A worthy conclusion to the Renaissance story
David R. Gaines | Rockville, MD, USA | 03/19/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"As it is extremely unlikely that there were will be another "get-together" from the world of Renaissance, this album will have to serve as a fond & final farewell to this great group. The sound is crystal clear and quite well recorded, and I don't think anyone can complain about the set list, which mixes up old and new (plus an Annie Haslam solo song, if I remember correctly) very well. Among the "Tuscany" songs, "Dear Landseer" in particular recalls the glory days and is as good as most anything the band recorded in the late '70's. I think most people will particularly enjoy the fuller sound provided by two keyboardists, Mickey Simmonds (ex-Camel) and Rave Tesar. One focuses on John Tout's piano lines and the other focuses on recreating the orchestral textures. This is really enjoyable on "A Trip To The Fair" and "Opening Out," where you'll hear all the instrumental lines you know & love from the original recordings. There are a few keyboard clinkers here and there, but nothing on the order of the infamous French horn splat in "Running Hard" on the "Live At Carnegie Hall" album. Some of the orchestral instrument samples sound better than others, but overall it's a real treat to hear Renaissance with two keyboardists who between them manage to cover just about all the parts on these songs.
The question I suppose most people will ask who like Renaissance but didn't know they had a reunion a few years ago is "what does Annie sound like now?" Well, she's still got it on this tour, and I would defy most people to tell the difference between what she sounds like onstage in 2001 versus 1975.
Overall the mood is very mellow. Japanese audiences are famous for their reserve and the audience applause is very polite and not particularly energetic, and Michael Dunford of course is a quiet & unassuming guy, so with nary an electric guitar in sight all evening long this is a real showpiece for the acoustic/quieter side of progressive rock. A must have for Renaissance fans and for anyone curious about this type of music who missed out on live prog rock back in the day.
UPDATE [1/14/10]: HA! How wrong I was.......Annie Haslam and Michael Dunford have put a new version of Renaissance together which had a very successful short tour of the eastern US in the fall of 2009, and they say they will be back for another tour and possibly a new album in 2010. There is also word from Terry Sullivan's website that he, John Tout, and the long gone Jon Camp will be working on an album together. This is the kind of thing about which one is very glad to be wrong. ;-)"
Still GREAT!
Belladonna | Great Lakes | 04/03/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am a total long time fan of Renaissance. My adult son even still likes them since I played them when he was small! I keep them in my car, and listen when working on computer. There is just no group then or since to compare
to them. I saw them live twice when they came to USA many decades ago.
This recording is very good. There is good base and the instrumentals are
very good. The tempos are a little more mellow, slower, but Hey...Fleetwood Mac's return concert was that way too.
And Annie is wonderful as always. (and she is MY age...mercy!)
I am so glad to have this 2CD set. It is different in some ways but still GREAT! Thanks so much to all of the members of this highly creative, innovative and musically gifted group!
Trip to the Fair is a strong cut and nicely arranged.
I Think of You is still powerful, and still beautifully poignant and simple. It still gives me goosebumps!
And Ashes Are Burning is still a great contemporary piece! This is just a total classic IMO. (my son plays the bass so we have always loved Ashes).
I love all the cuts, but these 3 are my faves! It is so hard to believe that this group has been around more than 30 YEARS! And still sound contemporary! True Genius!
"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1