(2021) Renaissance - Sheherazade and Other Stories [Expanded Edition]          


Review:
This expanded edition of ‘Scheherazade & Other Stories’ has been newly re-mastered from the original first-generation master tapes. The set also includes a bonus CD of a concert recorded in January 1976 in Nottingham, England and a previously unreleased bonus track.  This album was the group’s magnum opus in the perception of many onlookers and fans, and it still plays well, though its flaws are more evident than they were at the time. The “Song of Scheherazade,” really a suite for the group supported by the London Symphony Orchestra and a chorus, started with guitarist-composer Michael Dunford, who had a personal fascination with the medieval literary work Tales of 1,001 Arabian Nights, and was realized by Dunford and his composing partner Betty Thatcher, with bassist Jon Camp and pianist John Tout. The piece, really nine sections assembled together, was one of the more ambitious works to come out of the progressive rock boom — it fits together nicely and does have some gorgeous passages and many lyrical, powerful sections, although it also seems slightly repetitive, overstaying its welcome somewhat; additionally, it never uses the orchestra quite as effectively as one senses it might have, for anything except embellishment. Less ambitious and more completely successful are “Ocean Gypsy,” “The Vultures Fly High,” and “Trip to the Fair” on side one, all relatively unpretentious pieces which feature extraordinary singing by Annie Haslam. — AMG





Track List:

CD1
01. Trip to the Fair (10:52)
02. The Vultures Fly High (3:09)
03. Ocean Gypsy (7:08)
04. Song of Scheherazade (24:54)
05. Ocean Gypsy (single version) (3:03)

CD2
01. Can You Understand (10:52)
02. Running Hard (9:29)
03. Ocean Gupsy (7:30)
04. Prologue (6:29)
05. Song of Scheherazade (24:53)
06. Ashes Are Burning (20:13)


Media Report:
Genre: prog-rock
Country: UK
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits


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