Let’s set the Tardis time co-ordinates w-a-a-a-y back to December 1972. The annual rock-mag readers’ poll results are in, and the Albums Of The Year, as reported by Sounds music weekly, include entries by ELP (Trilogy), Jethro Tull (Thick As A Brick), David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust), T.Rex (The Slider) and, scraping in at the bottom of the Top 10, Deep Purple’s Machine Head.
So, which band’s release occupies the coveted No.1 spot? None other than Wishbone Ash’s Argus. Now, as someone who used to count the poll votes (and discard a fair few due to suspiciously similar fan-club and/or PR-inspired handwriting), this may seem surprising. But you know what? I reckon the Sounds scholars got it right. Because as someone once asked: Is Argus by Wishbone Ash the greatest least-known million-selling rock album ever made?
