ARGUS

[ej makepeace]

Think the live versions of tales of the wise on bona fide ,hamburg and 40 really stand out
and are on a latter day par with the evergreen phoenix and really show how proficient and accomplished the
band have become the song has a certain maturity about it!

[prettyearlyAshfan]

I think I found the right place here to ask why there is no flying saucer on the cover art of the 1991 mca release or the 2002 mca "remaster" cd's, I have both and I remember the saucer on the cover of my vinyl lp back in the early seventie's.

The flying saucer adds a very cool element of science fiction to the overall image and should still be there in the cover artwork of all reissues of this great album.

[ashhq]

Hi PEAF,

I entirely agree. Don't expect large record labels to exactly know what they are doing with a band 's history, artwork, recordings, and so on. They try but can fail. The original people that worked closely with us on projects like Argus, are all long gone. Often the fans are way more clued in than a new crop of employees. . This issue being case in point. I must admit though, it takes a certain willfulness to miss off the flying saucer - it is part of the story of the cover art, for God's sake. Could it have been a subversive plot by someone?

~ A.P.

I think I found the right place here to ask why there is no flying saucer on the cover art of the 1991 mca release or the 2002 mca "remaster" cd's, I have both and I remember the saucer on the cover of my vinyl lp back in the early seventie's.

The flying saucer adds a very cool element of science fiction to the overall image and should still be there in the cover artwork of all reissues of this great album.

[ej makepeace]

The invaders are here-Alien beings from a dying planet-David Vincent has seen them.

[prettyearlyAshfan]

Thank You AshHq for responding to and answering my question. I'm refurbishing my Wishbone Ash cd collection with later remasters having purchased the 2002 expanded MCA Argus, The BGO remaster selftitled 1st album 1994
The MCA There's The Rub/Locked In 1994(for Locked In) The 1998 BGO New England/Front Page News.
The Japanese remaster MCA 2001 There's The Rub (The best I've heard!) From Ebay I have coming the Japanese minilp Pilgrimage The Japanese minilp New England and last but not least The Japanese minilp Wishbone Four and BGO's Live Dates remaster. Hopefully they are not boots (New England, Wishbone Four)Pilgrimage isn't for sure.

Cheers from Connecticut, anybody remember Gerosa Records ? thats where I got Strange Affair, Hear to Here and Noveau Calls, back in the 90's

[Rainer Frilund]

...it takes a certain willfulness to miss off the flying saucer ...

Or maybe not. The gamut (=the range of colours
a printing device can produce) of a standard printing
press is limited when it comes to light colours.
If all of the cover is printed in relatively light
colours, the UFO may not be separable by the
printing device.

So you need a good source file, a good printing
device and people being aware that a UFO should
be seen on the back cover. Then they can "tweak"
the UFO visible.

BTW, There are old LP printings where the UFO
can hardly be seen and also some very dark printings
where the UFO stands out "too much". Also: the
very first CD release of Argus missed the UFO.

- - -

P.S.
For the US citizens: read "colours" as "colors"

[french fan]

Seems like there are no dueling guitars on Throw Down The Sword. These are two Andy Powell solos mixed together. However I've always wondered if the track could be played live the same way as it is suggested on the studio album, with both two guitars dueling together. Maybe Andy Powell has an advice about that ?

...and let's not forget John Tout's understated organ on TDTS, which added just enough background ambience to the dueling guitars!

[ej makepeace]

Seem to recall that AP once said that the solo (2nd passage) on Sometime World was the longest
one he had ever played.Argus expanded to me sounds different from the original cd,especially
Time Was,seem to have brought new sounds forward,mind you i have been listening to
Warrior for 38 years and i still hear something new everytime.One thing that always
puzzles me is that in vinyl days No Easy Road was on Wishbone Four but is now also on Argus
in cd form?Or is it a bonus track?

[Nizzy]

The single version was tagged on the end of the original Argus CD issue.

[fr21555]

The Argus album always conjures up a lot of emotion with Ash fans and it should. Even the people I mention the band to, who I usually expect a "who?" out of, seem to always mention this one, or Live Dates.

It was, for me somewhat of a double bonus, as I had just really gotten into the band with Pilgrimage and Argus had just been released in the USA. Both albums were relatively new to me at that point. I was constantly bouncing between the two but knew even then that there was a progression going on.

Without doubt, TKWC is still the ONE song I revere above all. The imagery and musical mood, the lyrics all come together. There are no weak songs in the set- just a complete thought all the way through, with a theme of longing, searching and reconciliation running along.

I have the opinion the reason it resonates so much with us are the stages of life are largely represented in the songs. You can easily find the threads of your youth (rebellion, yearning, loss, desire), your mid-life (meaning, purpose, faith, truth) and later years (memory, reflection, regret, joy) all coming together here.

Like a lot of the band's music, it provokes thought, invites examination and it inspires.