(Credits: Far Out / Nicole Nodland / Martyn Atkins)
Thu 11 December 2025 17:30, UK
Despite there being an age gap of over a decade between them, there’s a surprising amount of things that both Paul Weller and Jeff Lynne seem to hold in common, especially when it comes to their personal tastes.
With Lynne being the older of the two, it makes sense that his influences stem from the 1960s, with him having been an impressionable teenager during the decade and starting his career in 1963 before joining The Move and forming Electric Light Orchestra at the turn of the 1970s. While the former was more Roy Wood’s project, ELO had a similar outlook and approach to writing, and was still taking inspiration from the psychedelic pop boom from the previous decade.
On the other hand, Weller would only have been 12 years old when the ‘60s came to a close, but his work with The Jam was heavily influenced by the Mod subculture from this era, and despite not having been there for its heyday, he spearheaded the revival and brought about a new insurgence of bands that were influenced by the likes of The Who and The Kinks, exemplifying just how much of an impression the British invasion acts had on his own style.
While both would eventually begin to move in their own separate directions, leaning increasingly towards developing more distinctive and individualistic styles in their songwriting, there’s one record from the 1960s that both have continued to hold onto and cherish as being one of the most influential releases of all time, and that they both seemingly agree on as being a masterpiece.
Released in 1968, The Zombies’ second album, Odessey and Oracle is the record that the pair mutually acknowledge as being a flawless example of British psychedelia, and one that opened their ears to both songwriting styles and production techniques that felt both otherworldly and ahead of their time.
Despite having been a commercial failure that caused the band to separate shortly after its release, the album has gone on to become a cult classic, and the fact that it managed to deliver something that the world wasn’t quite ready for was eventually picked up on by the audience that it should have attracted at the time.
In a 2010 interview with the BBC, Weller reflected on his first experience of hearing the album and how it stuck with him immediately. “The first time I heard it was in the mid-70s, and it just blew my mind,” he claimed, before going on to admit that it was the first time he’d ever heard music like this. “It made a very, very big impression and it’s still to this day probably my all-time favourite record.”
Lynne, on the other hand, revealed his love for the record during an interview with The Quietus, where he explained that his friend reintroduced him to it several years later on cassette. “He gave [it] to me, and I played it for months, it must have been. I just loved all the songs on it,” the songwriter and producer recalled. “I love Colin Blunstone’s voice on it. And lovely, crafted songs. Great harmonies, what more could you want?”
Despite reuniting in the ‘90s, it’s largely as a result of Odessey and Oracle’s reassessment that The Zombies have regained attention in the modern age, and deservedly so. With songs such as ‘Care of Cell 44’, ‘Beechwood Park’ and ‘Time of the Season’ all being gorgeous, harmony-laden songs that showcase Blunstone, Chris White and Rod Argent’s combined brilliance, it’s a wonder and a crying shame that it wasn’t adored at the time.
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