TURN OF THE CARDS

When you have a vocalist with the voice of an angel, all you have to do is give her some suitable songs to sing and play them well. Renaissance do it wonderfully on this, probably their most consistently excellent studio album. The songs are all beautifully constructed and developed with excellent keyboards and extensive orchestration that makes up for the absence of a lead/ electric guitar, Mike Dunford sticking strictly to acoustic. Annie Haslam's voice soars gracefully over it all - she doesn't have the range of emotion of some female vocalists but the purity and range is unrivalled. Terry Sullivan is a first class drummer and Jon Camp's Rickenbacker produces some melodic and complex bass lines but the laurels must go to Jon Tout, whose harpsichord, organ and piano playing make him a keyboard god. The first side, particularly I Think of You, is most enjoyable but it's the second side where the album catches fire. Black Flame is a great song with some sublime harpsichord work whilst Cold is Being is based on an Albinoni piece with vocals added over an organ accompaniment and is one of their finest moments on record. Mother Russia is a massive piece, composed as a tribute to Solzhenitsyn and is a concert favourite. Frankly, this is probably too classical and sophisticated for some prog rock fans of limited horizons such as Elliot Minkovitch, who is entitled to his opinion even if it is clearly out of line with the sensible majority. 4 or 5 stars? 5 for Black Flame and Cold is Being. Thanks Signor Albinoni!