Argent - Nexus (1974 uk, fascinating art progressive rock, japan remaster)

"Nexus" is easily Argent's most progressive album. The three first tracks on the album are instrumental, keyboard-dominated progressive rock of a kind all of you will enjoy. Tons of Hammond, mellotron and moogs plays mighty and inspired themes. Very good. "Love" is a ballad that gets saved by a very pleasant mellotron arrangement. "Keeper of the Flame" is a nice symphonic track that for some unknown reason reminds me a little bit of Greenslade. "Thunder and Lightning" and "Gonna Meet My Maker" are more straightforward rock tracks. 

The El-piano dominated "Music from the Spheres" and "Man for All Reasons" is a little bit slick, but they're definitively not bad. The latter is kind of a progressive pop-track in the vein of Kayak. Argent's problem was that the two main songwriters in the band, Rod Argent and Russ Ballard, obviously had very different musical interests. Argent was the one who wrote the most progressive tunes while Ballard was much more hit-song oriented, resulting in a lack of musical profile. Anyway, most of their material is good and so is the performance too.