Songs of Scheherazade
Artist:  Renaissance
Label:  Cherry Red Records
Time:  DVD: 15 Tracks / 125 mins
 
In my teens, most of my gigs were at our local rock club, Friars Aylesbury, where I saw the criminally underrated Camel, U2 on their Boy tour and Genesis, when they did a single small clubs tour after a few years playing arenas. But if you asked me what my best-ever gig was at the venue, I probably wouldn’t hesitate to say, “Gryphon supporting Renaissance.”
 
At last we now have a DVD available of one of the best and most unique of the ‘seventies bands.  Unfortunately it is only in black-and-white, and although the gigs were recorded for TV, this relatively grainy release seems to have been recorded from a TV screen rather than original tapes, but it is great to have anything to watch of this classical-folk-prog-rock act.
 
Renaissance was formed originally from the ashes of the Yardbirds, featuring Keith Relf and Jim McCarty, but the line up that really mattered is this one, that lasted from 1972 to around the end of the decade. 
 
No one had a sound close to it, not least because there are few singers anything like the enchanting Annie Haslam, who had not only a pure, steady voice, but also a classically trained five-octave range. Occasionally (“Jekyll and Hyde” and later in “Scheherazade”) she reaches the top of her range and shows why her voice is often described as ‘stunning’. Where most bands would have electric guitar next to the singer, this band had only an acoustic guitarist, Michael Dunford, who tended towards the back of the stage, spending much of his time sitting down. This left the centre-stage available to the superb bass-work, pedals and (largely) harmony vocals of Jon Camp. John Tout’s flowing piano arpeggios and subtle string synth work also defined the band, which was completed by drummer Terry Sullivan.
 
This DVD includes two separate New Jersey performances: a 1976 set from Passaic and one from Asbury Park three years later.
 
The 1976 set has the longer and stronger compositions, beginning with “Running Hard.” The track itself starts with classically influenced solo piano before Haslam adds her vocals. These songs could not be any better, and the lovely ballads “Ocean Gypsy” and “Carpet of the Sun” follow on, leading to the harsher “Mother Russia,” a tribute to Alexander Solzenitsyn. Then comes the instrumental “Prologue,” often an opener, which again features Tout’s piano. This piece is far jazzier, both on the wordless vocals and the piano work, which also has a touch of Bach. The set closes with the epic title track to this line-up’s fourth album “Song of Scheherazade.” The suite of nine parts lasts 25-minutes, but that is not a minute too long. Like many of their tracks, it is intricately structured and must have left a lot of decent material on the metaphorical cutting room floor to reach this kind of quality. The point near the end, just as the original theme reprises, is glorious.
 
1979’s set was the final night of a seven-week tour, leaving the band looking a little tired, but still sounding fresh. It shows their definite swing away from extended works in a more pop or mainstream direction. This – and presumably sheer pressure of material – leads to the excellent “Can You Understand” being truncated, with only its instrumental introduction remaining to open the show. Having two sets side-by-side here allows for several comparisons. The only duplicated song is “Mother Russia,” which earns thunderous applause, causing Haslam to comment rhetorically, “You liked that one, then?” It may be that the crowd were especially glad to welcome a longer piece after a few short ones, including some from the then soon-to-be-released Azure D’Or album. But even the shorter ones, though missing the light and shade of the spacious instrumental passages, still included some fantastic songs, notable the only (UK) chart single “Northen Lights” and the fine “Jekyll and Hyde.”
 
By now, Dunford is standing at the front with his twelve-string on a stand, and Tout is adding a greater porportion of organ and synth to his palette of sounds. But Camp’s progress is perhaps the most striking. He now uses a twin-necked Rickenbacker, making it almost impossible not to see stylistic similarities with Yes’s Chris Squire – particularly on the title track’s opening sequence – as he pulls deeply resonant notes from all over the neck. Just try his speedy, inventive and precise work on “Northern Lights;” the bass is like an extension of his own body. Sullivan’s energetic style of drumming dovetails beautifully with Camp’s swift runs, and the sheer pace of this rhythm section is what pulls the band away from a classical-folk category towards rock.
 
Being a television recording, although there are few angles, we get plenty of close ups, and the sound is pretty clear and crisp. 
 
(My copy had no cover, but I understand that it is available in both PAL and NTSC formats. Also be careful about sourcing your copy. The initial 2008 release had severe production problems with Annie Haslam sounding male. Cherry Red have re-issued it now with the problems fixed.)
 
So despite the monochrome and monaural medium, we can finally be reminded of Annie Haslam’s chuckle and catch pictures of a great band at their peak. I would happily exchange the last three tracks (“Secret Mission”, “Song for all Seasons” and “Flood at Lyons”) for the twenty-something minutes of the usual encore, “Ashes are Burning,” but what we do have included here is tremendous, and often impeccable. It will bring back memories for fans that saw them and it will hopefully spur others on to get the recently re-mastered Live at Carnegie Hall CD. 
 
Derek Walker 
 

1976 music:   
1979 music:   
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