''One Year'' is the debut solo studio album by English singer-songwriter

Colin Blunstone Colin Edward Michael Blunstone (born 24 June 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. In a career spanning more than 60 years, Blunstone came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the English rock band the Zombies, whi ...

, a member of

the Zombies The Zombies are an English rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the US, two fu ...

. It was released by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

in 1971. It includes "

Say You Don't Mind "Say You Don't Mind" is a song written and originally recorded by English musician Denny Laine. It was a top 20 hit for Colin Blunstone in 1972. History Laine wrote the song in 1967 after he had quit The Moody Blues and was forming the Electric ...

", which peaked at number 15 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Production

After the Zombies disbanded in 1968, Blunstone left the music business only to return after the surprise success of "

Time of the Season "Time of the Season" is a song by the British rock band the Zombies, featured on their 1968 album ''Odessey and Oracle''. It was written by keyboard player Rod Argent and recorded at Abbey Road Studios in August 1967. Over a year after its origin ...

". Recorded between 1970 and 1971, ''One Year'' was co-produced by Blunstone's former Zombie colleagues

Rod Argent Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid 1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the ...

and Chris White. Some of the songs had previously been recorded during the last days of the Zombies, although they were re-recorded for this album. The album chronicled a year in Blunstone's life, during which he broke up with his then-girlfriend, actress

Caroline Munro Caroline Munro (born 16 January 1949)McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. p. 538; is an English actress, model and singer known for her many appearances in horror, ...

, to whom "Caroline, Goodbye" is obviously addressed.

Critical reception

Reviewing the album for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Fred Thomas gave it 5 stars out of 5, writing: "Marked by a thoughtfulness that’s always on the brink of despair, ''One Year'' is an understated masterpiece. It drifts by quickly but connects immediately, capturing the same stir of conflicting feelings as remembering a time that will never happen again, or a romance you wish hadn’t ended quite so soon."

Neil Tennant Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and music journalist, and co-founder of the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, which he formed with Chris Lowe in 1981. He was a journalist for ''Smash Hits'', and a ...

said: "It's an incredibly romantic album, which is why it's been with me such a long time."

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moo ...

called it "a gorgeous example of classic British pop music." He added: "It's very personal, very sophisticated in its sentiment." In 2007, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' included it on the "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" list.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. Musicians *

– vocals, guitar *

– keyboards (1, 4 & 6) *

Russ Ballard Russell Glyn Ballard (born 31 October 1945) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Originally coming to prominence as the lead singer and guitarist for the band Argent, Ballard became a songwriter and producer by the late 1970s. His co ...

– guitar (1, 4 & 6) *

Jim Rodford James Walter Rodford (7 July 1941 – 20 January 2018) was an English musician, who played bass for several British rock bands. He was a founding member of Argent, which was led by his cousin Rod Argent, and performed with them from their format ...

– bass guitar (1, 4 & 6) * Robert Henrit – drums (1, 4 & 6) * Alan Crosthwaite – guitar (2) Technical personnel * Chris White – production *

– arrangement (1, 4 & 6), production *

Chris Gunning Christopher Gunning (born 5 August 1944) is an English composer of concert works and music for films and television. Gunning was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where his tutors incl ...

– arrangement (2, 3, 5, 7, 8 & 10) *

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

– arrangement (4 & 6) * John Fiddy – arrangement (9) * Jerry Boys – engineering (1 & 2) *

Peter Vince Peter Vince (born Peter Robert Vince) was an English sound engineer, producer and operations manager at Abbey Road Studios. Biography Vince was born in Fulham, London in July 1942 and was educated at Munster School and St Clement Danes Gram ...

– engineering (2-10) * Paul Ostrer – photography

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1971 debut albums Colin Blunstone albums Albums arranged by Tony Visconti Albums produced by Rod Argent Albums produced by Chris White (musician) Epic Records albums