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Symphonic Rock Recordings [Release date 15.08.23]
Back in 2015 we saw Renaissance performing at a small venue in North-West England, The Citadel, which remains something of a mecca for prog bands. Since that time they have played several tours in North America (where they achieved success in the 1970s) only returning to the UK in April 2016 for dates with Curved Air. This double CD captures the band more recently in October 2022. The novelty is that they are accompanied by a small orchestra.
For some reason there is no insert with our promo copy so no detail about the band and players. However, it is evident that the core band which we saw in St. Helens pretty much remains: A bunch of consummate professionals with ace arranger/pianist Rave Tsar and fronted by guitarist Mark Lambert.
The band’s history is a tale of two halves. They originally emerged from the band that Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty and guitarist Keith Relf formed back in 1969. They enjoyed a raised profile in the seventies with the key albums ‘Ashes Are Burning’ (1973), ‘Turn Of The Cards’ (1974) – both supplying a track each here – and ‘Scheherazade and Other Stories’ (1975). Later on they produced more contemporary sounding material in the early eighties before calling it a day in 1987.
Reforming most recently in 2010 they have since released a studio album (renamed in 2014 ‘Symphony Of Light’ with bonus tracks) and several live efforts.
This live set includes two songs from 1977′s ‘Novella’ and one from 1978′s ‘A Song For All Seasons’.
The whole is a vehicle for Annie Haslam’s still intact and sonorous vocals. Whether she can still hit the renowned five octave range is anyone’s guess but she always lends her warmth and personality to the proceedings.
There are in fact as many tracks from Annie’s solo albums as there are from Renaissance: ‘Annie Haslam’ (1989), Blessing In Disguise’ (1999) , ‘Ananda’ (2000), and ‘Woman Transcending’ (2006). (All worthy of re-investigation in their own right).
As we said in our 2015 review the band do real justice to the Renaissance songbook and whilst long-standing member Michael Dunford (d.2012) – who was part of the more recent revival - may be absent, I am sure he would approve.
The band’s music is a mixture of prog and the pastoral and the orchestral accompaniment emphasises their classical pretensions. ‘Day Of The Dreamer’ for example is decidedly what was once called “easy listening”. If you are expecting the band’s “hit” ‘Northern Lights’ you’ll be disappointed but this double album does show off well the band’s current incarnation. ****
Review by David Randall
Gig review (April 2015)
Album review (A Symphonic Journey, 2018)
Annie Haslam/Renaissance is a Featured Artist at Get Ready to ROCK! Radio
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In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
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KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
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09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
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