TUSCANY

The release of 'Tuscany' was admittedly a bit of a surprise for Renaissance fans, coming as it did more than a decade after the last vestiges of the classic lineup finally called it a day in the late eighties. True, there were a handful of records and tours under the Renaissance banner, consisting of both Annie Haslam and Michael Dunford-led lineups but for the most part neither really captured the essence of the band in its heyday, and certainly neither group represented all the best the pairing of Haslam, Dunford, bassist Terry Sullivan and keyboardist John Tout had to offer.

Coming on the heels of a critically-acclaimed series of Dunford-arranged performances of the 'Schererazade' pieces in the form of a musical in 1997 Haslam and Dunford began to work together again, soon pulling in both Sullivan and Tout to participate in a series of studio sessions. While the group originally planned to record a handful of Haslam/Dunford compositions along with remakes of some classic Renaissance material, what eventually emerged was an entire set of original studio tracks. Haslam's former partner Roy Wood (the Move, ELO, Wizzard) was also enlisted in the effort along with well-traveled studio and touring journeyman Mickey Simmonds (Caravan, Fish's band, Camel) to fill out some of the keyboard tracks when Tout was unavailable. Interestingly enough, Simmonds would be listed as a member of the band on the resulting liner notes while Tout was listed as a guest musician. Bassist Alex Caird is also listed as a guest musician along with studio engineer Rob Williams.

The songs on this album are considerably more casual and elegant than the rather strident and New-Wavey work they had produced on their last couple of studio albums in the early eighties. The former band members were clearly quite comfortable and inspired to be working together, and the resulting songs are graceful, extremely well-produced and sound like a natural, mature version of the slightly classical adult contemporary music the band created in the late seventies before succumbing to pressure from their label to crank out more radio-friendly (but critically panned) music toward the end of their eighties career.

Tout's lush piano and harpsichord work on the laconic "Pearls of Wisdom" and "Deer Landseer" are instantly recognizable, and even when the group veers back into danceable pop-rock territory with songs like "The Race" and the closing "One Thousand Roses", the telltale signs of a youth spent creating their unique brand of classical-folk can be clearly heard amid the thumping, simple rhythms. "Life in Brazil" and "Lady From Tuscany" in particular show the old friends in rare form, with very little lost over the years in terms of their ability to meld Haslam's magnificent vocals with Tout's lush keyboards and in the case of "Life in Brazil" some unexpectedly energetic, inflected percussion from Wood.

The opening "Lady From Tuscany" and closing "One Thousand Roses" serve as perfect bookends for a collection of well-crafted songs that, while not particularly ambitious compared to some of their better known seventies classics, certainly prove the magic was still there when the group ensconced themselves in a southern England studio in the latter half of 1999. Despite legal and technical delays the release of 'Tuscany' on the EMI Toshiba label in late 2000 proved to be a great capstone on the band's career, and the brief but well-received Japan tour that followed ensured there would be further collaborations by the four longtime Renaissance artists.

There is still a Renaissance entity today which thankfully includes Haslam and Dunford together rather than fronting separate 'Rensaissance' touring acts. A new EP was released in late 2010, and the group continues to tour regularly. One can only hope another full-length studio album is in their future.

The songs on this album do not rise to the level of unique creativity and musical exploration that earlier Renaissance albums did, but given all the time and trials that beset the band in the ensuing years following their eighties breakup, it is certainly a pleasure to hear original music from them in the new century. A strong three star album and one I would recommend to any Renaissance fan that may have lost track of the group over the past couple of decades.

peace