Review Summary: A trip to the fair... but nobody was there.
Renaissance were an important British progressive band that released a series of melodic, tightly executed symphonic progressive albums, mixed with elements of folk rock and lush classical overtones, throughout the 70’s. Above all, they stand out in their judicious use of a full orchestra (the London Symphony Orchestra) since their album
Ashes are Burning, which marks the start of their golden era. Playing with a full symphony orchestra backing up is a feat many have tried, but few have succeeded in. Rivalling with artists such as ELP, Rick Wakeman, The Alan Parsons Project and The Moody Blues, Renaissance are easily the most convincing incorporators of a classical orchestra in rock music, and they arguably remain unmatched to date.
Of all their albums,
Scheherazade and Other Stories is generally considered their finest hour. They had been building toward this climax with their two previous albums,
Ashes are Burning and
Turn of the Cards, which have lots in common stylistically with
Scheherazade. More mature and self-confident, they all showed the willingness to try new things. Renaissance has great orchestral structures, many remarkable intuitions and passionate classical arrangements. The adding of a full orchestra adds a lush sound, unique atmospheres, and allows more depth, but at a risk of over-producing a too-slick a product, which is not the case here; Unlike ELP, Renaissance had the uncanny ability to take the very complex compositional ideas and render them perfectly listenable and accessible. Merging rock music and a classical orchestra usually sounds like the rock band is playing in one room and the orchestra is playing in another, but with Renaissance, this unholy alliance works very well.
Mainly composed by songwriter/guitarist Michael Dunford, the music is driven first and foremost by John Tout’s classically-inspired piano playing, who lays down plenty of magical tapestries. Annie Haslam is spectacular throughout, as she not only uses her angelic voice to sing the lyrics, but also as an instrument to vocalize melodies and harmonies. Annie’s crystal-clear, pitch-perfect and incredibly emotional voice truly is the heart of Renaissance’s music. Her full five octave’s soprano voice fits perfectly with their orchestral brand of symphonic prog. Don’t expect a shimmering, earth-shattering kind of early 70’s progressive. Here, most of the music is very lightweight, perhaps too mellow and gentle to some.
On top of that, the only electric instrument is the bass. The extensive orchestration makes up for the absence of an electric guitar, Dunford sticking strictly to acoustic. John Tout uses keyboards at a minimum and very sparsely, mostly using piano to great effect. It really set Renaissance apart from most other prog bands that at the time used synthesizers extensively. There are plenty of arranged symphonic parts with additional strings, and there’s nowhere you’ll find soloing or jamming sections. Showing off is not important, unless it benefits the song. Another important key factor to the band was the incredible bass skills of Jon Camp, whose silky-smooth, acrobatic Rickenbacker lines gave the band a unique voice, especially considering there was no lead guitar. Camp’s virtuoso performance offers up plenty of melodic, lead bass lines and complex patterns, Ã* la Chris Squire but less indulgent. Though drummer Terry Sullivan never takes the forefront in any of the material here, his drumming joins Camp’s bass to give a strong platform for the others to shine.
The album starts off with
A Trip To the Fair. With its dramatic neo-classical piano intro played with grand finesse, it transports you to another time and place, and sets the mood for the rest of the album. This is one of John Tout´s finest performances on the piano.
The Vultures Fly High is a short but effective rocker with, as per usual, a catchy melody. It mainly should be enjoyed as a brief, pleasant interlude between the magically captivating opener and the evocative
Ocean Gypsy. The latter is a sombre symphonic ballad with atmospheric piano/synthesizers, filled with haunting piano passages and melancholic singing. It also contains a very Genesis-like middle section. Bolstered by numerous flourishes from the London Symphony Orchestra and based on one of the characters of the novel
A Thousand and One Nights (also the inspiration for classical composer Rimski-Korsakov),
Song of Scheherazade is an excellent exercise in blending orchestra with rock. Scheherazade is the heroine of the
1001 Nights. Though it may give a cursory nod to classical composer Korsakov, it is not based on his work, being entirely the invention of the band, arising from Michael Dunford's fascination with the story. The song assumes the leading role in the album, and in many ways, it’s the pinnacle of Renaissance’s entire musical career.
At that period and more than ever, John Tout was the driving force that led the creative power of Renaissance to go beyond their boundaries and succeed at creating unique and wonderful music. No doubt, the orchestral arrangements play the role of perfect accomplice for the band’s outstanding endeavours. While overambitious to some ears, things never get too pompous anywhere in
Scheherazade and Other Stories: the sense of elegance and clean melodic sensitivity that had consistently characterized Renaissance’s musical palette has been translated here into sheer exquisiteness throughout the album.
