Colin Blunstone at City Winery

In the early 1960s, the British Invasion that started with the Beatles radically changed the American music scene forever. The Zombies were among those groups, charting with "She's Not There" and "Tell Her No," but like most of the British artists of that era, the band nearly disappeared after the two initial hits. The band's last gasp a short time later was "Time of the Season." The Zombies split after recording baroque pop concept album, 1967's Odessey and Oracle, which had limited success in its time but took a quarter-century to become a cult classic. Rolling Stone in the U.S. and New Music Express in the U.K. both named the album among the top 100 albums of all time.

For a brief time in the 1970s, vocalist Colin Blunstone worked in the insurance business before launching a solo career that kept him working but left him obscure. Meanwhile, keyboardist Rod Argent had success in the 1970s with a rock band called Argent. In recent years, the two reformed the Zombies. Blunstone, meanwhile, this month embarked on a two-week tour in America, his first in about 40 years, to promote his 10th solo album, On the Air Tonight, which was released on January 21, 2014.

At City Winery tonight, Blunstone was pleasingly personable between songs, sharing amusing anecdotes of the 1960s and beyond. Backed by a guitar-keyboard-bass-drum quartet for most of the show, he was in strong voice. That voice, as awe-inspiring as it was when it hit the higher ranges, however, was accompanied by music that was way too ordinary. The opening songs sounded like 1980s Survivor-Toto-Foreigner anthem rock. He fared better with a cover of Jimmy Ruffin's 1966 hit, "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted," a song Ruffin sang on Dave Stewart's 1980 solo album. But why was a song with lyrics about the struggle to overcome the debilitating sadness of a broken love relationship so buoyant and rocking? Much of the repertoire was comprised of songs he recorded on solo albums or albums by other artists. They included original songs, including "Caroline Goodbye" about Blunstone's break-up with the model/actress Caroline Munro, and others by artists from the 1960s and 1970s, including Argent's Russ Ballard ("I Don't Believe in Miracles"), Wings' Denny Laine ("Say You Don't Mind"), Tim Hardin ("Misty Roses") and Smokey Robinson ("Tracks of My Tears"). Midway through the show, "Misty Roses" led a trio of compositions in which Blunstone was backed by a string quintet rather than by his band. Blunstone's delicately superb vocals were especially pronounced during this segment. Blunstone appealed to audience members nostalgic for the British Invasion, but much of his concert seemed better suited for the cabaret or Broadway stage than for today's rock stage.

Visit Colin Blunstone at www.colinblunstone.co.uk.