Renaissance’s 50th Anniversary: Ashes Are Burning – An Anthology is, to quote Bob Cratchit (when praising his wife’s pudding in the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol), “a triumph, my dear!”
This live recording of a 2019 concert with the Renaissance Chamber Orchestra is a superb tribute to the symphonic-prog music (laced with folk, theater, and opera!) that graced the grooves of such classics as Prologue, Turn of the Cards, Novella, Scheherazade and Other Stories, and of course, Ashes Are Burning — which gives its title to this celebratory event.
Now, to be fair, the musicians here are not the same as those who made those records in the 1970s (except for Annie Haslam, who happens to be in fine voice!). But, to be even more fair, those musicians who made those records in the ’70s weren’t the ones who started the band in the first place (more about that later!). But, as Kurt Vonnegut once said, “So it goes.”
Full reviewer’s disclosure: Annie Haslam once long ago in a Melody Maker made a rather uncomplimentary comment about (my beloved) Mott the Hoople – and in particular, she didn’t like Pete Overend Watts’ big red platform boots. But thankfully, all is forgiven because this music is simply a wonderful glance back at this particular band, and all the other iconic ’70s bands, that tread the rock music boards with an individual color that just made all those albums such a joy to spin on thoughtful late-night turntable dates.
And a further disclosure: This review is limited to the two-disc audio, but the big package comes with a concert film on both DVD and high-definition Blu-ray multi-region format (featuring 5.1 Surround Sound mix). So there!
It starts with (oh my!) a glorious fanfare for “Carpet of the Sun.” This is Renaissance in all its (sort of) classical pop-rock melodic glory. Their deep melodies opened classical ideas in our young rock ‘n’ roll brains that usually fed on Foghat, Bad Company, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive. That’s always a good (to quote the great Richard Thompson) “Roll Over Vaughn Williams” thing to do.
Three favorites, “Ocean Gypsy,” “Running Hard,” and “Midas Man,” ooze with delightful memories. And although Renaissance never really rocked out (except when Wishbone Ash’s Andy Powell brought a Flying V sunset to “Ashes Are Burning”!), that was never their desire: Instead, their music elevated beauty, melody, and (especially) drama into the prog-rock menu. And these tunes, with the perfect integration of the chamber orchestra, showcase these gifts.
Now, “Symphony of Light” is taken from the 2013 album Grandine il Vento (later reissued as Symphony of Light with a few extra tracks). This is a stunning song with Annie’s voice bleeding soprano passion within a quiet prelude — which then soars into stratospheric clouds, while the chamber players color that atmosphere with perfect weather.
This is powerful and eerie progressive rock stuff which is quite different from the ’70s songs, and certainly deserves its place among them. And it spotlights the talents of the band members: Rave Tesar (keyboards), Mark Lambert (guitar/vocals), Geoffrey Langley (keyboards/vocals), Leo Traversa (bass/vocals), and Frank Pagano (drums/percussion/vocals) all of whom successfully fill big shoes.
And ditto (if I may skip to disc two) for “The Mystic and the Muse,” which is also from Grandine il Vento. Again, this song stretches the prog universe with a strange complex maturity which touches unearthly beauty that (almost) gets into Dagmar Krause and Slapp Happy territory. Big complement, there!
Big surprise: Jim McCarty, of the original Renaissance band which (it’s a long story!) included none of the ’70s people, returns for “Island” from their very first album. He was the drummer in the Yardbirds, and after leaving Renaissance went onto the Box of Frogs and (the very nice!) Illusion — which was basically Renaissance 2.0 — and made two albums of lovely artful music. Sadly, the listening public at that time was wont to have spiked hair, pierce themselves with a lot of safety pins, and express an urgent desire “to destroy.” Let’s just say they never hit the headlines of Melody Maker.
But there is more: the second disc of 50th Anniversary: Ashes Are Burning – An Anthology begins with “Opening Out” from A Song for All Seasons. And there is more chamber orchestra, beauty and drama. It’s a bit obscure but a really nice choice that bleeds with resurrected beauty into “Day of the Dreamer,” from the same album. The music soars with orchestrated Scheherazade grandeur, which is sadly not represented here. But, of course, the ardent fan already has the brilliant Live at Carnegie Hall album, in all its HTD and Friday Music Remaster glory.
By the way, the ghosts of pianist John Tout, guitarist Michael Dunford, and lyricist Betty Thatcher hover over this anniversary concert.
Then, to complete the triad, “A Song for All Seasons” gets bass-guitar funky, while the busy band and orchestra get all complex, dramatic, and with acoustic guitar quietude, conjures the very best that the late-’70s issue progressive rock could, thankfully, muster in the face of all those safety pins, that spiked hair, and that urgently expressed desire “to destroy.”
By the way, I never cared much for those red platform boots Pete Watts of Mott the Hoople wore. Mott became a bit glam for my rock ‘n’ roll taste. Not only that, but I never had a problem spinning the Clash and Renaissance albums. It was all, ultimately, about really decent music.
The finale is a 14-minute ride through the classic (and namesake of this anthology) “Ashes Are Burning.” Surprise (and really cool guest) Jim McCarty returns, and this epic gets piano crazy with huffs, puffs, and bulges amid an (almost) jazzy joy ride that sings like Traffic’s “High-Heeled Boys” — all while buoyed by that chambered orchestra. It’s a bit like the glory of Procol Harum.
Everything returns to the beauty of Annie Haslam’s sublime voice. She gives a haloed credence to the final dramatic moments (with electric guitar!) of emotional, intense music that touched the stars – and yet, like the earthy Scheherazade, still sings with clever passion that somehow manages to breathe life (and a very necessary story!) into yet another very musical day.
And, as Dickens’ Bob Cratchit once said long ago, this album is, indeed, “a triumph, my dear.”
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