ZOUNDS! We've Reached the End! ( #AtoZChallenge )

       Zounds!  Here we are at the end of another great Blogging from A to Z April Challenge and I'll count my 13th effort an absolute success.  There was a lot of work, but well worth it rediscovering some of the great music that I have collected over the years.  So let's get on with the often dreaded letter Z.

     Not much to see for the letter Z, but more than one might have expected.  Never got rid of any Z albums, but I never had many to begin with.  What I had, I kept. Here are my Z's...

Links to the music are included throughout the post if you want to hear the music.

Zoo (1969)  This album stood out and announced itself to me from some forgotten cut-out bin.  Big black letters on a bright orange background with the simple proclamation "ZOO".  And it was less than a dollar so why not?  Then there is the violin player in the band.  If you've been reading my posts you know what that means, but just in case I'll mention that I play violin so I'm always interested in any album featuring a violinist.  The rocked out electric violin is just one bonus feature of this little known (in the U.S.A.) French group.  They've got a big brassy horn section as well as a powerhouse rock singer who is a match for a singer like David Clayton Thomas of Blood Sweat & Tears.  The album rocks with tasty jazz overtones and the songs are downright funky good.  You won't see this album many places, but you will find it in my collection.

The Zombies   "Odyssey & Oracle" (1968)  Wrapping up my theme of "My Vinyl Collection" it seems appropriate to close with one of the best rock albums of any of the British Invasion groups of the sixties.  This album is a musical fireworks display of eclectic pop rock psychedelic fusion.  Lovely songs that evoke memory of  a sweet past and a hopeful future are found throughout this album.  Then there's that great Zombies hit "Time of the Season".   If you're looking for rock music with melody, heart, and intellect then look no further than this one.  Since I was a Zombies fan from the beginning, this album was a delightful find in one of my cut-out bin explorations.  I  would have bought it at full price, but the bargain was a pleasant bonus.  If you've never heard this album and love music of all kinds, do yourself a favor and give it a listen.  Maybe you'll end up loving it as much as I do.

      

          And so my A to Z Challenge series closes for another April.  These are posts that I'll return to frequently just to click on the great music links.  It was fun for me to go back to listen to these albums. I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as I enjoyed compiling it.  I'll have to admit that I have a darn good collection of music on vinyl.  Maybe I'll eventually have to dig into the treasure troves of my cassette and CD collections which are far bigger than my vinyl collection.  Whoa!  Talk about epic!  That might be overwhelming.  But it might be well worth the effort.  What do you think?

       Did you know any of the Z albums?   Do you listen much to groups from countries other than your own?    What are some Z artists that you can name?