Paul Weller Praises the Zombies' Classic Album

It was an album that hardly dented the cultural register, but since its release in 1968, the Zombies' final album, 'Odessey and Oracle,' has gone on to become recognised as one of the most important artefacts of the original psychedelic era. Despite containing classics such as 'Time of the Season,' 'Care of Cell 44' and 'This Will be Our Year,' the commercial failure of the album led the band to split shortly after its release.

The intervening years have seen 'Odessey and Oracle' gain support and enthusiasm form subsequent generations of musicians and music fans and few have been so effusive in their praise as Paul Weller.

"It was a fantastic record, and of all the albums that get some kind of recognition from that period, they always seem to get overlooked," he told the BBC.

He continued, "The first time I heard it was in the mid-70s, and it just blew my mind.

"I hadn't heard music like that before. The harmonies were fantastic and so were the chord progressions. It's got a very wistful, melancholic English sound, a very autumnal sound and I can't think of many records that have got the same sort of sound."

So how highly does Weller rate the album?

"It made a very, very big impression and it's still to this day probably my all-time favourite record."