Argus

This album has been submitted by a user and is not included in any edition of the book.

Argus is the third album by the British rock band Wishbone Ash, released on 28 April 1972. It is their most commercially and critically successful album, peaking at No. 3 in the UK Albums Chart. Although not intended as a concept album, the album is Greek mythology-themed to a degree, particularly on the second side. The album features a blend of progressive rock, folk, and hard rock, and is considered a landmark album in the progression of twin-lead guitar harmonisation, later adopted by bands such as Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. The sound engineer on Argus was Martin Birch, who also worked with Deep Purple, later with Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and other hard rock bands. The bulk of the lyrics were provided by bassist/lead vocalist Martin Turner, although all members are credited with the music and arrangements. The album was produced by Derek Lawrence. The album cover was designed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey "Po" Powell of the album cover design company Hipgnosis, and it features a warrior overlooking a landscape at the Gorges du Verdon in Provence, France. The warrior's costume was borrowed from the wardrobe of Ken Russell’s 1971 film The Devils. Thorgerson and Powell had intended for the warrior to be holding a sword as well as a spear, and had rented the sword used in Roman Polanski's film Macbeth, also from 1971. However, while they were selecting a location for the shoot, the sword was stolen, so the photographs were taken without it. The person dressed as the warrior was an assistant at Hipgnosis, Bruce Atkins. It is rumoured that the warrior is the main inspiration for the character design of Darth Vader in Star Wars. Andy Powell acknowledged this rumour although he himself cannot confirm if it is true. The cover also prompted Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin to contact Hipgnosis and ask them to design the cover for their 1973 album Houses of the Holy.