Nexus [Import]

nexus [import]

Track Listings

1. Coming of Kohoutek [Instrumental]

2. Once Around the Sun [Instrumental]

3. Infinite Wanderer

4. Love

5. Music from the Spheres

6. Thunder and Lightning

7. Keeper of the Flame

8. Man for All Reasons

9. Gonna Meet My Maker

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
1998 reissue on Columbia of the original 1974 release for the label by Rod Argent's post-Zombies' band. Features all nine original tracks, including 'The Coming Of Kohoutek' and'Once Around The Sun'.

Nexus,Argent,Sbme Import,Album Rock,Pop,Pop/Rock,Prog-Rock/Art Rock,Rock,Rock/Pop

Nexus [Import]

Average customer rating:

Great synthesizer-heavy progressive hard rock
This album is a Great underated album
Taking you back
One of Argent's Best!!
Argent cracks under schizoid musical peronality.

Nexus
Argent
Manufacturer: Sbme Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000007WDR
Release Date: 2001-04-10

Tracks:

Coming of Kohoutek [Instrumental]
Once Around the Sun [Instrumental]
Infinite Wanderer
Love
Music from the Spheres
Thunder and Lightning
Keeper of the Flame
Man for All Reasons
Gonna Meet My Maker

Album Description

1998 reissue on Columbia of the original 1974 release for the label by Rod Argent's post-Zombies' band. Features all nine original tracks, including 'The Coming Of Kohoutek' and'Once Around The Sun'.

Album Details

The Fifth CD from Rod Argent's Band who Formed after the Split of the Zombies in the 60's. Originally Released in 1974.

Customer Reviews:

Great synthesizer-heavy progressive hard rock .......2005-12-04

Released in 1974, this album moved Argent closer to the realm of progressive rock. Stylistically, the nine pieces fuse elements of the progressive rock style (virtuosity, classical form and structure) with thunderous hard rock to make a very enjoyable listening experience. The first three instrumental tracks form a lengthy suite that features the Hammond organ work of superb keyboardist Rod Argent, along with sweeping pipe organ parts, some excellent mellotron and piano work, and the use of loads of synthesizers (they sound mostly like moog synthesizers). In fact, synthesizers are used extensively throughout the entire album. The guitarist alternately uses clean tones and slightly distorted tones, and can be characterized as a fairly heavy player while the rhythm section is tight and extremely heavy. The quiet, mellotron-drenched ballad Love was written by Russ Ballard and provides a nice contrast to the opening prog extravaganza and really is a very nice composition. The remaining five tracks range from tightly arranged, sophisticated progressive hard rock pieces (Music of the Spheres, Keeper of the Flame, and A Man for all Reasons) to hard rock pieces complete with an aggressive, "hard rock" vocal style (Thunder and Lightning and Gonna' Meet my Maker). Of these five tracks, the 8'07" Music of the Spheres features a ripping, jazz inflected electric piano solo with superb contributions by the other band members and is a personal favorite. Other great tracks include Keeper of the Flame and A Man for all Reasons, which both feature more prog than hard rock. The follow-up to Nexus was the Circus album released in 1975, which exhibits slightly more of the progressive rock style than Nexus. For those folks that like Nexus, Song for America (Kansas, 1975) and Hemispheres (Rush, 1978) might also prove enjoyable.

This album is a Great underated album.......2003-01-16

I'm only 16 and can appreciate this album. The musicianship in this band is not only great, but also the songwriting. One of my favourites is Music From the Spheres and Coming of Kohoutek. Any Argent fan needs this.

Taking you back.......2002-08-13

I'd say a 4 rating is rather generous for this album but 2 or 3 of the songs on it rate a 5. All I ever knew about Argent until I bought Nexus on 8 track around 28 years ago was the song "Hold your Head up". I had a little extra money and took a chance on "Nexus". There are some great keyboards here, especially on "Thunder & Lightning". "Gonna Meet My Maker" is also worth getting this CD for. In fact, for years all I've had is the album. I didn't find the CD till now. The picture on the album is better, but what the hey, you can't have everything. "Music From the Spheres" has a beautiful ending, the keyboard playing by Argent is stupendous. Listen to this song when your driving around in the winter, on a cold sunny day near sunset, with snow around but not on the roads. It's a winner.

One of Argent's Best!!.......2001-08-25

This album is great. Argent was not headed in the wrong direction, it just wasn't a commerical success...Music From the Spheres is a fantastic song, well worth the price of the CD. It may be their best song, if it isn't it is probably only second to Hold Your Head Up. Unless something on a release after this is better (I've heard that Circus is excellent)...I haven't heard the subsequent releases but of all of the prior ones I think this album is the best overall. Closely followed by All Together and Ring of Hands... Besides Music from the Spheres, Thunder and Lightning and Keeper of the Flame are noteworthy tracks here . Coming of Kohoutek/Once Around the Sun starts of this brilliant album. It will not turn off progrock lovers. Not one bit. Lots of cool synths and good sound quality. If you aren't a progrock fan, maybe this isn't for you, else, go for it!

Argent cracks under schizoid musical peronality........1999-10-09

To be a progressive rock band or not to be a progressive rock band? This was the question haunting Argent from the band's inception. With Rod Argent's classical keyboard leanings alongside guitarist Russ Ballard's commercial R&B rockers, the band actually pulled off this rather schizioid musical personality for a few years. But by '74's Nexus, it was clear that this group was due for a musical nervous breakdown. With Rod Argent lugging mellotrons and synths into the studio (ala Rick Wakeman) for the multi-part The Coming Of Kohoutek, one can almost picture Ballard sprinting for the back door. As expected, Ballard quit after this album, giving Rod Argent the green light to take the band even deeper into prog-rock nirvana. But after two commercially unsuccessful prog-like albums, Circus and Counterpoints (both unavailable on CD) Rod decided to call it a day and put the whole Argent controversy to rest once and for all. The music world of that era could now rest easy.

Average customer rating:

Disappointment
New classic songs
Breathtaking

Nexus
Barclay James Harvest
Manufacturer: Import [Generic]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

British Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000IK1U
Release Date: 2002-10-01

Tracks:

Festival!
Iron Maiden
Brave New World
Hors d'Oeuvre
Mocking Bird
Sitting Upon a Chair
Hymn
Devils That I Keep
Titles
Float
Loving Is Easy
Star Bright

Album Description

1999 album from the English folk/ prog veterans. 12 new original tracks. Sarah Pickering sings on the cut 'Hymn'; Ian Brownbill plays cornet on the song 'Mocking Bird'.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointment.......2001-08-21

I'm a fan of their music since late seventies, but after hear this album I understood they're reached the end of the line. The guys have no more things to say or songs to play.Different of the two rewiewers above, this album has no bright, no magic, no heart and no passion inside like 'CAUGHT OF THE LIGHT, RINGS OF CHANGE, WELCOME TO THE SHOW, EVERYONE IS EVERYBODY ELSE and so many others that I had a chance to save in my collection, it's too much weak and poor, and let a feeling it was released only to try to take a last air breath before the death. If TURN OF THE TIDE and FACE TO FACE were not good enough for BJH fans, NEXUS it's not only a very bad album, but one of the worst that were released in the last decade. It's a pity but,no more BJH please, they were one of the best prog/pop groups in the world and always be remebered, but let the guys rest in peace, it's good for them and it will be better for us.

New classic songs.......1999-09-11

«Nexus» is a very important recording for the fans of Barclay James Harvest but also for new listeners. Eventough it is seen through the eyes of John Lees it is a real BJH-album. The good news is the cooperation between him and Wooly Wolstenholme, who left the group nearly 20 years ago for a another career. And it works very well on this album, that have a very strong line and strength between the songs. And this is remarkable, because seven songs are new and five are old. But the songs work very well together, and it is very interesting to hear the new versions of the old songs. Especially the very beautiful «Hymn» from the 1977 album «Gone to Earth». In that album the group used acoustic guitars for the instrumentation, but in «Nexus» the version is mainly with keyboard. But it sounds very good and has a very good developing, rising to the final crescendo. And the characteristic voice of John is clear and bright. Also «Mocking Bird» has reached a nice and mature form, and the duet between John and Wooly is very good. «The Iron Maiden», «Titles» and «Loving is Easy» are all very well mixed and of high quality. But the new material is a real gift and stroked me. This are songs of mature men who have developed their level of reflection in their lives and they have written good and partly deep new texts. There are not simple lovesongs, but texts with a good level. The opening «Festival» is very interesting in the instrumentation, alltough this is the song I liked less. The refrain does not function, it lacks something. «Brave new World» contents a view back and shows the reflection I mentioned. The final piano and drums ends the song in a good way. After the song a nice little instrumental piece «Hors d'Oeuvre» constructs a solid bridge to «Mocking Bird». «Sitting upon a Shelf» was directly my personal favorite, because it describes a desperate situation in a persons life, where the limit to insanity are close and it gives some reminder of personal experiences. The voice in the song and the instrumentation gives the content strength and credibility. «The Devils that I keep» is in the same line of selfreflection. The voice of Wooly is working very good in this song and is very convincing. «Float» holds the strength and has a nice instrumental introduction and a beautiful refrain. And the final «Star Bright» is John on the best. It is probably the best song in quality and wholeness. Everything works perfect, the voice of John, the instrumentation, especially Johns sologuitar. «Nexus» is a musthave and demonstrates the high musical quality of rockmusicians who are more that 30 years in the game and are able to produce future classics and are still enriching the world of music. I dearly hope, that we will get a the next BJH-album not only with Wooly and John but also with the two other group members Mel Pritchard and Les Holroyd.

Breathtaking.......1999-05-28

John Lees got his friend and former BJH keyboard player Woolly Wolstenholme out of the Welsh valleys to create this album. Woolly hadn't made any music for nearly twenty years, but boy, when it came it was worth the wait. The album is a mix of 6 BJH classics re-recorded with new arrangements, and 6 new songs that are Lees/Wolstenholme collaborations. Of the re-recordings, "Mockingbird" is perhaps the best version ever with an awesome orchestral rendering that is powerful without suffering the sentimentality of previous versions whilst "Loving Is Easy" benefits from some wonderful harmonica from Woolly and a nice bluesy feel. There are also very nice versions of "Hymn" and "The Iron Maiden". Of the new songs, "Float" is for Wolstenholme lovers (like "Sunday Bells" or "Maestoso"), and album closer "Starbright" is perhaps the most beautiful Lees song ever (the guitar solo is similar to "After The Day"). Every song is a winner. The album is selling very well in the wake of a very successful European tour, and was a huge hit with BJH fans.

The album would appeal very much to fans of "Everyone is Everybody Else", "Once Again", "Octoberon" or "XII".

Well arranged, mature, beautiful, thought provoking. Classic BJH.

Harlan Cage; Harlan Cage +1 [Japan Import]
Average customer rating:
Harlan Cage; Harlan Cage +1 [Japan Import]

Manufacturer: NEXUS
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0007YUZ5E

Rock Music:

Rock Music

rock music