TURN OF THE CARDS

I think this is a slightly better album than the preceding "Ashes Are Burning". To me that is because on this album the band, well mostly Michael Dunford, who wrote all of the songs, mostly with Betty Thatcher, but one with original band member Jim McCarty, tends to shy away from the folky material, and stick to the much better symphonic prog.

I find it difficult to give just about any Renaissance album the coveted five star rating, mostly because, although I love many of their songs, they always tend to stay relatively mainstream. There are some adventurous chords, often taken from some classical piece or other, and a few odd timings, but most of their songs are still somewhat mainstream.

Still, Running Hard, with the obligatory piano intro, is a great song, as is Black Flame. the highlight of the album is Mother Russia, a powerful song, with hints of some phrases used by the original Renaissance lineup half a decade previous.

And of course, Annie Haslam's voice is a treasure.