Out of the ashes of The Zombies came Argent, the band named for keyboardist-singer Rod and also featuring ex-Zombie Chris White as a behind-the-scenes songwriter and producer.  Joining Rod in the line-up proper was his cousin Jim Rodford on bass, Bob Henrit on drums, and Russ Ballard on guitar and vocals.  While Argent only lasted for seven studio albums and one live set between 1969 and 1975, their major hits - "Hold Your Head Up" (No. 5 U.S. and U.K.), "God Gave Rock & Roll to You" (No. 18 U.K.), and "Tragedy" (No. 34 U.K.) - are still fondly remembered today.  Edsel has collected 28 tracks from Argent on a new 2-CD compilation, Hold Your Head Up: The Best of Argent.  It's the first Argent anthology since 2010's budget Camden release God Gave Rock and Roll to You: The Greatest Hits and the most expansive.  As Hold Your Head Up features the original, full-length album versions, it's also a fine companion to Varese Sarabande's Greatest: The Singles Collection (2008) which featured the shorter 45 edits.

While far-removed from the baroque pop sound of The Zombies, Argent deftly blended muscular pop and rock with progressive tendencies and jazz flourishes mainly thanks to Argent's keyboard prowess.  The members came together quickly but played like a well-oiled machine, likely due to their wealth of collective experience.  Jim Rodford had hailed from The Mike Cotton Sound while Ballard and Henrit worked together in both Unit 4 + 2 and in Adam Faith's backing band The Roulettes.  Every one of the group's studio albums except for their last one - the 1975 RCA release Counterpoints - is represented on the compilation.  While markedly heavier than The Zombies, Argent didn't shy away from softer material including Ballard's "Schoolgirl" which bore more than a passing resemblance to "Time of the Season" and even "She's Not There."  Another Ballard tune heard here, "Liar," is perhaps better-known today to American listeners via Three Dog Night's 1971 rendition.  Ballard came into his own as a songwriter during his time with Argent - he would later pen such hits as America's "You Can Do Magic" and Rainbow's "Since You Been Gone" - and his compositions provided a solid complement to Argent and White's co-writes.

In addition to Argent's three hits, the band's other two U.S. and U.K. chart entries are included in the non-chronological sequence: the bluesy "Sweet Mary" (No. 102, U.S.) and the swaggering hard rocker "It's Only Money, Part 2" with its quote of "Money (That's What I Want)" (No. 53, U.K.).  Though the anthemic likes of "Hold Your Head Up" (with Rod's still-blazing Hammond B3 solo), "God Gave Rock & Roll to You" (later adapted by KISS with additional lyrics from Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Bob Ezrin), and the rollicking, shoulda-been-a-hit "Celebration" defined Argent, the band's sound was much more stylistically diverse as exemplified by the selection of tunes here.  The group even weathered the departure of Russ Ballard as of 1975's Circus; Rod Argent, Rodford, and Henrit pressed on with two new guitarists taking his place, John Verity and John Grimaldi.  This line-up isn't given short shrift with four tracks here including the hypnotic ballad "Clown" with a cosmic sensibility, rock feel, and harmonies worthy of The Beach Boys.

Following Argent's split, Rodford and Henrit would spend a dozen years with The Kinks; in 2000, Rodford joined Argent in a reconstituted Zombies.  Rod went onto solo recording and collaborations with artists ranging from The Who to Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the original four-person Argent lineup reunited a number of times in 2010-2013.  Sadly, Jim Rodford passed away in 2018 at the age of 76.  Hold Your Head Up is housed in a six-panel digipak which also includes a 12-page booklet with notes by Alan Robinson.  Phil Kinrade has mastered the audio.  The collection is a fine reminder of the potent classic rock created by the group in just six short years.  A 10-song highlights version is also available on clear 140-gram vinyl.

Argent, Hold Your Head Up: The Best of Argent (Edsel EDSL0104, 2022)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD 1

1. Hold Your Head Up
2. God Gave Rock and Roll to You
3. Christmas for the Free
4. Liar
5. Schoolgirl
6. Dance in the Smoke
7. It's Only Money (Part 2)
8. Clown
9. Tragedy
10. It's Only Money (Part 1)
11. Sweet Mary
12. Celebration
13. Lothlorien
14. Man for All Reasons

CD 2

1. Thunder and Lightning
2. The Jester
3. Highwire
4. Love
5. Keep on Rollin'
6. Be My Lover, Be My Friend
7. Like Honey
8. Sleep Won't Help Me
9. Pleasure
10. The Coming of Kohoutek
11. Once Around the Sun
12. Infinite Wanderer
13. Circus
14. Candles on the River

CD 1, Tracks 1 & 9 and CD 2, Tracks 5-6 from All Together Now, 1972
CD 1, Tracks 2-3, 7, 10 and CD 2, Track 14 from In Deep, 1973
CD 1, Tracks 4-6 and CD 2, Track 7 from Argent, 1969
CD 1, Track 8 and CD 2, Tracks 2-3 and 13 from Circus, 1975
CD 1, Tracks 11-13 and CD 2, Tracks 8-9 from Ring of Hands, 1971
CD 1, Track 14 & CD 2, Tracks 1, 4, 10-12 from Nexus, 1974