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Renaissance - Scheherazade and Other Stories CD (album) cover

SCHEHERAZADE AND OTHER STORIES

Renaissance

 

Symphonic Prog

4.32 | 1405 ratings

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BrufordFreak
4 stars I have such a soft spot for Renaissance and Annie Haslem--and I truly count the haunting and majestic "Trip to the Fair" as one of the 50 greatest songs ever recorded--but the rest of Scheherazade fails to live up to the same standard, IMO. Excellent music, from outstanding musician/performers, but just not a complete album masterpiece--only one masterpiece on board here. Novella is, again, IMHO, the #1 Renaissance album masterpiece with Turn of Cards being number two. "Vultures" and "Ocean Gypsy" just don't have the allure and grandeur that "Prologue," "Mother Russia," "Things I Don't Understand," "At the Harbour," and "Can You Hear Me?" have. And the Scheherazade suite is just a rambling jungle of music which seems, in the end, to go nowhere. I played this album to death in the mid 70s but now I only play "Trip to the Fair."

1. "Trip to the Fair" (10:53) one of the most haunting and perfectly scary songs I've ever heard--yet so captivating and beautiful! (21/20)

2. "Vultures Fly High" (3:07) what opens as a pretty cool song with a pleasant enough lyric, vocal, and verse melody line, something in the chorus just shuts me down. And Jon Camp's bass line needed to have some variety or change. (8.75/10)

3. "Ocean Gypsy" (7:06) another song that opens innocuously (despite my dislike of the high pitch Aarp synth notes) but then goes wrong. Again, it's the annoying chorus--and too-clever/"mystical" lyrics that put me off (as well as those thin high "strings" notes). I feel bad rating down such beautiful instruments and arrangements from such a pillar of prog perfection, but this and "Vultures" have always, always been skippers for me. (12/15)

4. "Song of Scheherazade" (24:38) mostly good pseudo-classical motifs drawn out over 24+ minutes just as the princess of the lore did for her Arab captor. There just aren't any memorable adrenaline highs. The "Festival Preparations" section reminds me so much of Supertramp, Alan Parsons Project, and then Rick Wakeman doing "The Sound of Music." And this is followed by the Russian-sounding "Fugue for the Sultan"--which really is classical music! The opening two sections and finale are my favorite passages, but, again, no part of the song ever seems to reach climactic heights one might expect--especially as a reflection of the literary tale. (44/50)

A-/4.5 stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music and definitely a source inspiration for many symphonic music lovers.

BrufordFreak | 4/5 |

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