LIVE AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL WITH THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA PART 1

I remember those old days. A bunch of friends gathered in a smoke filled room, listening to a fantastic band on The King Biscuit Flower Hour. Often, one of us would be taping the radio broadcast, so we could all listen to it over and over. And the artists that they featured.... King Crimson, ELP, Yes, Gentle Giant, even Frank Zappa.

This CD features the first half of the better of the two Renaissance concerts I heard on The Biscuit back then (the other was from the "Song For All Seasons" tour). The concert featured a full orchestra, and unlike many orchestrated concerts back then, the arrangements actually enhanced the music.

Prologue, featuring only the orchestra, and serving as a prelude to Renaissance's appearance is the only dip in the show. The orchestration is good, but we want to hear the prog band.

The rest of the album is superb. Renaissance was known for stretching out the live versions of the songs with fine keyboard and bass work, and this recording is indicative of that. the orchestra and taping for the broadcast limited the group a bit, but it seems to make the songs more concise. And this was a very spirited performance, a very good document of the band at it's peak.