The lengths of the songs are listed as they are on the CD: MCAD 10234.
(They are more "accurate" than the lengths mentioned in certain LPs).
It's a matter of taste, whether there really was need of another remaster. Can't hear anything that's better than on Martin Turner's remaster, but I hear things that are worse. Read on.
There are some "non-deluxe" features on this release:
Every group has an album that can be called their "epic". Argus is Wishbone Ash’s epic. Great songs that sum up to something even greater. The songs from Argus were the first Wishbone Ash songs I heard. The cassette I used for recording the songs from Finnish national radio wore out pretty soon, but luckily enough I’ve got some new versions of Argus. Every time I listen to the songs, I think all of them ought to be in my top ten Wishbone Ash song list.
After a peaceful acoustic intro the song bursts into speed. I still remember the impression these first songs gave me. "Here’s some guys playin’ in a way I like: fine solos and teamwork (=harmonies) at the same time. And I can ‘sense’ that they’re having fun while they play."
A song quite similar to "Time Was", but which one is better? After you’ve heard one of them it’s the better one. As a pair they support each other, so who’s to say which one is superior?
The obvious "hit" with the easy-to-remember D-major exercise. Andy Powell tells in the leaflet of Time Was/The Wishbone Ash Collection that he sometimes overhears fledgling guitarists try the riff in music shops while testing guitars. There's a dramatic finale in this song too.
One more of the evergreens of Argus. Ted’s solo in the beginning is something I always marvel; how seemingly easily he builds up the solo from small ever-changing parts. The quiet part in the middle is something I recognize noticing the first time I heard it; two guitars playing totally different melodies, but it works! These guys are geniuses!
My wife isn’t a big fan of Wishbone Ash when I play the songs too loud. When I play Leaf And Stream, she always says something like "That’s more like it". Well, it’s pretty and quiet compared to most of the songs in Argus. But the reason I like Wishbone Ash’s music is that it’s not predictable. Not only one style, but many styles. There has to be "quiet" moments and "loud" moments, that’s life.
One of the heaviest songs but not all through. There is a quiet passage too. The idea of the song is something that I respect: don’t take all the "bull" that’s offered. Take your stand!
One more song that made me "awaken" for Wishbone Ash. The multiple lead in the beginning starting with one guitar playing "the minors". Then there’s two guitars, the other playing "the majors" and more guitars... What an eye-opener for a young guy back in seventies. "You can do it that way too. There needn’t be one guitar hero and guys accompanying him..." There’s a Finnish TV-film melody (Myrskyluodon Maija) that has a passage reminding me of the solos in the beginning of Throw Down The Sword. Maybe Lasse Mårtenson had heard Wishbone Ash before he wrote his melody?
This single version differs a little from the Wishbone Four version. Possibly the song bears more truth in it than can be realized unless you’re a musician.
Written by: Rainer Frilund - Last update: Dec, 2007