Friday, April 11, 2014

The Zombies - Gotta Get A Hold On Myself


Following on yesterday's post about Dee Dee Warwick's 1965 number, Gotta Get A Hold Of Myself, we return with The Zombies' very different take on it from September 1966. The single was released in the UK on Decca but failed to get a US release. 

The Zombies change the opening and closing riffs, remove the lead guitar, speed the whole number up, reorganize some of the lyrics and bassist Chris White really steps up the bass work to propel the song to a new plateau. I'm particularly fond of his descending run following the line "late at night I hear footsteps sound down the hall" at 1:18. It's a nice musical play with the lyrics. As usual, Colin Blunstone's vocal performance is stellar. In addition, Rod Argent and Chris White really do a wonderful job with the harmonies. Play the two back to back. It's a nice comparison of how a song can be approached differently and come out perfect no matter which is on the turntable.
Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

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