Here it is again ladies and gentlemen. Hopefully you read my other reviews of the "Odessey & Oracle" soundtrack but here are two more songs that will blow your mind. I try to delve into the meaning behind these songs through my knowledge of music and my experiences listening to this album.
11. "Friends of Mine" - This tune is, again, one of the more instrumentally and structurally straightforward ones on the album. It opens with a very simple, clean sequence of four guitar notes. But, while it is perhaps short on musical innovation, it is still very deliberately and intelligently rendered. For instance, pay attention to where the vocals pick up (at the same time as the drums). The two hits of the snare correspond directly with the first two words of the verse ("When we're"). It is a matter of a second or less, so "subtle" may even be an overstatement, but it is there and I find it hard to believe that it is there without the Zombies being conscious of it. In other words, it is no accident. Once we move past this moment of vocals/drum symmetry, it's back into that bouncy piano from songs like "This Will Be Our Year" and "Care of Cell 44". Lyrically, it's an odd, quirky, but altogether pleasant story. The song, as has been the theme of most of Odessey, concerns romance; but in a much more detached, objective way. The narrator is just vicariously happy that his friends are dating. That's it. It's nothing like the imagery-heavy "Hung Up On a Dream" or the cryptic "A Rose for Emily". The Zombies so avoided the preciousness of other British Invasion bands (i.e. Herman's Hermits), never leaning on the charm of their unusual Britishness to carry them. But, for lack of a better phrase, I think you've got to take this song for the quality that most obviously courses through it: it is delightfully British.
12. "Time of the Season" - I told myself at the first installment of these reviews that I wasn't going to give this song the time of day. I thought that enough had been written about it, the most-known and loved song on this masterful album. Besides, because its popularity eclipses the preceding 11 songs, I harbor a certain resentment to it. But, I've caved. And I'm glad I have, because too often do classic rock fans dismiss their genre's greatest production because it has been "overplayed". And it's pretentious, and obnoxious. And it pretends that there's no reason those songs are so overwhelmingly popular in the first place. The truth is, "Time of the Season" is a jaw-dropping song. There aren't many backbeats more well-constructed then that bassline/clap/sigh combo that runs throughout the verses of the song. Each detail is in its right place. That sigh, the "ahh" in the background, is the perfect sound - like the singer's just finished a really refreshing drink. Then you've got the choppy guitar as the chorus begins, the vibes solos, the perfect harmonies on the title line. Even a Zombie elitist like me has to admit it. It's one hell of a song.
