ENCORE: LIVE IN CONCERT

Argent's place on this site, and within the greater prog community, has come under some scrutiny. But I think they certainly belong, as do Queen, Styx, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Crack The Sky and 10cc. With 'In Deep', 'Nexus' and 'Circus', you have Argent at its proggy best. This live album was recorded during the 'Nexus' era, and despite some great songs, it cannot be recommended to anyone but a devoted Argent listener. (ie. Don't start here!)

I hear a conservative approach in many of these performances. Even within stand-out tracks like "Music From The Spheres" and "I Am The Dance Of Ages", there seems to be a lack of momentum. This isn't helped by the rickety, thin recording job. Not one of the tracks improves on the studio version (though Rod Argent does add greatly to "The Coming Of Kohoutek" with a delicious variety of keyboard-generated layers). "It's Only Money" and "Thunder And Lightning" do possess a good degree of impact. But, with the lack of overall punch and the patchy recording job, it fails to achieve that rare status as a mandatory live album. Also worth noting is the incredibly dull second half: "I Don't Believe In Miracles", "Keep On Rollin'", "Hold Your Head Up" and "Time Of The Season". Studio or live, these songs aren't the best of Argent's output (I don't care if the last two songs were big hits!), so 'Encore' isn't necessary listening. But if you like the band enough, as I do, it's fairly easy to justify giving it a place in your collection.