PROLOGUE

I love to take a look at the previous reviews and ratings before writing a review! This album has an average rating of 3.55, only one person was very cynical and negative, the others gave a rating between 3 and 5 stars. My short relationship with Renaissance began early The Eighties when I bought the acclaimed 2-LP "Live at Carnegie Hall". It was not my cup of tea, too much piano and a too mellow sound. Due to the many positive reviews about this album on Prog Archives, I decided to order it. So twenty years later there was a renewed encounter with Renaissance their music. Well, I have to say that I was impressed by the wonderful classical inspired piano play and the warm and pleasant compositions but in general it's too sweet and mellow for me. I was very curious to the final track "Rajah kahn" because I'm always delighted to hear a blend of ehtnic/folk and prog. And I like the Indian raga's featuring the distinctive sound of the sitar (Howe and Hackett used a Coral electric sitar) and the tabla percussion. It starts well with the distorted, a bit Arabian sounding electric guitar but the integration of Ravel's "Bolero" and the high pitched vocals don't match with my idea of Indian music. I had preferred a more sultry climate with more room for the guitar. A strong moment is the VCS 3 synthesizer solo from Francis Monkman (once a member from the underrated Sky) but I'm a bit disappointed about this long composition. To me this is a good album, no less or more.