Argent ‎– Ring of Hands (1971)

Ring of Hands is the second album by the English rock band Argent, released in February 1971 on Epic.

Rod Argent co-produced and largely co-wrote the album with Zombies colleague Chris White. Ring of Hands retains the four-piece lineup with singer–guitarist Russ Ballard, bassist Jim Rodford, and drummer Bob Henrit. The lineup prevailed across five years and five studio albums.

Ring of Hands extends the organ-dominated sound of Argent with a darker, heavier slant. Ballard sings five tracks and imparts stronger guitar presence on his three songwriting contributions. Rod Argent ventures into solo passages on “Lothlorien,” a lengthy number reflective of keyboard-based contemporaries (ELP, Atomic Rooster).

Background

In late 1970, Argent returned to Sound Techniques for a second LP that sharpened the internal split already present on the debut. Rod Argent and White co-wrote six songs while Ballard supplied three. The opening track, “Celebration,” appeared as a single backed with the non-album “Kingdom.” The band’s broader 1971 activity remained in the Zombies orbit, as Rod Argent and White produced and wrote material for Colin Blunstone during the same period.

Recording

Rod Argent and White kept Sound Techniques engineer Jerry Boys on Ring of Hands. His 1970–71 credits also include records by Vashti Bunyan, Fotheringay, Al Stewart, Bridget St John, and Focus, which places the album inside the same London studio circuit that fed much of the period’s folk and progressive work.

The sleeve paired Hipgnosis on the front with John Hays inside; Hays also handled visuals on contemporaneous CBS-related albums by Soft Machine, Al Stewart, Skin Alley, and Heaven.

A1. “Celebration” (2:52) | Argent, White | voice: Argent

“Celebration” opens the album in a brisk, uplifted mode with close vocal blend and a lighter gait than most of what follows. The song works as an entrance piece: compact, bright, and direct, with enough forward lift to make sense of its single release in January 1971 in the UK and later in the US.

Celebration
An invitation
To come and join in
A ring of hands together
Down the mountains
Around the fountains
All come singing
A ring of hands forever

The song opens as a communal summons. Celebration is presented as a shared gathering in which people join hands, sing together, and form a lasting circle.

Tonight I feel excitement
Coming in the air
Like a dog tryin’ to
Bark on the wind
Bright light burnin’ torches
Dancing everywhere
Take my eyes
Pull my heart
As they sing

Rod describes the excitement of the event as something physical and immediate. Light, movement, and song create an atmosphere that pulls him in completely.

Celebration
An invitation
To come and join in
A ring of hands together
Ring of hands
Ring of hands
Ring of hands together forever

The refrain returns and reinforces the central image of unity. The joined ring of hands becomes the song’s symbol of collective joy and continuity.

And if I dance beside you
Steppin’ at your feet
Take advantage of joy in my eyes
We can reach the rooftops
Spinning like a wheel
In this after night we can ride

Rod shifts into a more intimate scene within the larger gathering. Dancing beside another person turns the communal celebration into a moment of personal exhilaration and closeness.

Celebration
An invitation
To come and join in
A ring of hands together
Ring of hands
Ring of hands
Ring of hands together

The final return to the refrain restores the wider communal frame. The song ends by placing individual feeling back inside the larger circle of shared celebration.

A2. “Sweet Mary” (4:05) | Argent, White | voice: Argent

“Sweet Mary” turns into a blues shuffle with a heavier rhythmic floor than the opener. Rod Argent keeps the lead vocal plain and centered while Ballard’s guitar supplies the sharper motion, and later commentary on the album has repeatedly singled out the track’s solo break as the element that lifts the song above its basic frame. Epic also pushed it as a US promo single, and it later bubbled under the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 102.

Ooh, sweet Mary, ooh, sweet Mary
Let me taste all your fire make me shout take me higher
You can take me where the light is sweet and low

Rod addresses Mary with desire and asks her to carry him into a state of heightened pleasure and release. She appears as a source of heat, excitement, and sensual escape.

Ooh, sweet lady, ooh you, you are my lady
You ask me will I receive don’t you fret don’t you grieve
The sweet things in life are for you

He shifts from desire to reassurance and devotion. He tells her not to worry and promises that life’s pleasures belong to her.

I need you (yes I do)
To please me (yes I do)
To reassure (yes I do)
For company (yes I do)
It was so hard (and I wanted you so bad)
To be alone (all alone and I wanted you so bad)
I didn’t have to worry I just took all my troubles to you

Rod admits he needs her for comfort, reassurance, and companionship. She becomes the person to whom he brings his loneliness and burdens.

I want you (yes I do)
To want me (yes I do)
O want so hard (yes I do)
For company (yes I do)
It was so hard (and I wanted you so bad)
To be alone (all alone and I wanted you so bad)
I didn’t have to worry I just took all my troubles to you

He says he wants her to return that same need and longing. The stanza repeats his dependence and his relief at no longer being alone.

Ooh, sweet sweetheart, ooh you, you are my sweetheart
Now the music is fine close your eyes drink the wine
Let me take you where the light is sweet and low

The song returns to a more intimate, romantic setting. Music, wine, and soft light turn the relationship into a scene of tenderness and seduction.

The earlier confession of need returns once more. He again says she is the one who eases his solitude and absorbs his troubles.

Take me where the light is sweet and low

The closing line reduces everything to one desire. He wants to be taken into that soft, intimate place with her.

A3. “Cast Your Spell Uranus” (4:29) | Ballard | voice: Ballard

Ballard’s first lead composition on the album hardens the attack at once. The piece runs on a shorter, tougher rock design than the Argent-White songs around it, and commentary on the record has consistently pointed to Rod Argent’s piano and organ figures as the parts that give the track its real bite. Ballard also adds piano here, which thickens the keyboard front instead of breaking it apart.

She was forty-one, I could’ve been her son
They call her the princess of the Moon
She had the cars, the clothes, and the scenes
I had my long hair and my jeans

Russ describes an older, glamorous woman with status, wealth, and mystique. He sets up the contrast between her worldly power and his own youth and simplicity.

Take me to the tower
Make love to the Moon
Uranus, Uranus
Put your spell on me

The refrain turns that attraction into fantasy and surrender. The singer wants to be taken into her world and placed under her erotic and emotional power.

Put it hard, put it long
Or we’d better do wrong
Cast your spell, Uranus
Put your spell on me

These don’t mean a thing, it makes me feel a king
In fact, it fills my mind with pride
It makes me feel good when people see it’s you
They don’t believe it’s you who’s by my side

He says her wealth and status matter less than the effect of being seen with her. The relationship flatters his ego and makes him feel elevated.

Take me in the morning
Keep me through the night
Uranus, Uranus
Put your spell on me

The refrain shifts from fantasy to possession and continuity. He wants her not just for a moment but to keep him with her through day and night.

Put it hard, put it long
Or we’d better do wrong
Cast your spell, Uranus
Put your spell on me

Take me to the tower
Take me there, too
Uranus, Uranus
Put your spell on me

Put it hard, put it long
Or we’d better do wrong
Cast your spell, Uranus
Put your spell on me

The last refrain returns to the same spellbound desire. He remains fully under her pull and asks once more to be taken into her orbit.

A4. “Lothlorien” (7:50) | Argent, White | voice: Ballard

“Lothlorien” is the album’s main long-form piece and the clearest sign of Rod Argent’s expanding keyboard role. The track uses its length for a keyboard-dominated build in which organ and piano keep shifting the internal weight, and later descriptions of the album regularly treat it as the record’s central performance. Its scale changes the shape of side one by giving the album one extended passage instead of another compact song.

Look back into the cold unbroken day
Tears of silence to call me far away
Love, I see you standing there so fair

Russ looks back on a once-stable world that now feels distant and fragile. He sees the person he loves and ties that memory to beauty and sorrow.

A growing shadow beneath the southern sun
Tells of trouble and warns of change to come
I must leave you and this land so fair

A dark sign appears and warns that change or danger is coming. The speaker realizes he must leave both the loved person and the place they shared.

Far away (I must go)
Far away (To and so)
Far away (I must go)
Far away…

The refrain reduces everything to departure. The repeated “far away” expresses reluctant but unavoidable separation.

I walk the streets that I used to see, so fair (so fair)
No troubles would worry me, so fair (so fair)
They’re so fair…

The speaker recalls walking familiar streets that once felt safe and beautiful. The memory emphasizes how peace and ease have vanished.

I think of days that we both would share (would share)
Wine and freedom and your care (your care)
They were so fair
They’re so fair…

He remembers the freedom, affection, and shared pleasure of the past. Those memories now survive only as something lost and distant.

Far away (I must go)
Far away (To and so)
Far away (I must go)
Far away…

The refrain returns to the same conclusion. No matter how fair the past was, he still has to go.

B1. “Chained” (5:18) | Ballard | voice: Ballard

“Chained” opens side two with Ballard back in front and the guitar pushed higher in the mix conceptually, even with Rod Argent still holding the harmonic frame. Commentary on the album has often treated it as one of Ballard’s more effective early Argent pieces because of its stronger solo section and vocal harmonies. The song later drew a Three Dog Night cover on Seven Separate Fools, which made it the second Ballard song from Argent’s early catalog to cross over to that group.

Free like a bird as it flies
Free like an old man that dies
Just like a stream, or a rose growing wild
Somewhere, there’s someone walking the road
Somewhere someone who carries the load
Don’t look too far to see somewhere there’s a man

The song begins with images of freedom in nature and human life, then contrasts them with people who still suffer under burden and oppression. Freedom exists, but not for everyone.

Chained…
(Chained…)

The single word “chained” condenses that condition into one stark image. It names captivity as the opposite of the freedom just described.

God bring the day
God bring the day
God bring the day when we won’t have to lay there…
Chained…

This stanza becomes a plea for liberation. The singer asks for the day when people will no longer have to lie trapped in bondage.

God, why don’t you let them go?
Why? That’s I want to know
Pray to the Lord and you give thanks that you’re free
Somewhere there’s a magical sun
Somewhere and then no evil is done
Where there’s a devil whip and there ain’t a man

Russ questions why oppression continues and asks why the captives are not released. He contrasts the free person’s gratitude with the reality that others still live under cruelty and domination.

Chained…
(Chained…)

The return of “chained” reinforces the persistence of suffering. The condition has not changed.

God bring the day
God bring the day
God bring the day when we won’t have to lay there…
Chained…

The closing plea repeats the hope for deliverance. The song ends by longing for a future without bondage.

B2. “Rejoice” (3:44) | Argent, White | voice: Argent

“Rejoice” cuts the tension after “Chained” with a shorter ballad form. Rod Argent sings it in a smoother register, and available commentary on the album repeatedly notes the track’s high vocal touches and Bach-shaped organ writing. The song keeps side two from locking into one hard pace by placing a softer keyboard-led interlude near its front.

You’re cool you, although we spend the days in conversation
I wouldn’t fool you, stolen in your hour of celebration
Ooh… shout out to the world to rejoice
Can you find a reason to?
Remember fortune would laugh at the sound of our voices
And the faded freedoms too

Rod addresses someone with admiration and says their bond rests on honesty and closeness. He then widens the scene into a call for shared joy, while noting that fortune, freedom, and happiness feel fragile or already fading.

Do I confuse you, although my life will end in resurrection
I won’t refuse you, should you heed before you need direction
Ooh… shout out to the world to rejoice
For the word is overdue
3 times I call you, I waited to hear you rejoice
For the vale I see is through

He says he remains available even through struggle, change, or renewal, and will not turn the other person away if they seek guidance. He calls out repeatedly for them to answer with joy because he believes a period of darkness or uncertainty is ending.

And so rejoice, rejoice…

The song closes as a direct exhortation. Rejoicing becomes both the response and the goal.

B3. “Pleasure” (4:51) | Argent, White | voice: Argent

“Pleasure” keeps Rod Argent on lead and continues the organ-centered line that runs through the album’s Argent-White material. Surviving commentary on the record often groups it with “Rejoice” and “Lothlorien” as one of the stronger keyboard-led tracks, with harmony vocals and swirling organ motion central to its pull. The band also kept the song in view long after 1971 by placing it on the 1976 compilation The Argent Anthology – A Collection of Greatest Hits.

My love is full of pleasure
Falling rain
To cool my aching face
Lord, she cools me with her fine
And gentle ways

Rod describes his lover as a source of relief and sensual comfort. Her presence soothes his pain and calms him with tenderness.

Her eyes so dark and gentle
As they wake
And greet the new day born
Lord, she leads me through her close
And natural dawn

He shifts to her eyes and the feeling of waking beside her. She seems to guide him gently into a new day and into a more natural, intimate state of being.

Pleasure, my pleasure is there
Pleasure, my pleasure is there

The refrain reduces his feelings to a single idea. His deepest satisfaction and fulfillment exist in her.

Tasting my nights
Filling my days
Searching my life
Changing my ways

These short lines show how completely she fills his life. She shapes his nights, occupies his days, and changes the course of his inner life.

Pleasure, my pleasure is there
Pleasure, my pleasure is there

The refrain returns to reinforce that she remains the center of his pleasure and emotional reward.

My love is warm and willing
Soft, and layed
With days of pure delight
Lord, that leads the evening hour
Into the night

Rod presents her as warm, willing, and bound to sustained delight. Her love carries him from day into night in a continuous flow of intimacy.

My love is full of pleasure
Falling rain
To cool my aching face
Lord, she cools me with her fine
And gentle ways

The opening image returns and restates her soothing power. She again appears as the force that cools his pain and comforts him.

Pleasure, my pleasure is there
Pleasure, my pleasure is there

The refrain repeats the same conclusion. His pleasure remains wholly tied to her.

Tasting my nights
Filling my days
Searching my life
Changing my ways

The closing lines restate how deeply she permeates his life. She transforms his time, his feelings, and his sense of self.

B4. “Sleep Won’t Help Me” (5:09) | Argent, White | voice: Ballard

“Sleep Won’t Help Me” returns Ballard to lead, but the track’s identity sits more in Rod Argent’s electric-piano writing and the rhythm section’s darker pulse. Available descriptions of the song point to its mysterious mood, strong bass-and-drum support, and a prominent electric-piano solo that gives the track much of its character. That combination makes it one of the side-two pieces where the keyboard part shapes the atmosphere more than the vocal line does.

The city, so quiet, deserted, forgotten
I see my window open the sun
The morning, the moment of people awaking
Down in the street, a day has begun
And I fell no other rest, with help of my mind
And all the turnin’, walkin’ through the night
Won’t help me to unwind

Russ looks out over a silent city at daybreak, but the new morning brings no comfort. Even as the world wakes up, he remains trapped in mental unrest and cannot calm himself.

Or sleep won’t help me
Lose the losing
And sleep won’t take away the pain
All the pain

He says sleep cannot erase defeat or emotional pain. Rest offers no escape from what he is suffering.

And I fell no other rest, with help of my mind
And all the turnin’, walkin’ through the night
Won’t help me to unwind

The earlier thought returns and reinforces his agitation. Pacing through the night and trying to think his way out of it still leave him unable to unwind.

Or sleep won’t help me
Lose the losing
And sleep won’t take away the pain
All the pain

The refrain repeats the same bleak conclusion. Sleep cannot remove either loss or pain.

The city, so quiet, deserted, forgotten
I see my window open the sun
The morning, the moment of people awaking
Down in the street, a day has begun

The city scene returns, with morning and ordinary life beginning again outside. The contrast sharpens his isolation because the world moves forward while he remains inwardly stuck.

The city so quiet, deserted, forgotten
I see, the morning (I see, the morning)
The moment of people awaking
A city, so quiet, deserted, forgotten

A city, so quiet, deserted, forgotten…

The closing lines reduce the scene to fragments of silence, morning, and emptiness. The city becomes a mirror of his emotional state: deserted, distant, and unresolved.

B5. “Where Are We Going Wrong” (4:10) | Ballard | voice: Ballard

“Where Are We Going Wrong” closes the album with Ballard’s third and last sole writing credit. Commentary on the track has often stressed its agitated close, choral overlays, and the way guitar and piano push together inside a more anxious frame than anything on side one. It is a strong ending choice because it turns the album away from the opener’s uplift and leaves the record on a sharper, less settled note.

Think of things a new day brings
A baby is born, someone dies
For everyone who shows that he sees
Another one opens his eyes

Russ reflects on the cycle of daily life, where birth, death, awareness, and awakening happen side by side. The world renews itself, but it also keeps repeating the same human condition.

A new day
A new hope
The same thing
A tight rope
Where are we going wrong?
Where are we going wrong?

The refrain turns that reflection into a question about failure. Each new day brings hope, yet people remain stuck on the same precarious path and keep going wrong.

There must be a road that we could walk down
And everyone walking is one
There must come a time people will see
The ends of all that they’ve done

Russ imagines a better way forward based on unity and shared purpose. He hopes people will eventually recognize the consequences of their actions and choose a common road.

A new time
A new hope
The same thing
The tight rope
Where are we going wrong?
Where are we going wrong?

The refrain returns with the same tension between hope and repetition. Change seems possible, but the old mistakes still persist.

Where, oh where, oh where are we going wrong?
(Think of the things each new day brings)
Where, oh where, oh where are we going wrong?
(There must be a road that we could walk down)
Where, oh where, oh where are we going wrong?
(Everyone walking is one…)

The closing repetition makes the question more urgent and desperate. The singer keeps asking where humanity has lost its way.

Impact and Legacy

Ring of Hands sits at the point where Argent’s first identity becomes fully visible. The debut still carried more of the late-Zombies afterglow, while this record fixes the band’s own internal split: Rod Argent’s keyboard-led long form on one side, Ballard’s firmer rock writing on the other, with White binding the material through co-writing and production. “Celebration” introduced the album as a single, “Sweet Mary” reached the US Bubbling Under chart, “Chained” later drew a Three Dog Night version, and “Pleasure” stayed important enough to reappear on the 1976 anthology.

Tracklist:
A1. “Celebration” (2:52)*
A2. “Sweet Mary” (4:05)
A3. “Cast Your Spell Uranus” (4:29)
A4. “Lothlorien” (7:50)
B1. “Chained” (5:18)
B2. “Rejoice” (3:44)
B3. “Pleasure” (4:51)
B4. “Sleep Won’t Help Me” (5:09)
B5. “Where Are We Going Wrong” (4:10)

*b-side “Kingdom”

Credits:
Rod Argent — organ, piano, electric piano, vocals, producer, lead vocals, songwriter
Russ Ballard — guitar, piano, vocals, lead vocals, songwriter
Jim Rodford — bass guitar, guitar, vocals
Robert Henrit — drums

Chris White — producer, songwriter
Jerry Boys — engineer
Roy Hollingworth — liner notes
Hipgnosis — cover art

Sources: