As Far As I Can See

A few years ago, I wrote a post about how the cover of Begin Here bears some resemblance to the cover of With the Beatles.  In both, the band members' faces are lit primarily from one side.

I recently started reading the final section of The "Odessey": The Zombies in Words and Images where As Far As I Can See is referred to (but not actually named; the book just says that the Zombies "released an album of new material in 2004"), and I realized that the cover of As Far As I Can See is even more similar to With the Beatles than Begin Here is.  The cover is in black and white (aside from the O in "The Zombies," which features a bit of the Odessey and Oracle cover art), and the contrast in the lighting is more extreme so that - like the Beatles - only half of Rod's face is visible.

"Brief Candles"

I had an-other small realization while reading The "Odessey": The Zombies in Words and Images.  As it's formatted in the book, the first verse of "Brief Candles" is:

There she sits, her hands are held

Tight around her glass

She only needs to be alone

She knows this mood will pass

To realise that she was strong

And he too weak to stay

And to realise that she is better off this way

I would have done it differently, but this formatting highlights a structural contrast between "she was strong" and "he too weak."  By itself, "he too weak" is just a phrase.  The preceding "she was strong" sets up an instance of ellipsis, and the verb is merely implied ("he [was] too weak").  "He too weak" needs "she was strong" in order to make sense (formally speaking, at least).  It can't stand on its own, and in a way, this dependence matches the person it describes.

"Beechwood Park"

I recently read about "Beechwood Park" in The "Odessey": The Zombies in Words and Images and realized that it's in the same category as the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" in that it deals with a specific place from the writer's childhood.  In the book, Chris White says, "I had written that song when we were touring in the Philippines," and the Zombie Heaven liner notes explain that the Philippines tour was in March 1967.  "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" were the Beatles' current release at the time (they were released as a double A-sided single in February 1967), so chronologically, it's possible that they inspired the basic subject matter of "Beechwood Park" (a look back at a childhood location).