OUT OF THE MIST

Review Nº 909

Illusion was a British progressive rock band that was formed in 1976, disbanded in 1979 and reformed briefly in 2001 as Renaissance Illusion. Illusion was after Armageddon, not the first, but the most important offshoot of the British progressive rock band Renaissance, one of the most classic British progressive rock bands that appeared in the 70's. Renaissance was formed in 1969 from the ashes of the Yardbirds' remnants, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty, along with John Hawken, Louis Cennamo and Jane Relf. This line up released "Renaissance" in 1969 and recorded the lion's share of their follow up work "Illusion", which wasn't released until 1971 and completed with some other members. While Renaissance continued with a new line up, the founding members became involved in other bands until they formed the band Illusion in 1976. It was named after the second Renaissance album. As Illusion they released two studio albums.

In the fall, the first album of Illusion was completed at Island studios in Hammersmith, near London. All the songs were written by McCarty, with the exception of four co-written by John Hawken. For the first time, the group used orchestral arrangements for which they called upon Robert Kirby, who was renowned for his work with Strawbs. The musical style had evolved from the Renaissance's days, a mixture of ballads and rockers, with a heavier guitar sound. Their sound is best described as somewhere between Strawbs and what the then current Renaissance line up was doing, lush folk prog, if a little lightweight. The real energy in the band came from Jim and Jane. Jane, in particular, was at the peak of her vocal powers. Her voice had lost none of its quality in the intervening years, while several of the other members had honed their playing skills in the interim. Hawken's stay in Strawbs had introduced him to a wider keyboard palette, including the Mellotron, to which the band added real strings on a few tracks. The release of "Out Of The Mist" was followed by an extensive tour throughout Europe, with the band opening for Bryan Ferry. However, the sales figures for the album were very modest, but the critics were generally enthusiastic, and the concerts reinforced the band's renown.

"Out Of The Mist" is the debut album of Illusion released in 1977. The line up is Jane Relf (vocals), Jim McCarty (vocals, acoustic guitar and percussion), John Knightsbridge (guitars), John Hawken (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, MiniMoog, Mellotron, Hammond organ and harpsichord), Louis Cennamo (bass guitar) and Eddie McNeil (drums and percussion).

The opening "Isadora" sounds to the early Renaissance's days as nothing has changed. It's a nice structured ballad with McCarty taking the vocal lead supported by superb instrumental work. Overall, this is a surprisingly tranquil but effective introduction to the band and the album. "Roads To Freedom" ups the tempo a little bit. It has a catchy melody and Jane's warm delivery and the impressive piano playing turn it into a nice song with all the ingredients to a fine single if it had been released in that format. "Beautiful Country" lives up to its name being a serene and pastoral fantastic folk ballad, an ode to Mother Nature in all its splendour. It's another great song featuring another virtuoso performance from Hawken's piano and where McCarty's voice this time underpins Jane's. And as a duet they never sounded so lush. "Solo Flight" is not, as the title implies a soft song. This is really a good hard rock electric song that ventures into Santana territory with its rapid fire rhythm and a particularly gutsy guitar solo that many of the blues greats would be proud of. "Everywhere You Go" shows another change of mood on the album. It sounds a bit more acoustic and combines a rich chugging guitar rhythm with piano and Mellotron induced by some orchestral textures. This is a nice pop song lively by the beautiful voice of Jane. "Face Of Yesterday" is an adaptation of a Renaissance's song, a reworking of a McCarty's song that originally appeared on the Renaissance's album "Illusion". The combination of Hawken's piano, strings and Jane's achingly beautiful vocal is simply beautiful, pure perfection full of charming and splendour. It's as good as the original. "Candles Are Burning" is a bit of an unexpected piece, the most prog on the album. It takes the band into unknown prog regions with a strident but melodic tone. Following some great instrumental interplay, it culminates in a grandiose choral and orchestral coda providing a triumphant conclusion to this nice album.

Conclusion: "Out Of The Mist" is an album brilliantly constructed in the same vein of the Renaissance's albums, despite some slight differences. It has a style focused more on the lyrical folk rock route, suppressing the classical flavour that was felt halfway during the Renaissance's period of this line up of the band. The songs never run for far too long, and the more lengthy and epic numbers are wisely interspersed with simpler, pop ballads, making the album seem more diverse and involving. Focusing on Jane's ephemeral vocals and Hawken's aesthetic phrases on the piano, a dull folk rock is developed with neat performances. This is a lovely piece with a beautiful atmosphere that combines the pop and progressive music in a wise way. Most of the songs are swelling making it an adorable and mature work.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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