Encore

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (22 November 1974), Argent's Encore (Epic S EPC 88063) was released in the U.K.  The U.S. and Canada release (Epic PEG 33079) was on 9 December.

Additionally, the single "Keep on Rollin' (#2)" b/w "I Am the Dance of Ages (live)" (Epic S EPC 2849) was released in the U.K.  Apparently, this single wasn't released in the U.S.  As far as I can tell, this second version of "Keep on Rollin'" has never been re-issued.

"Hold Your Head Up" b/w "Keep on Rollin'"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (11 February 1972), an edited version (2:52) of Argent's "Hold Your Head Up" b/w "Keep on Rollin'" (Epic S EPC 7786) was released in the U.K.  The U.S. and Canada release (Epic 5-10852) was on 10 April.

"Hold Your Head Up" b/w "Closer to Heaven" and "Keep on Rollin'"

According to Russo's Collector's Guide, fifty years ago to-day (2 October 1971), Argent's "Hold Your Head Up" b/w "Closer to Heaven" and "Keep on Rollin'" (Epic S EPC 9315) was released in the U.K.

"Keep on Rollin'"

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

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When I listened to All Together Now this morning, I thought "Keep on Rollin'" sounded like it was doing the same sort of major/major 6th thing that's fairly common in 1950s rock and roll songs (Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" is the only one I can name off the top of my head that does this).  I just tried that out, and I was right, but I also discovered that the All Together Now version is in a different key compared to the version on Odessey and Oracle {Revisited}.  Provided the first chord (which is all I've figured out so far) is the tonic, the All Together Now version is in C# major and the O&O {Revisited} version is in D major.

In some recent interviews, Argent and Blunstone have mentioned that they still perform the songs in the original keys, so that key change in "Keep on Rollin'" is interesting because 1) there's a key change at all, and 2) it's a key change to a higher key, and in those interviews, it's been a question about lowering the keys because of old age voice changes.

Rain Imagery

Backdated, archival post

[link to original on tumblr]

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I was still thinking about the rain images in Zombies songs, and - in a supreme coincidence - I was playing "Maybe after He's Gone" on electric piano while it was raining outside, which reminded me of "She told me she loved me / With words as soft as morning rain."

I sort of remembered a rain image in Argent's "Pleasure," but I had to look that up to confirm it ("My love is full of pleasure / Falling rain to cool my aching face").  Since I've been transcribing the lyrics, I can just do a search for "rain."  There are some more references on the later albums (like Out of the Shadows and As Far as I Can See), but the only other one I'll mention is from "Keep on Rollin'" - "Move just like a river / Fall like the morning rain."  Like "Maybe after He's Gone," that's even morning rain, specifically.