By 1972, Wishbone Ash had released their breakthrough album, Argus. With two albums before it, they had won the hearts of fans with the new album. Most still consider Argus as the gold standard for Wishbone Ash. But over the years, the band would adopt different styles for their subsequent sets. 2022 marks the 50th year mark for Argus, and the Anniversary is ready to be celebrated.
On April 14, a massive and well-deserved 50th Anniversary box is planned for Argus. It will house 3CDs, 2LPs, a 7″ single, and a DVD that will include French and Swiss footage including interviews with the band. The collection features the original Martin Turner remaster of Argus (sorry, folks…it may be possible that the original tapes were lost in the Universal fire) on CD with a new remaster for the vinyl LP, which is designed as a faithful replica of the original release. CD1 will add in four demo tracks (“Time Was”, “The King Will Come”, “Warrior”, “Throw Down The Sword”).
A second CD will feature Live At The Alexandra Palace – December 22, 1973 with 7 performance tracks and an end announcement. The third CD will provide the by now well-known Live In Memphis set but with 7 performance tracks from the August 21, 1972 radio broadcast.
A truncated set of picks make up a vinyl LP for the Live shows to be titled Argus Live. It will contain 5 tracks. A 7″ red vinyl single will contain “No Easy Road” and “Blowin’ Free” as the B-side. The DVD will offer 9 selections. The Box will pack in a 48-page book with note contributions from Martin Turner, Andy Powell, and Steve Upton along with photos and memorabilia related to Argus.
I’d love to see the same attention paid to select other WBA titles but recognize that this is the classic set beloved by all. You can pre-order here.
Argus (50th Anniversary Box) – Wishbone Ash
CD1 (Argus – Martin Turner Remaster)
01 Time Was
02 Sometime World
03 Blowin` Free
04 The King Will Come
05 Leaf And Stream
06 Warrior
07 Throw Down The Sword
Bonus Tracks – Demos
08 Time Was
09 The King Will Come
10 Warrior
11 Throw Down The Sword
CD2 (Live at Alexandra Palace – December 22, 1973)
01 Blowin’ Free
02 Jail Bait
03 No Easy Road
04 Baby What You Want Me To Do
05 Sometime World
06 The Pilgrim
07 Where Were You Tomorrow
08 End Announcement
CD3 (Live At Memphis Radio Broadcast – August 21, 1972)
01 Time Was
02 Blowin’ Free
03 Jail Bait
04 Warrior
05 The Pilgrim
06 Phoenix
07 Blind Eye
LP1 (Argus – New Remaster)
A
01 Time Was
02 Sometime World
03 Blowin’ Free
B
01 The King Will Come
02 Leaf And Stream
03 Warrior
04 Throw Down The Sword
LP2 (Argus Live)
A (Live At Alexandra Palace – December 22, 1973)
01 Blowin` Free
02 Sometime World
B (Memphis Radio Broadcast – August 21, 1972)
01 Time Was
02 Blowin` Free
03 Warrior
7″ Single – 1972
A No Easy Road
B Blowin’ Free
DVD
French TV INA – Live from the Rainbow – February 24, 1973
01 Blowin’ Free – Introduction
02 Backstage Interview 1
03 The Pilgrim
04 Backstage Interview 2
05 End of Phoenix
btb (RTS) Swiss – January 5, 1974
06 Jail Bait – Intro
07 Warrior
08 Blowin` Free
09 Snippet of Phoenix – Outtro