ARGENT

Opening out with the smothering mellotron and electric piano work on "Circus" (the eponymous track) gives a very promising start to the album. Immediately, you can see that all of Ballard's influence has been relinquished from the band as they burst into a Floyd-ish jam. Suddenly a piano interlude from Argent leads into the lyrics about the concept of the album. Following the strong opening track, the 9-minute "Highwire" is an absolute highlight on the album. The song is predominantly driven by mellotron and Fender Rhodes once more (however there is also an underlying piano there the whole time). The vocals on this track as smooth as silk, and so are the harmonies (which are implemented very impressively by the band). At around the 5:40 mark the song takes are dramatic high octane turn, and becomes a high intensity jam by the band which sounds amazing. The band plays a more fusion-esque style with looser chords, yet it is somehow super tight as the guitar and moog trade solos. Closing with the main theme from the beginning, the song transitions in the final song on side 1, "Clown." I really don't understand all the hate this track gets from the prog community. Opening with vibrato guitar and solemn piano, the song paints the sad memoir of a circus clown. The harmonies between the band as Argent sings "And who can doubt this painted fool who walks upon this circus stage is just a clown?" are absolutely masterful. The moog solo that closes the song is also very cool and great work from Rod Argent.

Continuing the "Circus" theme on side 2, "Trapeze" kicks off with a guitar and organ riff which is swept into an extremely proggy 7/4 time signature. Its a really interesting song without too many vocals and to be honest I really like the cowbell and bassline that carries the song. My only issue overall would be that the band wanders aimlessly through a jam on the 7/4 section for way too long. After the soloing from Argent on the Rhodes, the main riff from the beginning carries the band into a grand bridge section that sounds really awesome with heavy organ...Then the 7/4 comes back. Great idea on this track, just a bit overplayed and repetitive. Subsequently, "Shine on Sunshine," is the band doing their best Queen impression with added mellotron. The harmonies here are very reminiscent of anything off "Night at the Opera" with a jazzier feel. It's a nice little mood change, as is 1-minute Rhodes interlude "The Ring." The album closes with "The Jester" which opens with a "Pinball Wizard" feel and also a very Queen-esque chorus again. I like this one a lot better than "Shine on Sunshine" though because the keyboard melody and moog work on here is super impressive from Argent.

I think this album is over-hated by Proggers and is jampacked with infectious melodies and real sleepers. There isn't any single "weak" track on here (not including the throwaway "The Ring") and despite change in vocalists I think the band didn't really miss a step. Unlike their classic era records such as "In Deep" and "All Together Now" this LP doesn't have any of those horrible Russ Ballard boogie woogie songs which is an improvement in of itself :) Awesome record here and definitely a highly recommended one for a chill listen.

The album begins with the prog classic "Hold You Head Up," which was also the band's greatest hit, charting high in the US and UK. The version on the album is 10 times better than the single version though, because of Rod Argent's organ solo, which is one of the best ever played in my opinion. Rick Wakeman has even been quoted saying that the organ solo is the greatest of all time. An amazing opener, and sets the tone for the album. "Keep On Rollin" is by far the worst tune on here. This track is literally a complete filler track, similar to "Jeremy Bender" by ELP but much longer. It feels like a carbon copy of every blues song ever (namely "Run Run Rudolph").

"Tragedy" is the second hit on this album. I absolutely love this cut mostly because of the really great Russ Ballard vocal performance, with another great organ solo from Rod Argent as well. After the very weak "Keep on Rollin" this track saves the course of the album by delivering one of Argent's best tracks. "I Am The Dance Of Ages" is another amazing song off of this album. With a monotonous funeral march drum beat, organ-led chord progression, and thoughtful lyrics, this song could've easily been a 10 minutes+ prog epic, yet it is only a little under 4 minutes.

"Be, My Lover, Be my Friend" opens with a grand organ riff, which is then completely thrown out the window and replaced with a heavier Russ Ballard tune. Ballard sings some nice harmonies on this track and it does feature a nice chord progression when it branches off from the main rock theme, as well as another spectacular Hammond Organ solo from Rod Argent, which is its saving grace. "He's a Dynamo" is another very boogie-woogie-esque track similar to that of "Keep on Rollin." I'm not a huge fan of it either, just pretty mediocre.

"Pure Love" is the album's epic masterpiece. Clocking in at 13:00 minutes, it consists of 4 parts (Fantasia, Prelude, Pure Love, and Finale). It opens with one of the all-time classic organ intros, up there with "The Three Fates" by ELP. After the 5-minute solo (!!!!) the song enters a very good organ-led passage. The song weakens a little bit when the vocals enter. I feel as if the vocals throughout the album are overly bluesy and take away from some of the more complex sections.

Overall this is a great album, containing some of the greatest organ work of all time from Rod Argent. This was Argent's most popular album and had 4 songs that charted internationally. As much as I enjoy Ballard as a vocalist, his compositions on the album tend to be a bit lackluster compared to those of Rod Argent. After this LP, Argent would go on to release their magnum opus, "In Deep" in 1973. Highly recomend to all prog fans!

If In Deep saw Rod Argent trying to steer the group into a more progressive direction, the follow up album Nexus saw him pushing the band into the realm of pure prog with the opening tracks- not hard rock with a few proggy elements thrown in but full tilt PROG.The fact that the album opens rather audaciously (even Genesis generally tucked these away near the end of an album eg Los Endos) with a three part instrumental -"The Coming Of Kohoutek" based in part on the famous Medieval doom laden "Dies Irae" theme.And what an absolute cracker it is.Although not surprisingly, it is dominated by Argents' frenetic keyboard soloing, Russ Ballard provides some tasty licks as well. I particularly love the second part with a slow magisterial church organ line and the way the guitar comes in with this slow but blistering solo.It is just so atmospheric and I can almost visualize the mighty but deadly comet hoving into view.This is what I want from Prog- not just a lot of aimless noodling.Prog this track most certainly is but also very focused and dynamic. The rest of side one contains "Love" a fairly simple ballad and "Music From the Spheres" which is probably the only other real prog epic on the album with an extended instrumental section. If side one is dominated by Argent/White compositions, side two predominantly contains Ballard penned heavy rockers.The opening track on side one "Thunder and Lightning" is particularly heavy and very bombastic. It ranks with my favourite Argent songs "Keeper Of the Flame" is another punchy rocker and keeps the album's momentum going.Argent's sole contribution on side two "Man For All Reasons" is more sedate with its militaristic rhythm. It actually sounds like the sort of music Stryx would go on to make.It is another enjoyable track with an excellent classically inspired instrumental section.In true stle the band end proceedings with another Ballard bluesy rocker.Unlike the previous album's closer this one is actually pretty good.

Nexus is easily the most consistently enjoyable Argent album.I know I am being a little generous here but I cannot resist giving this album the full 5 stars.I love it.

Argent's follow up is similar in style to ATTN but with a bit more prog thrown into the mix.The opening track "God Gave Rock and Roll to You" is such a well known anthem no doubt largely because of Kiss cover version that it is easy to dismiss it a lightweight song.The instrumentation is actually quite sophisticated with an almost Baroque feel and Classical guitar picking in the middle.It really is another stone cold Classic.Easily one of Argents crowning achievements. The rest of the album is actually quite dark and heavy and probably would appeal to Prog Rock fans more than the earlier album."It's only Money Part 1" is a brooding and very heavy prog rocker with a great pulsating base line and another terrific. organ solo"Seriously Rod Argent is so underrated.The closing track on side one "Losing Hold" starts as as a melancholy ballad and includes an excellent guitar solo by Russ Ballard. The song end with a highly atmospheric doomy melotron solo punctuated with big fat gongs in the background. Side two continues the proggy sound with the lengthy "Be Glad" which although a straight forward heavy rocker albeit piano led features another lengthy instrumental break mixing classically inspired piano deviations with aggressive hammond solos- very ELP."Candles on the River" is another mini epic full of epic stabbing hammond chords. The boys cannot help themselves and the closing track "Rosie" is another lightweight feel good boogie.I personally do not have a problem with groups incorporating lightweight feel-good or even comic songs -ELP got away with "Are You Ready Eddy" at the end of Tarkus so Argent should not get critisized either and I must admit after the relentlessly downbeat nature of much of InDeep it is a bit of light relief.

Overall, this is another really strong album and more likely to appeal to fans of prog than the preceding album.

4.5 stars

After the uneven if occasionally brilliant Ring Of Hands, Argent enter their imperial phase with the much heavier and more consistent All Together Now album. This was their most commercially successful album ever no doubt helped by the massively successful and much covered opening track "Hold Your Head Up". The album version is nearly twice as long and contains a superb keyboard solo.No two ways about it -this track is a stone cold Classic. "Tragedy" is another excellent rocker with a funky rhythm and another excellent solo."I am the Dance of Ages" with its slow pounding rhythm is another great track absolutely drenched in atmosphere.It is probably the closest thing to pure Prog on the album. Unfortunately side one is let down slightly by the track "Keep On Rolling" which is a basic piano boogie led track.There is nothing wrong with it -it is just that it seems a bit out of place adjacent to "Hold Your Head Up" and "Tragedy" and just goes on too long for such a lightweight number. Side two i a bit of a mixed bag."Be My Lover,Be My Friend" is another classy riff driven rocker."He's a Dynamo" is a bit poppy for my tastes but it is OK.The rest of side two is taken up with the lengthy "Pure Love" suite It starts of with a very lengthy unaccompanied church organ solo followed by a very energetic but all to brief jazzy work out slightly reminiscent of ELP. The third part of the suite is a bluesy song which is quite enjoyable and this lead to a brief reprise of the opening part.It is avery satisfying way to round off the album In retrospect it is easy to see why this album proved so popular. It is a very solid rock album with with some nice prog touches no real filler unless you really do not like boogie woogie.

4 stars

For the fantastic "Lothlorien" this album gets 4 stars from me

Worth a listen though

3 stars

With the initial intent of simply nudging The Zombies into hard rock / prog hybrid effect, after all was said and done, Rod Argent and Zombies vocalist Colin Blunstone decided to part ways which meant Argent had a stockpile of new material free for exploit. After recruiting his cousin and former Mike Cotton Sound bassist Jim Rodford along with drummer Bob Henrit and guitarist Russ Ballard (both formerly of The Roullettes and Unit 4 + 2), Rod Argent formed his new band with his last name ARGENT providing the moniker. This band enjoyed a bit more success than the previous Zombies with several top 40 singles manifesting in both the UK and US during the band's first half of its career. Argent himself handled keys, guitars and lead vocals.

ARGENT was basically the logical next step for where The Zombies would've headed had they stuck it out. This eponymously titled debut album was recorded and released in 1969 and crafted the blueprint for the style that would make ARGENT one of those typical sounding rock bands of the 1970s much like bands like Mott The Hoople, Deep Purple and Rainbow, that being highly melodic songwriting with a hard rock gusto accompanied by adventurous organ rolls which is the key element that added them some prog kudos in certain circles but despite a few progressive accouterments finding their way into the mix, ARGENT was really about writing instantly catchy hits graced by the Rod Argent's excellently emotive vocal style.

For true progheads, ARGENT's debut isn't the place to begin and they should fast forward to the 1974 album "Nexus" but if really good classic 70s rock appeals to you then ARGENT's earliest albums including this debut are decent albums. While not a major success quite yet, this debut caught the attention of Three Dog Night who covered the band's single "LIar" and took it to the top 10. This was an admirable beginning as ARGENT was just getting it's bearings after reemerging from the ashes of The Zombies but the following albums would get stronger however if you want to comprehend the progression of the band then this debut album is by no means a waste of time, just not as strong as what came next.

3.5 rounded down

But in a strange, Poe's-Law way, Circus is, by definition, pretty good: after all, it does mimic 1970s concept albums without plagiarizing any single 1970s concept album.

There are also points on Circus where I wish the album had no vocals, or that the words were sung in some language I didn't understand. Musically, some of the compositions are good. For example, the melancholy 'Clown' might have said the proverbial thousand words without any words other than the title; conversely, the near-funk-fusion of 'Trapeze' is very good, but its 7/4 meter hardly evokes the motion, or any other aspect, of a trapeze. Actually, 'Trapeze' exemplifies a core problem of Circus: the concept has to be force-fit in places.

And then there are points on Circus, specifically on 'Shine on Sunshine' and 'Jester,' where the group seems to be genuinely trying to sound like Queen. Between these two songs is the semi-ambient synthesizer piece 'The Ring' - - go figure.

Circus is not a total calamity; 'Clown' and 'Trapeze' are pretty good when you look past the lyrics, for example. But I can't recommend it to anyone other than Argent enthusiasts, and I have to believe that they already have it. For everyone else, I'd suggest looking into some of the concept albums by Alan Parsons Project or Electric Light Orchestra.

If you listen to this album and their next one, "Ring of hands", you will hear a major difference. The follow up is packing a whole other punch and is by all account coloured by a real progressive flair that is great. On the debut they seem uncertain in which direction to go. The material is largely pop or (hard) rock but lacking in power. It's held back, thusly creating a sort of bland concoction of late 60's/ early 70's rock music with a hint of "hey, let's try prog or what do you think? Yes? No?"-attitude. There are songs that could have been more interesting if the band had felt more sure about their direction. "Be free" is such a a song, as is "Dance in the smoke" with the wonderfully warm organ of Rod Argent. But then songs like "Schoolgirl" or "Lonely hard road" harkens back to the shift from 60's blues/soul rock and pop into hard rock or prog of the 70's leaving the songs quite lacklustre an lost in translation.

I suppose it must be a challenge to totally redefine oneself, going from the R&B of The Zombies to explore new realms of music and by doing so be relevant to the new public ear of the early 70's. I see that and I acknowledge it. Considering the massive steps taken by the band on their second album one must view this as the dress rehearsal of the great band Argent. Not fully clothed, not fully in tune with the script or ideas that would emerge later on the fumbled through a set of songs that aren't bad but mostly dull. Sad to say, most of the music on this album fails to draw my attention. Having listened countless times I still find myself puzzled and un-moved by the content of the record. It's interesting mostly as a pre-cursor to what's coming but nothing more. This is like the few scattered huts on the seven hills of Rome, before they built a city and empire of powerful proportions. This is merely a hut but obviously competent and by no means rubbish. It's just not that good. It's not.