There is no doubt that—at least as far as I’ve heard in my slow progression through their discography—Wishbone Ash continued to grow with each release. Yet, with each step forward they took, it sometimes seemed like they stumbled backwards a little bit.
Argus, their third effort, finds them following this same pattern. They come out of the gate strong, but quickly this disc slides a bit; the music is still enjoyable, but there’s a sameness to the overall sound that causes the listener to push it to the background.
There’s no denying that the disc has many enjoyable moments, most often driven by the twin lead guitar attack of Ted Turner and Andy Powell, as well as the vocal work from bassist Martin Turner and Ted Turner. Songs like “Blowin’ Free” and “Time Was” capture some of their best guitar work to this stage in their careers; the former sounding like it was geared to invade the radio airwaves (and, in fact, would have made a great single).
But there’s something about stretching these seven tracks (at least on the original release—I’m focusing on this version for the review) as long as they do, with “Time Was” clocking in at nearly 10 minutes. Somewhere in this musical journey, quite simply, the plot is lost—and it’s not due to poor songwriting or musicianship. Honestly, it’s just that there’s not enough spontaneity to keep the listener hanging on to every note. So, while the end result is still pleasing enough on the ears, it’s sometimes hard to stay focused on the songs themselves.
The second half of the disc, with a little bit more of a medieval feel to the music (but not so much that it distorts what Wishbone Ash was all about at this stage in their career), is sometimes the hardest portion to get through. Again, it’s not that it’s unpleasant, but it doesn’t lock the listener in the same way tracks like “Time Was” can (though “The King Will Come” is a strong enough lead-in to the second side of the vinyl).
So where does this leave Argus? Like its predecessor Pilgrimage, it sometimes feels as if Wishbone Ash is trying too hard to conquer as many musical styles as they could. What starts out as a great musical idea is occasionally stretched a bit too thin, and the end result is a perfectly listenable, but occasionally forgettable, release. (I actually ended up listening to the first side about 10 times before I felt comfortable enough with the material to make any judgments on it.)
Argus is by no means a bad album, but it does smack of what could have been for Wishbone Ash.
