ENCORE: LIVE IN CONCERT

This is one of those live albums where basically all the songs outshine their original studio versions. Encore is basically Argent's greatest hits, performed live with a bit more power and urgency - and with far more instrumental work out - than the original versions. Another example of such an album is Barclay James Harvest's Live.

There is a good balance here between Ballard and Argent compositions. For Prog fans the Argent compositions are probably the most interesting, being generally more progressive than Ballard's more straightforward rock 'n' roll numbers. But I feel that it is the counterpoint between the two elements that makes this album work so well.

As we all know Rod Argent used to be in The Zombies, and here we get a nice version of The Zombies' classic Time Of The Season. Good stuff!

The sound quality is generally quite good and the performance is properly recorded. Nothing annoying on that account.

Like Barclay James Harvest, Argent is not really an essential band for the Prog fan, but if you want anything by them in your collection, Encore is a very good choice. And this might well be all the Argent you'll ever need. Still, this album is hardly essential.