REVIEWS:
Post your comments about Renaissance
(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
HIGH POINTS: Kings And Queens, The Sea. LOW POINTS: Bullet.
The first Renaissance album finds the band in a different situation than with their classic work. First of all the lineup of the band is different, most notably, Annie Haslam isn't singing. That is not a good thing. The girl they have in now is decent, I guess, but for someone like me who has been spoiled with the work of the angel of rock, I’m expecting more. And I don’t get more. She sings along and I nod my head up and down but deep inside I’m just thinking “When will this be over? I need to go put Prologue on!” Maybe my standards are just too high to accept this other girl.
And the music isn't all that exciting either. It’s obvious that Renaissance were not one of those bands that started out on top of even knowing exactly what they wanted to do. It’s a joy that they'd soon grow into one of the best prog bands on the 70s, but there’s no way you could know that they had that sort of potential just by listening to this debut. The only thing you can see here is that the band is trying to accomplish some sort of classical prog, but they have no idea how they plan on doing so. And the music suffers because of it.
Luckily there’s only one song on here that really sucks, and that’s the bore of “Bullet.” For the first few minutes it manages to be fairly interesting, but the ending just drags out for far too long. On a better note “Kings And Queens” manages to be a very interesting track that almost earns it’s eleven minutes, and “The Sea” is a nice fast and energetic tune, included as a bonus track for the album. The rest aren't anything really worth mentioning, a few decent tracks that come and go, not leaving much of an impression. Which is like the album in general, actually. Nothing leaving an impression, and any extra points I would have added because of the terrible “Bullet”. Still worth it for the devoted fan. And the album cover is pretty good.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
Renaissance. Now there's a band who don't get the recognition they deserve. Out of all of the reviewing guys I have only found one, George Starostin, who has reviewed them. So many prog lovers out there have never even heard of this band, and that is just so sad. They have a sound completely unlike any other group to have existed, far from the "typical" technical perfection and such offered by most prog bands. Then there is Annie Haslam, the best female vocalist I have yet to hear. So good in fact, that she has even become my bet for the best vocalist for a progressive rock group (even ahead of Lake and Gabriel). She has such a wonderful voice, and uses it beautifully.
And you can hear it on Prologue too. The only vocals in opening title track are hers singing wonderful little "do" syllables all over the place. Written it would look something like, "Do-do-do, do, do... DOOOOOOO!" But the way it's sung in the song is amazing. It's one of the all around best prog-rock tracks of all time. Following is "Kiev," and it's only a litlle itty bitty bit worse. Annie doesn't get the same vocal spotlight she had on the opener, so that's a slight complaint. Actually it's one of the guys that sings most of it. The melody is still strong with an neat groove to it, a great follow-up to a classic.
"Sounds of the Sea" is gentle and incredibly beautiful, and so is "Spare Some Love," and it has a pretty guitar intro to show a little contrast. About two and a half minutes in you'll find yourself a quick rocking jam, and a masterful return to such a marvelous chorus. And, hey, does the first bit of piano in "Bound For Infinity" sound a little too much like the beginning piano from Styx's famous "Come Sail Away," released a whole 5 years later? Interesting. Or maybe I'm just hearing things. "Bound For Infinity" is a dozen times more beautiful than "Come Sail Away" (or any Styx song that comes to mind), and I'm absolutely sure of that, though.
The closing eleven-minute epic "Rajah Khan" takes a couple minutes to get started (the first two minutes of the song are one of the very few flaws on the album, a fairly intersting yet ultimately pointless distorted electric bit), but when it does it becomes yet another winner. It's again mostly Annie making odd vocal syllables, and with a bit more variety than "Prologue," she goes for everything from "ooooooh-aaaahhhh" to "na, na, na-na-na, naaaa" and all sorts of stuff like that. "Rajah" has backing music that always fits in with the vocals very nicely. Plus there are a few awesome instrumental passages, making it an excellent prog epic. Renaissance albums are rather hard to find in the States (other than the two Tales of 1001 Nights compilations), but you simply MUST hunt this one down.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
This is George Starostin's bet for best Renaissance album, and I must agree with him. Ashes Are Burning is simply the best Renaissance money can buy (if you can find it, that is). Of the four I own, this is the only Renaissance album that feels absolutely complete and lacking nothing. There are no flaws that I can think of; everything falls into place perfectly. Prologue may have been more rocking, and Turn Of The Cards more defining, but Ashes is the highest in overall quality. Ah, where to start? The second track, "Let it Grow," is the most beautiful song Renaissance ever gave us, and that says a hell of a lot right there. The piano intro is short, but simply gorgeous, and the good Annie Haslam sings a wonderful vocal melody. The final minute descends into an ending that gives a true taste of heaven above. Awesome.
The following "On The Frontier" just can't help but be below the high level of "Let It Grow." I still love it, though, even if it's one of the (and I hate to use a word like this on an album so great) lesser entries on the album. It's a fine track, despite the fact that the little piano to bass to piano bit is derived from that first piece on Fantasia. "Carpet Of The Sun," on the other hand is a splendid little song from start to finish, with a no less than delightful chorus. Then it's "At The Harbour," a gentle song with a nice guitar melody being played on only one speaker, and a piano intro and outro that are both, of course, excellent.
As far as the two epics on the album go, the opening "Can You Understand" is one that may take a little while to grow on you, but when it does you'll see that is a spectacular opening song. And the title track is ASTOUNDING! Not a dull moment to be found! Everything about it is interesting and fun and moving and downright brilliant! The mid-section instrumental is so full of great bits of music that it rivals "Mother Russia" as their finest mid-section piece ever. Annie is singing perfectly and leads us into a thrilling coda to one of the finest songs ever written by the species known as man. "Ashes Are Burning" is such a powerful song. A terrific album too. Four stunning songs surrounded by two magnificent epics. Get this as soon as you see it anywhere; it's one of prog's best.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
Renaissance continue to release solid material with Turn Of The Cards. This time there are three 9+ minute epic songs, a pair of three-minute entries, and one that's around six-and-a-half minutes long. As a matter of fact, as far as song lengths and positions go this album is very similar to The Yes Album. Of course as far as the songs themselves go, Cards is little to nothing like TYA. Anyway the epics are pretty much great. The only one that has any very noticeable flaws is the opening "Running Hard," which dies down towrd the end into a rather dull closing. The rest of it is beautiful, filled with all sorts of things from a long piano intro to a vocal section of "la-la" in the middle.
"Things I Don't Understand" has vocal melodies sent down from above and sung by the great Annie Haslam, does it get better? The final entry on the album, "Mother Russia," is a big and powerful epic, with breathtaking orchestration backing it. The buildup from the gentle opening to the verses is one of the finest in history. In the middle when the piano takes over the melody from Annie, the music becomes so moving I nearly break into tears. This has got to be the best on the album, and possibly even the best song the band ever did. What a finish to the album!
The other three songs are fine. "I Think Of You" is a lovely little acoustic piece, although I'll have to say it ends a little too soon to be a true classic. "Cold Is Being" is another gem, and a rather depressing one at that. To quote the third verse: "So cold is being tired/behold the feeling tired/stand quietly at the side/watch darkness open wide/the light is growing dim, so dim within." Wheh! It's all set to some very sad vocals. The six-and-a-half minute "Black Flame" fits in nicely between "Things I Don't Understand" and "Cold Is Being," serving as both a fitting connection and a brilliant entry itself. All-in-all Turn Of The Cards is most likely the place you'd want to begin with the band. It's a great album, one that borders on a 10. Unfortunately the end of "Running Hard" prevents me from awarding the album a double-digit score with those neat little asterisks on the sides, so I give it a nine almost as high as Prologue's.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
(reviewed by Robert Grazer)
Renaissance does a side-long. I'll get to the actual "Song of Scheherazade" in a moment, first let's get to the other stories part. "Trip to the Fair" is just friggin' amazing! From the first three minute piano intro (which has got a really scary laugh in it, for those of you out ther who think Pink Floyd are only ones with freaky laughs in their song) through the verses and the awsome rising vocal with "I wish that this trip to the fair had never beguuuuun" and a whole lot more of the letter "u" than I wrote down. Then in a short little piano piece before right back into the lovely climax of the whole song. It's mellow, quiet, and worth its whole eleven minute length. Then back to a fine and short little rocker called "The Vultures Fly High." During the verses the piano hits a few notes and then the background melody molds right into a great bass line. And Annie is singing pefrectly, but I'm hoping I didn't need to tell you that. While not on the level of the opening pair, "Ocean Gypsy" is a pretty song, and a fairly well-done closer to the side.
Now for the big long "Song of Scheherazade." It opens with this blasting and rocking bit, quite fast and even a little furious. The rest of the big epic is not like other side-longs, mostly since it is Renaissance we're talking about here, so basically you should expect a Renaissance song twenty minutes long. That wasn't too hard to describe. Nah, back to the song. There are some complaints I have about it. It isn't really too much on the overlong side or anything (though it is just a little too long), but I have to wait ten minutes before Annie starts singing, and when she does the vocal melodies are simpler and not anywhere near the level that they've been in the past. Then there is this big silence and then some pointless chimes or bells or something about twelve or thirteen minutes into it. After that little drop, we do get a few minutes of all out rocking to take us back into the song. Yeah, there are some flaws that keep this from the "Tarkus" or "Echoes" level of things. Scheherezade And Other Stories is not among the best of the best of the band's work, although the two opening tracks alone make the album worth owning, so own it.
Post your comments / reviews for this album