Ring 2000

Argent's back catalog remains in a parlous state 20 years on from the group's peak, with great swathes of the repertoire unavailable on CD, and even some of the band's best-known and loved recordings are still chained up in a vault somewhere. Thankfully, this two-fer rendering of their first two albums is an exception to that sorry rule, as the group's transformation from the logical successors to the Zombies into one of the finest prog bands of the early '70s is traced out across 19 songs, almost any of which would be a shoo-in for some future "best-of" Argent compilation. It is true, of course, that Argent was prone to excess on occasion – what is remarkable is just how naturally the band approached that state, as songs build on their own momentum toward peaks that even the best oiled of the group's peers audibly struggled to approach.

While virtually unknown in the U.S., pop singer Jennifer Rush achieved superstar status as an expatriate in Europe, selling millions of records and releasing a string of hit singles notable for their booming, dance-rock arrangements and Rush's powerful voice. Born Heidi Stern in New York City, Rush's father was an opera singer and her mother was a pianist. At the age of nine, she moved to Germany with her family, returning in her teens to the States. In 1982, she returned to Germany with her father to pursue a singing career, signing a deal with CBS/Columbia. Changing her name to Jennifer Rush, she released a series of songs that made her a star in Europe, including "Into My Dreams," "Come Give Me Your Hand," "25 Lovers," and "Ring of Ice."