In the annals of one-hit wonders, few are as well-remembered as the duo Zager and Evans.  Rick Evans and Denny Zager, both of Lincoln, Nebraska, hit it big in 1969 with their dark, apocalyptic single "In the Year 2525."  But the duo never scored another Hot 100 hit despite the fact that "2525" topped the Pop and AC charts in the United States and also went to the top in the United Kingdom.  Now, their recordings for RCA have been collected by Cherry Red's Tune In imprint as In the Year 2525: The RCA Masters 1969-1970.

Zager and Evans began their musical collaboration as members of The Eccentrics.  The group made major noise in Nebraska with their Four Seasons-style brand of rock, and when the band broke up, Zager and Evans continued on the regional scene as a twosome.  Inspiration struck songwriter Evans in the form of "In the Year 2525," which was far-removed from The Eccentrics' sound.  Zager wasn't too keen on the unusual song, but his partner had faith in what he had written.  Zager, Evans, the Eccentrics' drummer David Trupp, and Nebraska bass player Mark Dalton recorded the song at Texas' Odessa Studios, pressing it in Nashville on their own, small Truth label.  It gained significant airplay, and before the 500-unit pressing had sold out, RCA had come calling.  The B-side of the RCA single release was identical to that of the Truth release, "Little Kids."  (It's included as a bonus track on this release.)

"In the Year 2525" first appeared on the Billboard chart at No. 72 on June 21, 1969.  By July 12, it was No. 1.  RCA quickly commissioned Zager, Evans, and their two bandmates to record an entire album produced by Ted Daryll and arranged by Bobby Christian.  2525 (Exordium and Terminus) comprises the first half of Tune In's CD.  The folk/rock/pop hybrid - with even a dash of country flavor - led off with the hit single before showcasing other sides of Rick Evans' songwriting talents, from love songs (the jaunty "Cary Lynn Javes," the short, folky "Woman") to bleak character studies (the murderous story of "Fred") and drug odes (the string-drenched "Land of Green").  The album made a respectable No. 30 showing in the U.S. on the strength of its title track; no second single was ever released although "Cary Lynn" would have made a solid choice.  This moderate success led the label to greenlight a follow-up record, to be simply titled Zager and Evans.

Zager and Evans' first hit had addressed rather chilling subject matter, so RCA may not necessarily have balked when the subject of second single "Mr. Turnkey" came up: an imprisoned rapist.  (Never mind its ironically perky melody, gentle arrangement, and harmony-laden delivery.)  The graphic imagery of "Mr. Turnkey" didn't catch on with the public perhaps eager for more sci-fi drama from Zager and Evans.  (A version with censored lyrics was issued to radio, which is also included here for completeness' sake.)  Evans notes in Andy Davis' liner notes here that most of the songs on Zager and Evans actually predated "2525," as he had been a prolific writer throughout the 1960s. Ray Cork, Jr., co-producing with Daryll, more heavily orchestrated Z&E, and played up the psychedelic elements in Evans' songwriting with tape effects and spacey flourishes on tracks such as the trippy opening vocal "Overture," offbeat "The Candy Machine," the brassy "In My House" and lysergic dreamscape "During REM."  A Moog was even utilized on tracks like "Reginald Ludwig," "Crutches" and "Mr. Turnkey."  However timely, the album and its mix of the serene and the unsettling failed to crack the Billboard 200.

It wasn't long before Zager and Evans went their separate ways, but not before they recorded a 1971 album at Vanguard with producers Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown ("Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree"), and arranger Charlie Calello (of the Four Seasons and Laura Nyro fame). Evans would go on to do further recording for various labels while Zager returned to Lincoln, where he builds custom guitars.  Evans is refreshingly candid as quoted by Davis: "'In the Year 2525' set me up financially for life without having to do another thing if I didn't want to."  Additional bonus tracks round out this set, both sides of the non-LP single "Help One Man Today" b/w "Yeah 3²."

Simon Murphy has remastered all tracks on this collection.  "Zager and Evans.  Will Lightning Strike Twice?" asked an RCA ad for "Mr. Turnkey" reprinted in this set.  Lightning obviously didn't strike twice, but for a short time, Zager and Evans captured it in a bottle.  In the Year 2525: The RCA Masters 1969-1970, with the best and rest of their output for the label, is available at the links below!

Zager and Evans, In the Year 2525: The RCA Masters 1969-1970 (Tune In 011, 2016) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)
2. Woman
3. Bayoan
4. I Remember Heide
5. Fred
6. Cary Lynn Javes
7. Less Than Tomorrow
8. Taxi Man
9. Self
10. Land of Green
11. Little Kids
12. Overture
13. In My House
14. During REM
15. Reginald Ludwig
16. The Plastic Park
17. The Candy Machine
18. Mr. Turnkey
19. She Never Sleeps Besides Me
20. Crutches
21. Listen to the People
22. Help One Man Today
23. Yeah 3²
24. Mr. Turnkey (Censored)

Tracks 1-10 from In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus), RCA LP LSP-4214, 1969
Track 11 from Truth single (no cat. no.)/RCA single 74-0174, 1969
Tracks 12-21 from Zager and Evans, RCA LP LSP-4302, 1970
Tracks 22-23 from RCA single 47-9816, 1970
Track 24 from RCA single 74-0246, 1970