Eye of the Zombie

Background

"Eye of the Zombie" is the title track of the fourth solo album of John Fogerty. Coupled with "I Confess", it was also the first 7" single off the LP.  Like all songs on the album, "Eye of the Zombie" was recorded at The Lighthouse in North Hollywood, California, and engineered by Jeffrey Norman. The single came out in August 1986. It peaked at #81 in the USA and #45 in the Netherlands. The album reached #26 in the USA. 

The title track features dark guitar sound and images of the night, panic in a crowd and dead come back to life.

Fogerty left the optimism of Centerfield behind and changed his mood on Eye of the Zombie. "I wanted to do a record that was darker, a little moodier," he said in an interview by The Orlando Sentinel in October 19th, 1986. Fogerty admitted in his autobiography (2015) that the dark, spooky mood of the album was also a consequence of his legal and personal problems at that time. 

Between the two albums, Fogerty moved from Bay Area to Los Angeles. His office at Warner Brothers was downstairs in the basement, where he wrote in the evening and nights. He also wanted to be more current and increase the use of drum machines and synths on the album. Fogerty had a guitar and a couple of synthesizers in his office (John Fogerty, Fortunate Son, 2015).

Fogerty earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Male Vocalist for "Eye of the Zombie" but lost to Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" (Thomas M. Kitts, Finding Fogerty, 2013).

Personnel

Lead guitar, vocals: John Fogerty

Drums, percussion: John Robinson

Bass: Neil Stubenhaus

Backing vocals: Bobby King, Willie Green Jr. and Terry Evans

Eye of the Zombie was the first album during his solo career when Fogerty didn't play everything by himself. 

Collector's notes

The "Eye of the Zombie" b/w "I Confess" single was also released in Germany as a promotional item (Bellaphon 100-07-410-BZ 4105) in 1986. The cover sleeve is practically identical with the regular single release. 

The single (Warner-Pioneer P 2142) was released in Japan with a different cover sleeve in October.  

"Eye of the Zombie", coupled with "I Confess", was also launched as a 12" maxi single  in the USA (WB PRO-A-2514) and Germany (Bellaphon 120 07 210) in August 1986. The limited German edition came out on red vinyl.

Another 12" maxi single (Bellaphon 120-07-218) was released in Germany in November 1986. It contained "Change in the Weather", "My Toot Toot", "Change in the Weather" and "Eye of the Zombie"  (Peter Koers, Green River: The Illustrated Discography, 1999).  

A UK maxi-single (WEA W8657 T) contained the songs "Eye of the Zombie", "I Confess" and "I Can't Help Myself". The pattern of the cover sleeve was similar to the US and German 12" but the colouring was different. 

The single and maxi-single version of "Eye of the Zombie" is 10 seconds shorter than the album take. 

Video

The video for the song, featuring dance rituals of zombie characters in the night, was released in August 1986. It was directed by Matt Mahurin.

Live versions

John Fogerty played "Eye of the Zombie" live on Rockin' All Over the World Tour in autumn 1986 in the USA and Canada. The world premiere took place in Memphis, Tennessee, on August 27th, 1986. Like all numbers off Eye of the Zombie, except "Change in the Weather",  the title track disappeared from the programming of John Fogerty for good after the tour was over.  

Critical reception

"Oddly, Zombie opens with an instrumental, "Goin' Back Home." On that track, Fogerty's forlorn, feedback-laced guitar solo floats over a dreamy, hymn-like synthesizer melody. Then "Eye of the Zombie," a sort of third-rate "Thriller" ("A beast already dead/Comes to join the dance of the zombie"), instantly shatters the calm." -Anthony Decurtis, The Rolling Stone, November 20th, 1986. 

"Spooky lyrics and thundering bass define the title track. The scorching guitar licks and Fogerty's raspy voice are standouts as always. However, the "cowbell" music break is pointless, and the fade-off too routine." -Matt Loewen

"This is the title track and is worthy of being the title track. This is another song with a "dark theme". You will hear a lot more of the synth-pop elements in this song. The song actually starts with a bit of "dance" beat, but then there is some terrific guitar work by Fogerty. Fogerty's vocals are classic throughout the whole song." -L.A. Scene, October 17th, 2004.

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