LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL

The epitome of a 'greatest hits live' album, Renaissance Live at Carnegie Hall not only excels at playing this complex yet beautiful music, but often improves on the originals. This is not necessarily through added solos or extended sections - other than 'Ashes are Burning', they play these tunes very similar to the original studio versions. But on this album, the band is more alive, more vibrant - probably an 'on' night - which gives the album a coherence despite the odd beginnings of this version of the band. All the pieces on side 1 of this album work really well, and flow together, and Annie Haslam's vocals are in prime form. The song selection is great too - these are, quite literally, all their best songs. The second side is also wonderful, with a full orchestra on stage when performing the entirety of the 'Song of Scheherazade', although it does not differ much from the studio version. As mentioned, it is the version of Ashes are Burning that is most different, and it works very well to stand out from the studio version. My only criticism is that it is only the bass guitar that solos on the extended part, when this would have been great opportunity for a keyboard or guitar solo, and with the talent in the band it would have improved the piece that much more. But other than that, there is really not much to criticize with this concert. And the sound quality (on the CD) is crystal clear too, really perfect. Anyone looking to hear Renaissance for the first time would do no better than to pick up this album. I give this 9.5 out of 10 on my 10-point scale. Very high quality music.

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