Customer Reviews

All Together Now

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With the 1972 release of "All Together Now," Argent achieved a wider degree of fame and commercial success, thanks in no small part to the hit "Hold Your Head Up." More than thirty years later, the song remains a FM radio classic, thanks to its catchy guitar riff, marching rhythm, a great organ solo by Rod Argent that ranks up there with anything Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman ever did, and a memorable, anthemic chorus that sticks in your head long after the song finishes.

While not as musically consistent as the first two albums "Argent" and "Ring of Hands," "All Together Now" compensates for this flaw by displaying the stylistic diversity that made Argent an interesting progressive rock band. Tunes such as "Keep On Rollin'," "He's a Dynamo" and "Be My Lover, Be My Friend" reflect Rod Argent's and guitarist/vocalist Russ Ballard's ability to write, play and sing rock 'n' roll as energetic as anything that bands such as the Faces and Humble Pie were putting out then. Whatever is lost in authenticity is compensated for with verve and professionalism. Ballard, in particular, sings his heart out on his own compositions, "Tragedy" and "He's a Dynamo," injecting quite a dose of passion to them.

For the most part, Argent's progressive rock excursions "I Am the Dance of Ages" and "Pure Love" are, if nothing else, listenable and enjoyable. The latter is an album highlight, providing (Rod) Argent the opportunity to write a cohesive multi-part suite ranging from a lengthy-but-engaging organ solo to a plodding waltz-style heavy rock section.

"All Together Now" represents a high point of Argent's discography, an album that displays the stylistic diversity that made them one of the more interesting progressive rock groups of the '70s. Everything is here, from great songs to excellent musicianship.

"All Together Now" spawned Argent's biggest hit, "Hold Your Head Up." The combination of anthemic guitar riffing, explorative organ solos and a stomping rhythm section makes the song such an appealing hit.

This album has been characterized as germinating the seeds of the split between Rod Argent and Russ Ballard, as Argent began leaning towards a prog-rock approach and Ballard emphazising concise, hard-rocking hit songs from this point on. But on "All Together Now," these two guys actually complement each other somewhat, as the overall feel of this album is of a professional roots-rock approach, thanks to songs like the boogie-woogie "Keep On Rollin'" and the boogie rockin' "He's a Dynamo." There are some prog-rock excursions on "I am the Dance of Ages" and the suite "Pure Love." Both tunes are, if nothing else, interesting and enjoyable.

"All Together Now" may not be as stylistically consistent as the first two albums, "Argent and "Ring of Hands." But it's not bad enough to be passed on. A worthwile album to own.

"All Together Now" has some great moments, like the big hit "Hold Your Head Up" and "Tragedy." But this album doesn't have any sort of musical consistency in comparison to the first two Argent albums, "Argent" and "Ring of Hands." Nevertheless, the songs work due to the craft put into them by Rod Argent/Chris White and Russ Ballard, and this renders the album listenable for the most part. Sure, there are some overreaching prog-rock tendencies, such as parts of the "Pure Love" suite, but as a whole, "All Together Now" is another high point in Argent's discography.

Sony Japan has just released the entire Argent Epic Records seven-disc catalog ("Counterpoints" was on a different label) in remastered, mini-LP sleeve format.

The 2008 Sony DSD-processed remastering trumps all previous releases, including the BGO, Edsel, Koch & Acadia-label CD's, not to mention the pathetic-sounding Collectables and Wounded Bird discs.

It is wonderful to finally have the primary Argent repertoire in dynamically-matched sound, as all the different releases (from the plethora of labels mentioned above) had varying audio levels, not to mention quality.

And, as always, the `sleeves themselves are fabulous, all being faithful replicas of the original gatefold LP record covers (except for "Nexus", which was a single-pocket LP design).

Unfortunately, however, Sony did not include two non-album tracks, "Kingdom", and "Closer To Heaven", which appeared on the "All Together Now" 2001-Koch & 2007-Acadia releases.

Curiously, though, Koch & Acadia also included as "bonus" tracks, songs that originally belonged to other Argent albums. These all appear in their proper place on the 2008 Japan releases.

Here are the links to the 2008 `sleeves:

Argent
Ring Of Hands
All Together Now
In Deep
Nexus
Encore
Circus

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

I was trying to get hold of a copy of this for quite a while and the prices were amazing there for a while, but patience pays and I now have it in my collection, and very glad to welcome the cd version. They had a special niche of their own back when this came out, and are another band I cannot think of a comparison for. A couple of tracks are a tad less inspired, but it represents an era in which they were right up front with guts and not being afraid to try out a few different ideas.. perhaps Queen listened to these guys a bit before they hit the scene big time!?!

This album was OOP for several years, but has been re-released with virtually identical mastering, and is available new for less than half the price this edition goes for used.

This disc does have three additional tracks that are not on the new disc, but those same songs are available elsewhere in the current Argent CD catalog.

I have written an audio comparison of the two discs and posted it on the new version.

Link to the 2007, less-expensive re-released version of All Together Now.

JULY 2008 UPDATE:

Sony Japan has just released the entire Argent catalog in the guise of remastered mini-LP sleeves.

The 2008 DSD-processing on these titles is superior to all previous remastered releases, including the Edsel, Koch & Acadia-label releases, not to mention the pathetic-sounding Collectables discs.

Unfortunately, however, Sony missed a few bonus tracks which appeared on the two prior "All Together Now" Koch & Acadia releases, "Kingdom", and "Closer To Heaven", of particular note.

Here are the links to the 2008 mini-sleeves:

Argent
Ring Of Hands
All Together Now
In Deep
Nexus
Encore
Circus

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

Certainly not their best album, All Together Now contains the '72 hit, Hold Your Head Up - which is probably this CD's sole reason for existing. The album on the whole is an uncoordinated hodge-podge of musical styles, and certainly doesn't measure up to the outstanding first two albums, Argent and Ring Of Hands (which amazingly do not exist on CD in the U.S.). In fact, it's the inclusion of several digitally remastered Ring Of Hands-era bonus cuts that makes this release worth having.

Owned this album back in 1972,(12"vynil)-long since lost track of it over the years,shifting house,etc. Great to hear it again after all this time! They sound as good now as they did back then-they don't make bands like this anymore!(More's the pity!) Youngsters nowadays with their boybands,reggae,hip-hop etc. don't know what they're missing!

ROD ARGENT AT HIS BEST. THE SONGS ARE OUTSTANDING, AND SO WHAT IF THERE WAS A RADIO HIT IN THE ALBUM? RUSS BALLARD REALLY LAYS MUSICAL MAGIC ALL OVER THE WHOLE WORKS, BUT R. ARGENT'S ORGAN AND PIANO WORK IS WHAT MAKES THIS WHOLE EFFORT TICK. IT'S A SHAME THAT THIS BAND BROKE UP.

Best known for the teen anthem, "HOLD YOUR HEAD UP', this seems like band without direction. Sort of a combination Pink Floyd, Redeye, ELP, The Boston Pops,... Another worthwhile tune is "Tragedy", which sounds great in surroundsound. But a band oughta have a theme. And this one doesn't. At least it doesn't show here.