Argent was formed by Rod Argent and Chris White who were in The Zombies. Rod along with guitarist Russ Ballard and Robert Henrit and Jim Rodford on drums and bass formed the band in 1969. White would produce their records and co-write songs with Argent. Ballard also wrote songs, his were more Rock while the Argent/White songs were more of a Progressive sound. The first I heard of Argent was their 1972 hit “Hold Your Head Up” from their third album which I bought at the time. The two earlier records I would buy in the next year or so. I have 5 of their records that I listened to in 2019, pre-blog. I will listen to some of them now starting with Ring Of Hands from early 1971. This is my favorite record of theirs with their first just a little behind. “Celebration”, the first track is a short Pop song with good three part harmony, this is followed by the Bluesy “Sweet Mary” written by Ballard. “Cast Your Spell Uranus” is where Argent’s organ is first heard along with electric piano. “Lothlorien” at nearly 8 minutes is the most Progressive song on the record again featuring Argent’s organ with a long solo at the end. A great side one but side two is even better. “Chained” is another Russ Ballard rocker and was covered by Three Dog Night. There’s a little jam with Ballard’s guitar and electric piano in the middle. “Rejoice” is a mellow song that opens and closes with some Classical melodies played on the organ. “Pleasure” is another more mellow song with good harmonies and more organ and piano. “Sleep Won’t Help Me” has a mysterious dreamy sound to it with an electric piano solo. “Where Are We Going Wrong” another one written and sung by Ballard. This one has a long piano solo with some guitar. A really great early 70’s record, and do I have to say it? It sounds very good for a 50 year old record with no skips and not much in the way of crackles and pops.