Renaissance - Tales of 1001 Nights, Vol. 1

For those who are new to Renaissance, this collection of their songs is a great place to start; this and "volume two." Think of Yes with an opera-trained female singer and you're kinda close to the Renaissance sound: progressive time and tempo changes, ambitious lyrical themes, the use of orchestral instruments, and the Rickenbacker electric bass! Jon Camp plays his Rickenbacker in the same manner as Chris Squire (Yes), approaching the bass guitar as though it were a melody instrument.

This first volume of their two-volume "best of" CDs begins with an "instrumental" that appeared on their first album, although this disc uses a live version. It's MOSTLY instrumental - a reworking of themes used in Russian classical music - though it also contains a vocalise from the angel-voiced Annie Haslam.

The CD continues with two more songs from the band's live Carnegie Hall album, including one of my favorite Renaissance songs, "Carpet of the Sun." (I'd have prefered the studio version of the song, from the "Ashes are Burning" album.) If you've only heard ONE Renaissance song in your life, it was probably this beautiful acoustic song; it was the closest the band ever came to a "hit."

More classic Renaissance songs follow, and one begins to hear the similarities between this band and that other 70s Progressive Rock band from England, Yes. But as wonderful as Jon Anderson's voice was (and still is, all these years later), Renaissance has the added advantage of vocalist Annie Haslam, who was trained by a world-reknowned opera singer and reportedly has an 8-octave range! Some may find this "opera" style of singing a little too much to bear, but it's the voice of the band and the reason so many fans love them!

If you like Yes and other Progressive Rock bands, check out this CD.

Remarkable,even though not completely essential,collection by Renaissance...