GRANDINE IL VENTO [AKA: SYMPHONY OF LIGHT]

1974 Turn Of The Cards 1975 Scheherazade And Other Stories 1976 Live at Carnegie Hall

I've spent many many hours in recent years swallowed up in these masterpieces which are all solid 4 and 5 star albums in my view.

Being a big fan of the original sound, I approached 2013's Symphony of Light with caution but was surprised and delighted with the material and the performances. This album is absolutely classic Renaissance in every way. Annie Haslam, who's voice is one of the defining qualities of the band, is spot on, hitting impossible notes and retaining that unique clarity of tone throughout. The quality of the compositions is right up there with their core albums as far as I can hear, and Symphony of Light can be listened to right after Scheherazade without skipping a beat - they flow so naturally, it could have been recorded the same year.

High points for me are "Porcelain" with beguiling atmosphere, hook and melody, the acoustic piano driven "Blood Silver Like Moonlight" with a great vocal duet, and the somewhat Lloyd- Webber-esqe "Tonight" - just a sublime anthem, with some headphone challenging high-notes!! Be warned. Weaker tracks: "Immortal Beloved" and "The Mystic and the Muse" are still engagingly theatrical songs that would be standouts in almost any other song-list.

It's very unusual that a band can connect to the muse so strongly 40 years later!

I'd really like to give this 4.5 stars, but 4 is fair!

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