The Zombies -- "Changes"
Like The Kinks, The Zombies never fully got the recognition that they deserved. Both bands suffered from poorly timed and poorly marketed album releases, which partly accounts for why The Zombies' masterwork, Odessey and Oracle, never received as much attention as other classics from the era. "Changes" is one of the most distinctive tracks on the album.
While psychedelic music in its later form favored heavy guitars and long jams in a live setting, the earlier form represented here emphasized instruments atypical to rock music, using harpsichord, strings, horns, and experimental recording techniques in a studio setting to find new and unusual ways to fully develop the atmosphere of each song. If the real meaning and purpose of psychedelic music is not simply to glorify a drug culture but rather to engage in bold and dynamic experimentation in sound, this song is one of the best examples of genre -- even though (perhaps especially because) the instrumentation is so sparse -- Mellotron and percussion, but not at the same time, and nothing else. The most distinctive feature, though, of this track, and indeed throughout Odessey and Oracle, is the use of human voices as an instrument. This track presents one of the most inspired uses of harmony you might ever hear outside of the Beach Boys.
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