IN THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN

Renaissance

Symphonic Prog

3.57 | 45 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

SouthSideoftheSky
Special Collaborator
Symphonic Team

"Clear your mind, maybe you will find that the past is still turning. Circles sway, echo yesterday, ashes burning, ashes burning"

In The Land Of The Rising Sun is a live album recorded in Japan in 2001. The band was touring in support of the then just released Tuscany album which saw the return of Annie Haslam for the first time since the early 80's. The line-up caught performing here consists of Haslam on lead vocals, Michael Dunford on acoustic guitar, Terence Sullivan on drums, David Keyes on bass, and no less than two keyboard players in Mickey Simmonds and Rave Tesar. They (re)create a full band sound.

There are several songs taken from the Tuscany album the best of which is Lady From Tuscany. While that studio album was not very impressive, these new songs work rather well here in the context of the many older songs. On disc one there are several songs that certainly will be recognized by anyone familiar with the band, including Carpet Of The Sun, Midas Man, and Northern Lights. Also there is a cover of Mike Oldfield's Moonlight Shadow which easily could have been a Renaissance song and fits the band's style perfectly. However, though this version is good enough, it adds nothing of value to the original. On this disc we also get to hear two songs from Annie Haslam's solo album The Dawn Of Ananda. The first of these is Precious One which for me is the low point of the whole show. The second one, Ananda, has an Oriental feel and is not bad.

From a Prog perspective it is however disc two that hold the most value. Here we get excellent renditions of such classics as Mother Russia, Trip To The Fair, and the epic Ashes Are Burning. Overall, this is a nice live album proving that Renaissance had lost little or none of their power as a live band.

SouthSideoftheSky | 3/5 | 2013-4-21

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Share this RENAISSANCE review

Social review comments () BETA

Review related links

Send comments to SouthSideoftheSky
Report this review (#947227)
Buy RENAISSANCE music online with PA partners
Show all RENAISSANCE MP3/Stream
Go to RENAISSANCE page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
Go to In The Land Of The Rising Sun page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
Search the Forum for RENAISSANCE related discussions