Argent - Greatest: The Singles Collection

The singles of an albums band

Good though much of Argent’s output was, it’s hard to escape the sense of disappointment when comparing their work to Rod Argent’s days with The Zombies. This compilation does little to remedy that view of the band, showing them caught somewhere between pop, rock and prog. They did, however, benefit from the songwriting talents of Russ Ballard, even if his songs were bigger hits for others (notably Rainbow) than for Argent themselves.

That said, the good stuff is good; the incisive pop/rock of Liar and Hold Your Head Up still grips, and the grittier Thunder & Lightning shows that the band could rock with the best of them. On the other hand, lush tracks such as Lothlorien and Pleasure, while pretty, fall somewhere between prog and pop, a little shallow for the former and too grandiose for the latter, although they display the band’s undoubted skill. Only a few more ambitious tracks, such as God Gave Rock and Roll To You, bring together the two strands of Argent’s work to create something special. A great cover of The Zombies’ classic Time Of The Season highlights the shortcomings elsewhere.

2 stars 2 stars

Varese Sarabande | 302 066880 2

Reviewed by William Pinfold
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