Search - Argent :: Nexus

Taking you back

Jerry Fry | Freeman, MO USA | 08/12/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'd say a 4 rating is rather generous for this album but 2 or 3 of the songs on it rate a 5. All I ever knew about Argent until I bought Nexus on 8 track around 28 years ago was the song "Hold your Head up". I had a little extra money and took a chance on "Nexus". There are some great keyboards here, especially on "Thunder & Lightning". "Gonna Meet My Maker" is also worth getting this CD for. In fact, for years all I've had is the album. I didn't find the CD till now. The picture on the album is better, but what the hey, you can't have everything. "Music From the Spheres" has a beautiful ending, the keyboard playing by Argent is stupendous. Listen to this song when your driving around in the winter, on a cold sunny day near sunset, with snow around but not on the roads. It's a winner."

This album is a Great underated album

Jeffrey J.Park | 01/16/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm only 16 and can appreciate this album. The musicianship in this band is not only great, but also the songwriting. One of my favourites is Music From the Spheres and Coming of Kohoutek. Any Argent fan needs this."

Great synthesizer-heavy progressive hard rock

Jeffrey J.Park | Massachusetts, USA | 12/04/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Released in 1974, this album moved Argent closer to the realm of progressive rock. Stylistically, the nine pieces fuse elements of the progressive rock style (virtuosity, classical form and structure) with thunderous hard rock to make a very enjoyable listening experience. The first three instrumental tracks form a lengthy suite that features the Hammond organ work of superb keyboardist Rod Argent, along with sweeping pipe organ parts, some excellent mellotron and piano work, and the use of loads of synthesizers (they sound mostly like moog synthesizers). In fact, synthesizers are used extensively throughout the entire album. The guitarist alternately uses clean tones and slightly distorted tones, and can be characterized as a fairly heavy player while the rhythm section is tight and extremely heavy. The quiet, mellotron-drenched ballad Love was written by Russ Ballard and provides a nice contrast to the opening prog extravaganza and really is a very nice composition. The remaining five tracks range from tightly arranged, sophisticated progressive hard rock pieces (Music of the Spheres, Keeper of the Flame, and A Man for all Reasons) to hard rock pieces complete with an aggressive, "hard rock" vocal style (Thunder and Lightning and Gonna' Meet my Maker). Of these five tracks, the 8'07" Music of the Spheres features a ripping, jazz inflected electric piano solo with superb contributions by the other band members and is a personal favorite. Other great tracks include Keeper of the Flame and A Man for all Reasons, which both feature more prog than hard rock. The follow-up to Nexus was the Circus album released in 1975, which exhibits slightly more of the progressive rock style than Nexus. For those folks that like Nexus, Song for America (Kansas, 1975) and Hemispheres (Rush, 1978) might also prove enjoyable."