For the love of rock
Vol II, Issue 8 – Hold your head up (15 May 2017)
Name of song– Hold your head up
Band- Argent
Album- All Together Now
Writers– Rod Argent and Chris White
Release year– 1972
Peak chart positions
# 5 – US chart hits
# 5 – UK chart hits
# 50- Billboard rank for 1972
Similar artists– Atomic Rooster, Wishbone Ash, Family, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Traffic, The Guess Who
Hold your head up
Reviewers- Bikash Shrestha/Nirab Kayastha
“Argent” is an English band formed by keyboardist Rod Argent after the break-up of “The Zombies” in the late sixties. With his cousin Jim Rodford, drummer Bob Henrit and guitarist/keyboardist Russ Ballard (Both former members of “The Roulettes” and “Unit 4 + 2), Rod took up the task of starting a band with the harmony and tune of “The Zombies” and the potential of any amazing progressive rock band. And Argent did complete that task successfully, with hit singles and impressive rock numbers.
Written by Rod and The Zombie’s producer Chris White, “Hold your head up” is Argent’s most successful single and the most popular one too. The song was taken from their most successful third album “All Together Now” in 1972. The album had another hit single in the CD re-release in 1997 “God Gave Rock and Roll to You” (Later covered by Kiss as “God Gave Rock ‘n’ Roll to You II”). Overall, the album is considered a quintessential progressive rock album of the seventies. Many people consider “Hold your head up” a prototype classic rock number with perfect combination of guitars, keyboards, organs, bass, short and swift lyrics and impressive vocals. The song had two versions-more than 6 minutes in the album and about half long in the single version. Both versions are pretty different and equally impressive. The song had charted to No. 5 positions in US and UK charts and it was ranked No. 50 on Billboard in 1972.
The song starts with a soft humming keyboard, immediately to be followed by bass and the drums, and then haunting guitar riff comes in. Soon, Russ starts singing just behind your ears and you are driven into the warzone of fantasy rock. The lyrics perhaps motivate us to keep on doing our duties responsibly and not to be disturbed or diverted. It would have perhaps meant a welcome march to the Vietnamese war veterans those days. The organ solo by Rod adds extra beauty to the wonderful number. The combination of squeaking organ, Russ’s chorus, and thundering guitar riff fits in so aptly in this perfect rock number. The chorus actually keeps on ringing into our heads and it really roots in forever. Actually, all the parts and components of the song blend perfectly well with each other till the end.
Although “Argent” may not have got the fame and fortune they deserved, no true rock fan would be able to deprive them a salutary honor to their evergreen number-“Hold your head up”, literally!!!!
Happy listening!!
Resources– Wikipedia.org, Allmusic.com
Hold your head up
And if it’s there
Don’t let it get you down,
You can take it.And if it hurts
Don’t let them see you cry,
You can make it.
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head high.
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head high.
And if they stare
Just let them burn their eyes
On you moving.
And if they shout
That you’re doing.
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head high.
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up,oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head high.
Hold your head up
Hold your head up
Hold your head up
Hold your head up
Hold your head up
Hold your head up
Hold your head up
Hold your head up
Hold your head up
And if they stare
Just let them burn their eyes
On you moving.
And if they shout
That you’re doing.
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Hold your head up, oh
Lyrics link-http://www.lyrics.com/lyric/3532035
Youtube video link- https://youtu.be/41FDWITqFuo