AZURE D'OR

This is the last album of Renaissance which I have heard on time of writing, though I have understood there has been some potentially interesting activity going on after the 1980's albums. There are some nice melodies and themes on the music, but somehow the band's grip to music has started to loosen, falling towards the depths of soap opera aesthetics. "Jekyll and Hyde" starts the album quite convincingly, but many tracks escape tighter observation by melting to the dinner hall tapestry. Instrumental "The Discovery" and sweet "Kalynda" stand the test of remembering after some listening, but I think the magic of the group lasted mostly from year 1972 to 1978. Even this heritage with good deal of live recordings both on audio and visual format makes this band a singular charming angel among the other 1970's progressive rock bands in my opinion.