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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.
Let’s put this on and play a long and complicated board game
This sure seems like it should be on an albums to listen to before you die list… some amazing guitar work on here and a lot of sounds that I hear echoed in many artists that followed. I liked this quite a lot and it is definitely up there with the best of its era. The live from Memphis EP bonus tracks tacked on the end were also very very good. That the cover may have been the inspiration for Darth Vader is icing on a terrific cake!
Never heard this band before but I’m glad someone added it because this was some great prog rock. The twin lead guitar was real cool and didn’t know they were the leaders of it. Especially with it not being overly metal either. This is definitely an underrated 70s rock album that still has as much rock as some other well known ones. 7.3/10
Early prog rock album. I like the dual lead guitars, but the music and lyrics have not aged very well: it’s all a bit boring. “The King Will Come” and “Throw Down the Sword” are the best songs.
Surprisingly melodic prog-ish stuff. Surprised it isn't better known. A bit silly with all it's "warriors" kinda nonsense, but I guess it was the style at the time.
Enjoyed this very much. Didn't not ever hear of this band, so was a big surprise
I grew up with the music of the 60s and 70s, mostly classic rock and progressive rock. So how is it that I've never heard this? I've definitely heard of Wishbone Ash, but couldn't name a single song or album by them. This is really good! Fits in well with the music of the time. Excellent guitar playing, reminded me of Yes at times. 4 stars.
Clearly some foundational rock here, and no complaints - good signing, virtuoso guitar work (perhaps a little too tighly controlled, it never quite cuts loose). Lyrically much of its times and genre, which is Getty pretty creaky at this late date. Overall thought it very solid.
Wasn't looking forward to it as I was a bit 70s rocked out by this point, but it was very nicely done
I know of these guys. I can't remember for the life of me what they play, but I want to say prog? Yeah it's prog. It's cool. 4/5.
4 really good
Progressive rock, folk rock, hard rock. Me ha gustado. Un 4.
The end level boss of early 70s British prog - the folk and mythological influences, numerous overdubs, Storm Thorgerson artwork, and impenetrable lyrics are all present in abundance
First side's pretty good hard rock, but it really hits its stride on the second proggier side. Way cooler than I thought it would be. Also the album cover emanates an immaculate aura. 4/5.
Has a savvy and well-moderated sort of majesty and generally avoids overreaching (so not too proggy), while offering many pleasingly expansive riffs and grooves (so sufficiently proggy). The harmonies of the dual lead guitars work fabulously well, adding bracing richness and intriguing contours to the powerful melodies. "Time Was" is likably dreamy and sweeping in its reach, then goes a bit hard before segueing niftily into the slightly more contemplative (and lovely) "Sometime World," which then all-out explores Yes territory (mostly to good effect) with extensive and intricate (and non-embarrassing) solos. "Blowin Free" feels more jammy (with vaguely Southern rock overtones) than proggy. "Leaf and Stream" is thoughtful, haunting, shadowy. The "ancient Greek" cuts aren't exactly Homeric to one ear's (nor Hesiodic for that matter) but don't have to be because they're cool and interesting. One likes the stateliness of this record much better than their influencees – Thin Lizzy lacked this depth and maybe the Iron Maiden dude is confused about which band / record influenced him. It's more like Rush or Triumph (less the insistently shrill vocals). This would fit nicely on the list proper, especially if it replaced some of the non-essential prog (looking at you ELP).
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Sometime world, Warrior
the most classic of rock. reminds me a lot of Rush when they were in their earliest prog rock opera stages. Of course, Rush had a much better drum situation going on. I think this gets a lot of points for being fun/easy to listen to, and also for being somewhat foundational. But at the end of the day it doesn't really stand out against the wall of other early classic rock albums that we can access in 2025.
I thought this was quite good. In the landscape of early 70s rock, Wishbone Ash more or less holds its own, although perhaps is lacking the charisma of other, higher profile bands of the era. The musical talent is no joke though, with some particularly artful uses of dual lead guitars. Fave Songs: The King Will Come, Leaf and Stream, Time Was, Sometime World, Blowin' Free
This felt like a mashup of basically every 70s prog, psych, and art rock album I’ve ever listened to. Either they influenced everybody or stole from literally every other rock artist.
I found this quite enjoyable. The last track was way too long but other than that it was a nice listen.
Very 70’s classic rock, didn’t mind this, but also not one I’ll rush back to, I’m sure it hit differently in the 70’s
A solid prog album with some very pretty moments and generally really good playing, but nothing quite catchy or technically impressive enough to make its mark
Just standard prog. Counted a nice little 7/8 bit but nothing stuck around after I finished.
This may have been groundbreaking at the time, but now it sounds like standard progrock
Kinda slays
Really, really nice.
Despite how close this gets to sounding like Yes (one of my fav Prog bands) at times, the overall impact here isn't doing much for me. There's some seriously impressive instrumental work at play, but the guitar ends up sounding more noodly/overplayed as it strays into 70s' rock solo territory. There's an internal logic to good prog where every instrument contributes to the whole, and this one is just off-balance enough to feel more tired classic rock than foundational LP.