Renaissance & Annie Haslam

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Progressieve Rock band (1972 - 1987 en 2000)

Renaissance werd in 1969 opgericht door Keith Relf en Jim McCarty, beide ex-Yardbirds. In verschillende bezettingen werden twee albums opgenomen. In 1971 hadden alle originele leden de band verlaten en waren vervangen door nieuwe leden. In 1972 sloot zangeres Annie Haslam zich bij de groep aan. Het eerste album in die samenstelling kwam in datzelfde jaar uit, Prologue. In de periode tot 1987 maakten zij een aantal albums, waarvan Ashes are Burning, Turn of the Cards en Scheherazade de bekendste zijn. In 1987 viel de groep uiteen, en Annie maakte een aantal soloplaten.
In de jaren 1990 vormden zowel Haslam als gitarist Dunford onafhankelijk van elkaar een band genaamd Renaissance, en maakten albums. In 2000 kwam de band bij elkaar voor een reünie-album, Tuscany, gevolgd door een opname van een live concert in Tokyo, Japan
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ILLUSION- OUT OF THE MIST

Year Of Release: 1977
Overall rating = 12

Excellent blend of classical, folk & prog, and some of this rocks, unlike 'classic' Renaissance.
Best song: FACE OF YESTERDAY

Track listing: 1) Isadora; 2) Roads To Freedom; 3) Beautiful Country; 4) Solo Flight; 5) Everywhere You Go; 6) Face Of Yesterday; 7) Candles Are Burning.

An excellent beginning, and easily the best 'prog' album of 1977, without any efforts nudging out both Jethro Tull's Songs From The Wood and Genesis' Wind & Wuthering, not to mention Renaissance's own Novella. Funnily, though, it seems as if the band had been caught in a time warp: the album sounds like a completely natural sequel to Illusion, a record that came out a whole six years ago. So it's no wonder that the best track off Illusion gets repeated on here: it's 'Face Of Yesterday', one of the band's signature tunes. They don't vary the arrangement too much, though: I'd even bet they used the same basic track, editing out some guitars and backing vocals for the listener to fully concentrate on Jane Relf's magnificent vocals. I'm not really sure whether it was that necessary to duplicate the song, considering that the band were by no means short on new material; even so, it's certainly the most impressive song on the whole record.
Not that the others are far worse or anything. They do sound a bit close to the 'classic' Renaissance, but there are some serious differences, as well. One of the most serious ones is that Renaissance Mark 1/Illusion never relied so heavily on folk patterns; they preferred to mostly draw their inspiration from classical music, throwing in a few rock reminiscences from the Yardbirds' past (after all, don't forget that Jim McCarty used to play in a rough'n'tough Psycho Blues Rock band in his better days!) Therefore, this presumes (a) John Hawken's swirling classical piano parts and (b) John Knightsbridge's impressive guitar fills on many of the songs. Unlike Renaissance, Illusion were never as 'purist-oriented', and they were never afraid to throw in a gentle, or even a distorted, guitar part if they felt it fitted in the mood. Synthesizers are also prominent, but moderately: they pop up much more often than with 'classic' Renaissance, but they never dominate the sound or smell of cheese as with 'late' Renaissance. And, by the way, the band usually prefers the Mellotron.
The record is brilliantly constructed, too. The songs never run for far too long, and the more lengthy, 'epic' numbers are wisely interspersed with simpler, poppier ballads, making the album seem more diverse and involving. And, of course, the most essential thing is that most of the songs are swell, fully displaying the rich potential of McCarty's songwriting (he wrote all of the seven numbers, collaborating with John Hawken on a few). The record is 'framed' by two gorgeous odes: 'Isadora' and 'Candles Are Burning'. 'Isadora' presents itself as a melancholic, depressing number, graced by Jim's mournful singing and the band's tear-inducing vocal harmonies; and the guitar solos will tear your heart right out of your chest, especially if you ever lost a love or two. 'Candles Are Burning', on the other hand, starts out as a desperate, ferocious rocker, with Hawken and Knightsbridge duelling on their instruments and the latter engaging in more awesome solos, until the song suddenly subsides into a slow, solemn, optimistic, spirit-lifting (and album-closing) hymn. It's unclear if the song was conceived as a special 'counterpoint' to Renaissance's 'Ashes Are Burning', but if so, it acts as an almost cheerful, optimistic opposition to the dark, creepy pessimism of 'Ashes'. And the very fact gladdens my heart, you know, the poor heart yearning for something cheerful at long last.
Elsewhere, Jim gets to sing lead vocals on the strangest number on the record - the somewhat more hard-rockin' 'Solo Flight'. I'd probably never have paid much attention to the song were it not for the awesome wah-wah line on the chorus: each time Jim chants his 'you gotta get out on your solo flight' refrain, Knightsbridge complements his voice with a scary, howling wah-wah lead that sounds completely out of this world. And his mad wah-wah solo in the mid-section bleeds so hard you'd hardly expect something like that on a 'Renaissance family album'. But that's fine by me, I love surprises.
The other three songs on here are a bit blander - three slightly sugary ballads with diluted melodies that at times border on generic ('Everywhere You Go'), but are always saved by at least three factors. First, I simply can't resist Jane Relf's vocals; like I said, she might be far less technically gifted than Annie, but her vocals gain in humanistic emotion and pure beauty where Annie gains in skilfullness and range. Second, I simply can't say a bad thing about the arrangements: the pianos, the strings, and the guitars all sound completely in place, never a missed or an unnecessary note, never an occasion to be disappointed or annoyed. And third, they're all so moody and inviting you to share the 'Unbelievable World Of Fantasy' that I really don't mind. It's been half a month now that I've been listening to this, and I still can't memorize 'Roads To Freedom' or 'Beautiful Country', but each time they burst into the speakers I feel so good, I could scream and shout...
In brief, The Steering Committee comes up with the following resume: the very fact that the album is out of print and does not seem to be available on CD anywhere but in Russia is one of the greatest crimes of taste against 'progressive rock'. Please scan the Web for used LP stores to find it; I'd even ask you to make some CDRs and distribute them illegally, but I'm afraid that would be breaking the law. Therefore, I give you the warning: please do not transfer this music on CDRs and do not distribute it illegally. DO NOT BREAK THE LAW!
(And do not throw me in the thorn bush, either).

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ILLUSION

Year Of Release: 1978
Overall rating = 9

Some fascinating tunes on here, but the atmosphere is simply not too friendly.
Best song: MADONNA BLUE

Track listing: 1) Madonna Blue; 2) Never Be The Same; 3) Louis' Theme; 4) Wings Across The Sea; 5) Cruising Nowhere; 6) Man Of Miracles; 7) The Revolutionary.

Eeeeh... Not as good. They're starting to move towards lengthier, more complicated and twisted patterns, and they're much too often neglecting their main strength (vocal harmonies), concentrating on instrumental sections and 'moods'. In other words, they're mostly replicating the main error of Renaissance itself: being ruined by ambitions. Seven songs on here, too, but most of them are just nowhere near as thrilling as before. Hardcore prog lovers will probably love it; me, I'm a bit more moderate and I say yawn.
Of course, the awesome start of this album has nothing to do with the ensuing mediocrity. 'Madonna Blue' is Illusion par excellence, maybe I'd even go as far as to call it the band's absolute peak: a stunning ballad of incredible power and conviction. Particularly impressive is the contrast between the main vocal section of the song, a great showcase for the band's harmonies, and the desperate tragedy of the instrumental section, totally dominated by John Knightsbridge's weeping guitar solo. While the song lacks a certain 'hidden charm' that lies at the heart of several of their other tunes, most notably 'Face Of Yesterday', it's inarguably their most powerful statement. And no better way to follow it than with a mellow folkish acoustic ballad - 'Never Be The Same', with a delicious, catchy melody and such a warm feeling all around it that it makes you forget all the passion and torture in a moment. If released as the two sides of a single, this would be the Ultimate Prog Single of all time. (Actually, 'Madonna Blue' was released as a single, backed with 'Everywhere You Go' - a slightly worse choice, as the song is somewhat sappier and poppier, but I guess it did work anyway).
And that's about it. Now I don't really want to say that there's nothing worthwhile coming in after these two songs. But truthfully, the next five tracks sound to me as pale, insipid outtakes from earlier sessions. 'Louis' Theme' drags on for nearly eight minutes, during all of which it is based on a nagging bass line copped from some classical piece. Not even Jane's beautiful vocals can save the composition: it's essentially mood music, and I'd better go listen to a real classical composition than have to endure the brain-muddling monotonousness of the composition for minutes on end. By the way, the song seems to have earned Louis Cennamo his sole writing credit in the band. He couldn't have harmed his reputation in a better way.
Aaarrggh. That's just the beginning. 'Wings Across The Sea'? Sucks. I'm out of inspiration by the time I write this review ('scuse me please if you'll catch me repeating the same things over and over and over, as I simply ran out of English words on the way), so I'll just say that 'Wings Across The Sea' sucks. Mood music, again, with a lot of angelic harmonies and all, but either I'm just getting tired or it's them that start getting repetitive and, well, simplistic. The melody is way too simplistic for me, and it's me who says that! Hey, I actually gave From Genesis To Revelation an eleven!
And have you heard the robotic synth beat of 'Cruising Nowhere'? Yuck. For some reason, they decided to give the song a harsh electronic treatment which puts it completely out of place on the album. And the chorus sounds as if it were ripped off of Blind Faith's 'Do What You Like' (not an ideal comparison, if you have no idea what I'm talking about). The idea was apparently to produce a disturbing, apocalyptic track that would update the vibe of Renaissance's 'Kings And Queens' for the late Seventies, but it only succeeds partly. Man, I hate these laser blasts in the middle of the song. Maybe they were planning on upgrading to the status of a technopop band in the future? Thanks Goodness they disbanded, then...
'Man Of Miracles' is a strange one: an old ballad written by McCarty, Hawken and Keith Relf himself - before he died, I think, though I'm not really sure. And once again it's simply mood music, all based around a pretty little 'pattern' with a glockenspiel imitation and the band's harmonies. The synths and echoey vocals make the track sound particularly dark, darker than anything else on here, but darkness is one thing and impressive darkness is another. This here darkness is anything but impressive; Brian Eno would not be honoured. Finally, they drag the album to a close with 'The Revolutionary', a song that stands true to its title, as it forms a (presumably) rousing climax to the whole listening experience. But Jim McCarty fails to shatter my senses with his shaking, insecure vocals this time (maybe it would be a better idea to handle the track over to Jane), and rousing, hurly-burly climaxes are really not Illusion's forte. Not to mention the near-ambient coda...
...wait a minute. If you're going to condemn me, refrain. The album is not at all bad. I just feel that, like in the case of Scheherazade, the band made the mistake of breaking the catchiness/pomp balance in this case in favour of pomp. There are nasty synth embarrassments. There are insecure attempts at ambient. There's but one impressive guitar solo - on 'Madonna Blue'. There's also only one true Jane Relf showcase, and accidentally it's 'Louis' Theme'. What a bummer. What a shame. Only their second album, and they're giving it up. Nevertheless, buy it still if you see it, if only for the totally incomparable 'Madonna Blue'.