Cherry Red [Release date: 30.05.25]

This 4 CD Renaissance boxset comprises:

CD1 : Turn Of The Cards (1974)
CD2 : Scheherazade And Other Stories (1975)
CD3 : Live At Carnegie Hall Part 1 (1976)
CD3 : Live At Carnegie Hall Part 2 (1976)

Renaissance’s symphonic orchestral rock was described rather dismissively as Progressive Rock by the US music media, but proved to be much more popular than they or the label forecast.

Turn Of The Cards and Scheherazade made a considerable dent in the US and Canadian charts, leading to a series of sold out shows at Carnegie Hall in 1976. All documented here.

There’s a weight of detail that makes these recordings more interesting than they already are. The liner notes are a wealth of information, nicely annotated.

After the inevitable rock band line up changes, as life kept interfering, the band settled into Annie Haslam (vocals), Michael Dunford (acoustic guitars), John Tout (keyboards, vocals), Jon Camp (bass, vocals) and Terry Sullivan (drums).

Turn Of The Cards was produced by Richard Gottehrer, former Brill Building songwriter, member of The Strangeloves, and much more. Renaissance seemed like an appropriate vehicle for his polymath skills.

The band were using symphonic orchestral forms in revolutionary and foundational ways, bringing together piano, accoustic guitar, bass, drums, horns and strings.

Most notably borrowing from French composer Jehan Alaine’s “Litanies” as the basis for ‘Running Hard’s melodic phrasing, and Giazotto’s “Adagio In G Minor”’s melody for ‘Cold Is Being’.

The progrock balladry of ‘I Think Of You’ and the drama of ‘Mother Russia’, based on Solzhenitsyn’s writing, hold their own against the classical music sensibilities of ‘Things I Don’t Understand’ and ‘I Think Of You’s visceral power.

The line between classical and rock had been well and truly blurred.

The follow up, Scheherazade And Other Stories met with universal acclaim, bringing onboard a consistency and musical invention that surpassed Turn Of The Cards. And studiously avoiding the self-conscious pastiche that characterised some of the previous album’s less powerful moments.

A year later they were joined onstage at New York’s Carnegie Hall by the city’s Philharmonic Orchestra. The setlist was a cherry picked choice of cuts from the two albums, plus the occasional dip into the past.

The sound of the crowd initially seems detached from the music being played onstage. But it’s just a matter of tuning in, as moments later a Mexican wave of noise rolls through the hall in a delayed action frenzy of enthusiasm…

By third track, ‘Kiev’, majestic in its solemnity, the mix is good, the rhythm section has been brought up and is chiming sweetly with a dominant piano. The singers have found their voice, we’re loving the gig, and looking forward to a two hour immersive experience. ****1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist (Annie Haslam, Get Ready to ROCK! Radio)

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

We feature all the artists selected in this sequence in 2025.

Featured Albums w/c 1 December 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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