RENAISSANCE
''TALES OF 1001 NIGHTS, VOL. 1''
1990
75:17
********************
1 Prologue 07:32 (Michael Dunford)
2 Can You Understand 10:23 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
3 Carpet Of The Sun 03:32 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
4 Running Hard 09:37 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
5 I Think Of You 03:09 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
6 Black Flame 06:29 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
7 Mother Russia 09:19 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
8 Ocean Gypsy 07:08 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
9 Trip To The Fair 10:53 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher, John Tout)
10 The Vultures Fly High 03:07 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
11 Young Prince and Princess as Told by Scheherazade 04:04 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
********************
John Tout/Keyboards, Vocals
Annie Haslam/Lead & Backing Vocals
Jon Camp/Bass Guitar, Bass Pedals, Vocals
Terence Sullivan/Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Michael Dunford/Acoustic Guitars, Vocals
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Bruce Eder
This 75-minute compilation and its companion volume are just about the only acknowledgments on the part of Sire Records that it ever had a progressive rock catalog, somewhere in between signing the Ramones and Madonna. The song lineup on this first volume heavily favors the group's early repertory, including songs originally done for the Sovereign label, represented here in concert recordings from Renaissance Live at Carnegie Hall. How attractive that is depends upon how one feels about those performances, versus the original studio renditions (available from One Way Records domestically and, in superior versions, from HTD Records in England). They were never too impressive on vinyl, although the digital remastering and re-equalization of the material seems to have solved much of that problem. The original Sire studio material, including "Running Hard" and "Black Flame," sound better here than they did on their original vinyl releases, which had fairly noisy pressings and were somewhat top-heavy on the bass. The accompaniments all sound crisper on the CD, the nuances and fine balances between the band and the orchestra much easier to appreciate, and the only major flaw -- and it is a big one -- is the absence of "Song of Scheherazade," their biggest orchestral-accompanied piece ever. Only a four-minute excerpt is included; admittedly, the work as a whole is somewhat overblown, taking up a little more time than it is worth, but it was the centerpiece of two separate albums, which should have told the programmers something about how much it registered to fans.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Bruce Eder
The history of Renaissance is essentially the history of two separate groups, rather similar to the two phases of the Moody Blues or the Drifters. The original group was founded in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty as a sort of progressive folk-rock band, who recorded two albums (of which only the first, self-titled LP came out in America, on Elektra Records) but never quite made it, despite some success on England's campus circuit.
The band went through several membership changes, with Relf and his sister Jane (who later fronted the very Renaissance-like Illusion) exiting and McCarty all but gone after 1971. The new lineup formed around the core of bassist Jon Camp, keyboard player John Tout, and Terry Sullivan on drums, with Annie Haslam, an aspiring singer with operatic training and a three-octave range.
Prologue
Their first album in this incarnation, Prologue, released in 1972, was considerably more ambitious than the original band's work, with extended instrumental passages and soaring vocals by Haslam. Their breakthrough came with their next record, Ashes Are Burning, issued in 1973, which introduced guitarist Michael Dunford to the lineup and featured some searing electric licks by guest axeman Andy Powell. Their next record, Turn of the Cards, released by Sire Records, had a much more ornate songwriting style and was awash in lyrics that alternated between the topical and the mystical.
Renaissance Ibiza
The group's ambitions, by now, were growing faster than its audience, which was concentrated on America's East Coast, especially in New York and Philadelphia -- Scheherazade (1975) was built around a 20-minute extended suite for rock group and orchestra that dazzled the fans but made no new converts. A live album recorded at a New York concert date reprised their earlier material, including the "Scheherazade" suite, but covered little new ground and showed the group in a somewhat lethargic manner. The band's next two albums, Novella and A Song for All Seasons, failed to find new listeners, and as the 1970s closed out, the group was running headlong into the punk and new wave booms that made them seem increasingly anachronistic and doomed to cult status.
Their '80s albums were released with less than global or even national fanfare, and the group split up in the early '80s amid reported personality conflicts between members. During 1995, however, both Haslam and Dunford made attempts to revive the Renaissance name in different incarnations, and Jane Relf and the other surviving members of the original band were reportedly planning to launch their own Renaissance revival which, if nothing else, may keep the courts and some trademark attorneys busy for a little while.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
''TALES OF 1001 NIGHTS, VOL. 1''
1990
75:17
********************
1 Prologue 07:32 (Michael Dunford)
2 Can You Understand 10:23 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
3 Carpet Of The Sun 03:32 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
4 Running Hard 09:37 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
5 I Think Of You 03:09 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
6 Black Flame 06:29 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
7 Mother Russia 09:19 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
8 Ocean Gypsy 07:08 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
9 Trip To The Fair 10:53 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher, John Tout)
10 The Vultures Fly High 03:07 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
11 Young Prince and Princess as Told by Scheherazade 04:04 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
********************
John Tout/Keyboards, Vocals
Annie Haslam/Lead & Backing Vocals
Jon Camp/Bass Guitar, Bass Pedals, Vocals
Terence Sullivan/Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Michael Dunford/Acoustic Guitars, Vocals
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Bruce Eder
This 75-minute compilation and its companion volume are just about the only acknowledgments on the part of Sire Records that it ever had a progressive rock catalog, somewhere in between signing the Ramones and Madonna. The song lineup on this first volume heavily favors the group's early repertory, including songs originally done for the Sovereign label, represented here in concert recordings from Renaissance Live at Carnegie Hall. How attractive that is depends upon how one feels about those performances, versus the original studio renditions (available from One Way Records domestically and, in superior versions, from HTD Records in England). They were never too impressive on vinyl, although the digital remastering and re-equalization of the material seems to have solved much of that problem. The original Sire studio material, including "Running Hard" and "Black Flame," sound better here than they did on their original vinyl releases, which had fairly noisy pressings and were somewhat top-heavy on the bass. The accompaniments all sound crisper on the CD, the nuances and fine balances between the band and the orchestra much easier to appreciate, and the only major flaw -- and it is a big one -- is the absence of "Song of Scheherazade," their biggest orchestral-accompanied piece ever. Only a four-minute excerpt is included; admittedly, the work as a whole is somewhat overblown, taking up a little more time than it is worth, but it was the centerpiece of two separate albums, which should have told the programmers something about how much it registered to fans.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Bruce Eder
The history of Renaissance is essentially the history of two separate groups, rather similar to the two phases of the Moody Blues or the Drifters. The original group was founded in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty as a sort of progressive folk-rock band, who recorded two albums (of which only the first, self-titled LP came out in America, on Elektra Records) but never quite made it, despite some success on England's campus circuit.
The band went through several membership changes, with Relf and his sister Jane (who later fronted the very Renaissance-like Illusion) exiting and McCarty all but gone after 1971. The new lineup formed around the core of bassist Jon Camp, keyboard player John Tout, and Terry Sullivan on drums, with Annie Haslam, an aspiring singer with operatic training and a three-octave range.
Prologue
Their first album in this incarnation, Prologue, released in 1972, was considerably more ambitious than the original band's work, with extended instrumental passages and soaring vocals by Haslam. Their breakthrough came with their next record, Ashes Are Burning, issued in 1973, which introduced guitarist Michael Dunford to the lineup and featured some searing electric licks by guest axeman Andy Powell. Their next record, Turn of the Cards, released by Sire Records, had a much more ornate songwriting style and was awash in lyrics that alternated between the topical and the mystical.
Renaissance Ibiza
The group's ambitions, by now, were growing faster than its audience, which was concentrated on America's East Coast, especially in New York and Philadelphia -- Scheherazade (1975) was built around a 20-minute extended suite for rock group and orchestra that dazzled the fans but made no new converts. A live album recorded at a New York concert date reprised their earlier material, including the "Scheherazade" suite, but covered little new ground and showed the group in a somewhat lethargic manner. The band's next two albums, Novella and A Song for All Seasons, failed to find new listeners, and as the 1970s closed out, the group was running headlong into the punk and new wave booms that made them seem increasingly anachronistic and doomed to cult status.
Their '80s albums were released with less than global or even national fanfare, and the group split up in the early '80s amid reported personality conflicts between members. During 1995, however, both Haslam and Dunford made attempts to revive the Renaissance name in different incarnations, and Jane Relf and the other surviving members of the original band were reportedly planning to launch their own Renaissance revival which, if nothing else, may keep the courts and some trademark attorneys busy for a little while.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
