After
the Zombies split in 1968,
Colin Blunstone opted for the security of a 9-to-5 job and took a position with a London insurance company. However, the posthumous success of
the Zombies' "Time of the Season" made a return to the music business almost inevitable.
Blunstone accepted an offer from producer
Mike Hurst to cut a remake of the group's first hit, "She's Not There" for Deram Records. Released under the pseudonym "
Neil MacArthur," the record was a hit and two further
MacArthur singles followed in 1969. Neither charted, and
Blunstone soon decided to start recording under his own name. He ran into ex-
Zombies Rod Argent and Chris White, who had just signed a production deal with Epic Records. The duo were eager to produce their former bandmate, and soon
Blunstone was preparing his first album for Epic. Recorded between June 1970 and June 1971, the album was titled
One Year (for the length of time spent making it). The initial sessions found
Blunstone backed by
Argent's new group,
Argent, but later sessions saw the singer backed by Chris Gunning's lovely string arrangements. The first singles, "Mary Won't You Warm My Bed" and "Caroline Goodbye," flopped, but the third -- a cover of
Denny Laine's "Say You Don't Mind" -- was a hit in Britain. Widely considered to be
Blunstone's best solo album,
One Year is the perfect showcase for his distinctive, breathy voice. He also came into his own as a songwriter on this record. Although he had penned only two songs during
the Zombies' career, he was responsible for most of the songwriting on
One Year, including such classics as "Caroline Goodbye" and "Let Me Come Closer to You." [Originally relased in 1971,
One Year was reissued on CD in 2006 and includes a bonus track.] ~ Robin Platts