日志

Gostar de uma música é muito fácil, esse é um poder natural dessa arte de nome música, mas, assim como toda arte, existem obras que excedem a compreensão humana, que são simplesmente épicas, que deveriam ser "patrimonizadas" por causa do seu peso artístico; E é sobre uma dessas que eu quero falar nesse post.
Vocais femininos, quando bem arranjados às canções são excepcionais, melhores do que masculinos em grande parte dos casos, mas existe um grupo, que em particular, eu acho que deu sentido a essa afirmação, esse grupo se chama Renaissance, banda de rock progressivo dos 70's
com relativo sucesso na Inglaterra, seu país de origem;
Você deve estar se perguntando, o que torna eles tão épicos, para todo esse "ode ao artista" que eu estou montando, simples, um álbum -Novella, já faz muito tempo que ouço esse álbum, e desde a primeira vez que eu o ouvi, eu percebi que não era só mais uma das
obras-primas dos 70's mas sim um verdadeiro exemplo de trabalho artístico/obra de arte na música…

Renaissance, featuring Annie Haslam and Michael Dunford at Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA. Opening act Jann Klose.

Setlist:

Prologue
Carpet of the Sun
Midas Man
Running Hard
Black Flame
Northern Lights
Ocean Gypsy
Things I Don't Understand
Mother Russia
***encore***
Ashes Are Burning

What a zombie-oldhead show! Don't get me wrong, the band sounded great, but I felt like I was sitting in a morgue, thanks to the audience. Take the lady next to me for example: so psyched up to see the show, and then about 30 minutes into it, she's dead asleep.

Maybe it's that I'm conditioned to rock and metal shows where the audience actually participates. Maybe it's that I was probably the youngest person in the crowd by at least 10 years.

Oh well, either way, I still thought the band sounded great. Is Anne Haslam really 65? Because she sounded just as good as she did decades ago.


Sun 11 Oct – Renaissance 2009: 40th Anniverary Concert Tour

terry sullivan, the former drummer for the group Renaissance released an album in 2005 with guest John Tout, also former member of Renaissance. To get this album and more information about Terry you can go here:

http://www.tsullivan.net


Annie Haslam has also released some albums, and she also has done some art work over the years. Her website is also at the following:

http://www.anniehaslam.com

Though you can't get Annie in Wonderland or other older albums, she does have a few for sale on her site starting with her christmass album in, I think, 2001.

I don't consider myself a vocally-oriented listener, nor a particularly ambitious singer myself, although I seem to get more comments on my (Nell James) voice than anything else. I was listening to Rilo Kiley the other day, and was remembering how Jenny Lewis is the only vocalist who I and other people have agreed I sound a tiny little bit like. I'm not sure who else. I've gotten a couple comparisons to Suzanne Vega, but I don't quite hear it. Hmm.

One of my favorite vocalists is Roye Albrighton from Nektar, and I think he has influenced me (particularly in his use of vibratto) but maybe not in a way noticeable to anyone except myself.

Almost all of my favorite vocalists are male. I'm not innately closed off to female voices, I think it's just that my favorite kinds of music (and music in general!) are male-dominated. I do like Harriet Wheeler from The Sundays, though I can't claim much similarity to her, as well as Elizabeth Fraser from Cocteau Twins. …

Mellow Candle - Swaddling Songs (1972)

I've mentioned this band in other reviews (Might Of Coincidence, Chimera), but just realized I haven't actually covered them on their own. This is another one of those bands whose name I'd been seeing around for quite a while without having heard them. Now I know what I was missing.

This is a really excellent album, kind of a progressive folk rock that combines the best elements of Steeleye Span and Renaissance. Lots of keyboards, most notably piano and harpsichord, acoustic guitars, some electric guitars, bass and drums. Lovely female vocals, reminiscent of Maddy Prior and Annie Haslam in fairly equal proportions. If there's a weak point at all, it's the fact that some of the lyrics are a little silly (something about unicorns...?).

I suppose Mellow Candle is not as obscure as some of the things I've written about here, but they don't deserve any degree of obscurity. Top quality stuff here. 13/15.

Octopus - The Boat of Thoughts (1976)

This German band is most often compared to Ruphus, Frumpy, Joy Unlimited, and Earth & Fire. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with any of those (yet), so I can't speak to the similarities. It's a fairly heavy 70s rock band with some progressive elements and a female lead singer. The guitar is the dominant instrument, with solid support from keyboards. Singer Jennifer Hensel is a real belter, not your mannered Classical-style singer like Annie Haslam of Renaissance, not jazzy or breathy either. It's pretty decent stuff, though it really sounds like it should be from 1972 more than 1976. 10/15.

Apoteosi - Apoteosi (1975)

Cheap shot: Annie Haslam of Renaissance singing with Premiata Forneria Marconi. That's casting the widest possible net just to see what swims in.

This Italian band only released this one album, and it's a pretty fine one. Not up there with PFM and Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso maybe, but quite a commendable effort. With so few of the classic Italian (or English for that matter) bands featuring female singers (or on any other instruments for that matter), Apoteosi makes for an interesting contrast. But they have more than that novelty going for them, with both guitar and keyboards giving solid showings.

After a short instrumental introductory piece, they kick right into a long composition with many sections. Solo piano starts things off, soon joined by dramatic hits from the band, then a nice bit of lead from the flute. When the band gets going, the drums are on the busy side, reminding me a little of Bill Bruford around The Yes Album. Then they drop down for a quiet vocal/flute section backed mostly by piano. …

1 Renaissance 150
2 Mortician 141
3 Ihsahn 121
4 Fairport Convention 110
5 Accept 108
6 Spyro Gyra 72
7 Trader Horne 67
8 Crematory 53
9 Arcturus 38
10 Íî÷íûå Ñíàéïåðû

ოჰო! გამაოგნა საკუთარმა ეკლექტიზმმა. პირველ ხუთეულზე ვიტყვი 1-2 სიტყვას. რენესანსი ამ მომენტისთვის ალბათ ჩემი ყველაზე საყვარელი ქალვოკალისტკიანი ბენდია. მოკლედ ამ ჯგუფის პირველი სასტავი წამოვიდა იარდბერდსიდან, მაგრამ მათ დიდი არაფერი უქნიათ, სანამ არ მოვიდა ცხრაოქტავიანი ვოკალისტი ქალბატონი Annie Haslam. ენისთან ერთად ჩაწერილი ალბომები კი მართლაც სიმფონიური პროგის შედევრებია, რად ღირს მარტო ტრილოგია [album]Ashes Are Burning[/album], Turn of the Cards და Scheherazade and Other Stories. ალბომების პირველი კომპოზიციები მაოგნებენ პომპეზურობით და საოცარი მელოდიზმით. მასთერპისის მეტი ეპითეტი არ მომდის თავში! თუმცა არც მიყვარს ეპითეტებით გაჭედილი ფსევდო-რეცენზიები, როგორადაც სუბიექტური მხრიდან ეს ჩემი ნაჯღაბნიც გამოჩნდეს. რამდენიმე თვიანი მივიწყების შემდეგ ეს ჯგუფი ისევ ლიდერობს ჩემს ლისტში, ძალიანაც კარგი. …