Argus

Artist: Wishbone Ash
Label: Mca
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 008811023423
EAN: 0008811023423
ASIN: B000002OG8

Release Date: 1991-04-23

Argus

Related Categories:

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock

| Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock

| Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock

| Pop | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR)

| Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Time Was
Sometime World
Blowin' Free
The King Will Come
Leaf And Stream
Warrior
Throw Down The Sword
No Easy Road

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Pilgrimage
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Customer Reviews:

An exciting and creative album of hard rock .......2007-04-15

Interestingly enough, my first exposure to this great album was through the Supernatural Fairytales progressive rock box set put out by Rhino. The track presented on the box set was Warrior, an imaginative bit of hard rock that sounded "proggy enough" that my curiosity was piqued and I picked this album up. All in all, Argus (1972) is an excellent concept album of hard rock that features some great playing and features creative arrangements.

The lineup on the album included Steve Upton (drums and percussion); Martin Turner (Gibson Thunderbird bass guitar); Andy Powell (electric and acoustic guitars); and Ted Turner (electric and acoustic guitars). Much to my surprise (and delight) John Tout of English progressive rock group Renaissance played a very "churchy" sounding Hammond organ on Throw down the Sword (although I swear that I heard a tiny bit of mellotron buried in there somewhere as well). The guys are all great musicians and are capable of jamming pretty intensely. I especially like the aggressive and trebly sound that Martin gets out of his Gibson - in fact it reminds me a great deal of the sound John Entwistle would get. As a side note, Wishbone Ash had supported The Who on a few occasions, and their influence is felt on a few tracks (particularly Time Was, which would not have been out of place on Who's Next (1971)). The twin lead guitar work is also great and a pleasant change of pace for me - as a progger I am used to hearing leads played on synthesizers or just a single lead guitar (two guitarists were highly unusual for most prog bands).

The music on Argus is a great blend of hard rock jamming, nice acoustic passages, and thoughtful arrangements. Dynamics are used pretty effectively and the quieter pieces balance the heavier tracks nicely. The vocal melodies are also excellent and really contribute a great deal to the album, which seems to be arranged in a song-cycle suite of sorts.

This remastered album features great sound quality and loads of liner notes. The bonus tracks are all excellent although my favorite is 10'10" proggy workout entitled The Pilgrim - this is a fantastic track that features some intricate ensemble work and great playing by the entire band. Another fun track is the high energy jam on the 17'05" Phoenix. Apparently, the three bonus tracks were taken from an August 21, 1972 concert in Memphis, Tennessee, USA and were released as a limited edition promotional album.

All in all, a great album of hard rock by this English band that is creative enough that it makes for a very enjoyable listening experience.

Simply The Best.......2007-03-13

Argus is Wishbone Ashes masterpiece. They never bettered it. The best example I know of for crystal clear twin-lead (Gibson ans Fender) guitars-way ahead of it's time. Their vocals also never sounded better. One of life's mysteries is why The Ash never continued in this direction? They followed up with 'Wishbone Four', which is great, but pales next to this gem. Every home should have a copy. Over the years I have had 3 LPs, 2 tapes, 2 eight-track tapes (wore them all out. I had the older master of the cd, now I have this remixed cd and it is absolutely stunnig in clarity----Bravo! Buy it, you need it--pioneering English rock from the early seventies.

Too 1970's..........2006-12-06

I was tipped off to Wishbone Ash from an article I read about Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) who credited this band as being one of his earliest and biggest influences.

I bought their self titled debut album and this one from Amazon based on that article and also because both of these albums were well received by reviewers.

Maybe I read too much into the article or perhaps this was just another spur of the moment purchase, but I think these albums would better suit 1970's rock fans per se i.e. a fan of the period than those who prefer the harder style of rock that would emerge from the mid to late 1970's.

The album does have its moments, and there are some really nice melodies and some nice guitar/bass work, but it too often drifts into that very early "happy happy" 1970's sound that marked the transition from the 1960s to the 1970's.

I guess that should be expected, since this album was released only two years into the turbulent new decade at the close of the flower power hippie period.

The use of the twin guitars a noteworthy feature, since this band is also credited as an early pioneer of this style of rock. The bass is unusually active for this period and doesn't just settle for simple changes, which would make sense, since they did influence Steve Harris after all.

I prefer this album to their debut, but it does make me think of an English version of the Eagles if there ever was such a thing. Not that that is a bad thing.

I am a fan of 1970's rock and I think this decade produced some fantastic guitar/bass rock, but this is just a little too 70's for my tastes.

If you are new to Wishbone Ash as I am, but are basically a hard rock/metal fan at heart, try looking for MP3 versions on the web and just test drive one or two songs before you decide on buying a complete album.

Wishbone's BEST.......2006-11-10

The album "Argus" by Wishbone Ash is by far their best studio album they ever produced. Every song, except maybe "Leaf and Stream" is a beautifully crafted 'artsy" rock style. Somewhat similar to Pink Floyd or Steely Dan, only with much more guitars. With the addition of their awesome song "Phoenix" added to this remastered & revisited cd, this is defintily a WishBone Ash essential cd. Favorite picks are "Sometimes World" and "Blowing Free". Can't go wrong with this CD

MUCH Better Sound Quality than the Original.......2006-09-02

Finally; and what a pleasant surprise. 30 years ago I was introduced to this great album while living in England. Heard it in pubs, on university student stereos - was never really aware of the sound quality issues.

A few years later, bought the LP here in the States. Still a great album, obviously, but the sound quality was mung. Muddy, rolled-off treble, boomy bass.....First time I was playing it on good equipment, and - well, it was disappointing.

The original CD release did not, of course, improve the situation at all.

BUT, now, finally, on this Remaster, the sound quality has really been vastly improved. And the 3 bonus tracks (live) at the end are excellent additions - not just filler.

If you've liked or loved or heard great things about this terrific album, invest a few bucks to get this new Remaster. It's MUCH better than any previous release, INCLUDING the vinyl.

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Fenix ~ Gato Barbieri

Redux 1978 ~ Hal Galper

Algo Nuestro (Our Thing) ~ Charlie Sepulveda

KHIH 95.7: Smooth Jazz Colorado Style, Vol. III ~ Various Artists

Best of Marcus Miller ~ Marcus Miller

Meisterstucke ~ Caterina Valente

Baby Running Wild ~ Lead

Our Beautiful Garden Is Open ~ Sephardic Tinge

Miragem ~ Grupo Perfil

En Vivo ~ Ivan Lins, Chucho Valdes, Irakere