Fred |title=The Zombies Different Game |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/different-game-mw0003906806 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404211705/https://www.allmusic.com/album/different-game-mw0003906806 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |access-date=18 April 2023 |publisher=AllMusic}}
| rev2 = American Songwriter
| rev2score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{Cite web |last=Zimmerman |first=Lee |date=22 March 2023 |title=Review: The Zombies Prove They're Still in the Game |url=https://americansongwriter.com/review-the-zombies-prove-theyre-still-in-the-game/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326080650/https://americansongwriter.com/review-the-zombies-prove-theyre-still-in-the-game/ |archive-date=26 March 2023 |access-date=18 April 2023 |website=American Songwriter}}
| rev3 = The Telegraph
| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{Cite web |last=Perry |first=Andrew |date=31 March 2023 |title=The Zombies, Different Game |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/albums-of-the-week-baaba-maal-boygenius-max-jury/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407174841/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/albums-of-the-week-baaba-maal-boygenius-max-jury/ |archive-date=7 April 2023 |access-date=18 April 2023 |website=The Telegraph}}
}}Different Game was released on 31 March 2023. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album has an average score of 72, based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Track listing
All tracks composed by Rod Argent, except where noted.
{{Track listing
|headline = Different Game track listing
| title1 = Different Game
| length1 = 4:57
| title2 = Dropped Reeling & Stupid
| length2 = 3:52
| title3 = Rediscover
| length3 = 3:58
| title4 = Runaway
| length4 = 3:17
| title5 = You Could Be My Love
| length5 = 3:48
| title6 = Merry-Go-Round
| length6 = 4:24
| title7 = Love You While I Can
| length7 = 3:18
| title8 = I Want to Fly
| length8 = 4:16
| title9 = Got to Move On
| length9 = 3:54
| title10 = The Sun Will Rise Again
| length10 = 3:27
| writer10 = Colin Blunstone
}}
Personnel
;The Zombies
- Colin Blunstone – lead vocals
- Rod Argent – keyboards, backing and lead vocals
- Tom Toomey – guitar, backing vocals
- Søren Koch – bass, backing vocals
- Steve Rodford – drums
References
{{reflist}}
{{The Zombies}}
{{Authority control}}