Great Rock Albums of 1986: John Fogerty- Eye of a Zombie

John Fogerty’s “Eye of a Zombie” album is the last of the albums I missed in 1986 because it came out in the US after I had gone to the UK. In fact, it would be several more years before I even knew this album existed because it never charted in the UK. At least it did answer my question as to why he didn’t put out a follow up album after the very successful “Centerfield” album. The answer was that he did, the problem was that it wasn’t quite as good as its predecessor.

I think why the album did not achieve the critical or commercial success the 1985 classic did was that many people’s musical tastes were diverging, something I’ve noted in quite a few posts. An album from someone in an iconic 1960s band like CCR was good as a one off for most people but they didn’t want more of the same, which is why I like “Eye of a Zombie.” It does sound a lot like it would have been a great Credence album if it had come out some fifteen years prior.

What I like most about it is that John really lets loose with the guitar here. He does lay down some cool guitar jams. On the opener, “Goin’ Back Home,” it starts with a choir for the first minute and a half and then he finishes the rest of the song jamming away on the guitar. Ditto for the next two songs, John does what he did with CCR on both of those songs but he does play a couple of decent guitar solos on them. “Headlines” definitely sounds quite a bit like his old band.

It’s not just CCR which influences John here. He did say in the past that he was heavily influenced by 60’s Motown and that shines through on two songs, “Knockin’ On Your Door” and “Soda Pop.” Though I must admit when I first heard the latter tune, I did have a brief WTF moment but on further listen, I hear what he was doing on the song. With that said, “Change in the Weather” best combines the influence and the sound of the former band. This song would have been good on any CCR album but that’s not the best song on the album. That award in my mind goes to “Violence is Golden.” Again, he takes everything he’s done in the past and makes it a great song but with some very cool guitar work on it. Also, the topical lyrics about the American weapons industry is what puts it at number one for me. The very intriguing intro to the song has something to do with it as well.

Track Listing:

1. Goin’ Back Home
2. Eye of a Zombie
3. Headlines
4. Knockin’ On Your Door
5. Change in the Weather
6. Violence is Golden
7. Wasn’t That a Woman
8. Soda Pop
9. Sail Away

John Fogerty

John Fogerty- lead vocals, guitar, keyboards

Alan Pasqua- keyboards (track 4)

Neil Stubenhaus- bass

John Robinson- drums, percussion

Bobby King, Willie Green Jr, Terry Evans- backing vocals

I think I might have worn out the Steve Lukather jokes by now but he didn’t play on this album.

Not one to care what the critics or the general record buying public think, I think “Eye of the Zombie” is a pretty good album. It’s a shame John paid attention to the above and let it keep him from putting out another record for several years and not playing any tracks from this album until 2009 because I really enjoy the album.

Next post: One Hit Wonders of 1986