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rogerthat View Drop Down
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Points: 9869 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rogerthat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: April 19 2018 at 23:09
Originally posted by kenethlevine kenethlevine wrote:

right, I also will have to go back and look at the Union Chapel DVD but my impression is that the quality of the camerawork is better here.  Of course the orchestra is really a game changer in the overall look never mind sound.  I should point out that they played 2 songs to start the show without orchestra - Prologue and Trip to the Fair.  Carpet of the Sun was the first one played with the orchestra.  It was fairly early on, perhaps even after Carpet of the Sun, that Annie was so overcome with emotion that she had to pause before they could continue


Does look like the camera work is better and the sound is better separated too. Have to say Tesar has done a great job of approximating the effect of the original recording with a much more limited orchestra. Camp had said there were so many musicians on the SFAS recording that there was barely room for them in the studio! Maybe the extant recording tech didn't actually capture all the layers then for these dozen or so musicians combined with the band produced a very rich sound. I would have liked more energy in the drums; thought it was a bit too quiet.
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Points: 9070 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kenethlevine Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 11 2018 at 07:13
superb concert last night at an appropriate new venue, the City Winery in Boston.  Looked like it was pretty much to capacity of 350.  One thing I noted was that the band seems to be improving all the time, and in fact the whole sound seems not as totally reliant on Annie's voice as before, if that's at all possible.  She was still in fine form but there were times when it sounded to me like she was slightly off key, especially on parts of "At the Harbor" and "Mother Russia".  I also felt everybody was miked a bit too much.  The setlist was pretty much identical to the concerts with the orchestra.  They abridge Ashes only slightly but stepping up the intensity right at the start of the lengthy instrumental break, and the lead guitar solo has now totally replaced Annie's vocalise at the end.  As best as I can remember it:

1) Prologue
2) Trip to the Fair (just love the clarity of the musical box sound)
3) Carpet of the Sun
4) At the Harbour
5) Grandine Il Vento
6) Symphony of Light
7) Kalynda
8) Island 
9) Mother Russia
10) Song for all Seasons

Encore
11) Ashes are Burning


just checked back on my prior post for the October show with the orchestra and the set list is identical.  I had mentioned that the end of Island was an extended passage by the orchestra.  Well, in lieu of this they did some really whimsical stuff on piano that I loved!  In fact I loved Rave Tesar's work overall last night.  He also seemed very happy, and appeared to be "conducting" the band from his chair!


Edited by kenethlevine - May 11 2018 at 07:22
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^ Good for you, Ken! Glad to hear that the band was firing on all eight.
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^I did a Google search and couldn't find any info on past or future Chicago concerts.....?
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@ken
Age is catching up with Annie.  In some of the cellphone recordings (yikes!) I have seen on youtube, she doesn't properly get to the "Not sure how you can" high note in Ashes are burning.  Well, that is to be expected after such a long career and she wouldn't be human if she was able to still keep it up all the time. But the band, as you say, is well oiled and plays beautifully, taking care of things on the days when she's not quite there. Not that she didn't have her off days in the 70s but her off days then would be a great show today!
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Originally posted by dr wu23 dr wu23 wrote:

^I did a Google search and couldn't find any info on past or future Chicago concerts.....?

They have been pretty much sticking to the US Northeast in recent years.  They can hit a lot of heavily populated areas in short order that way.  I can tell you, as the fan you appear to be, if there is any way you can get to one of these shows you will find it worthwhile.  One of the fellows sitting near us had seen them 15 times in the 1970s and not since.  he said he could close his eyes and imagine himself back at that time.
While they have certain songs they always play, they have never hesitated to add in songs that they have never or rarely played live.  To me this is the mark of artists who are not just going thru the motions, but wanting to connect with fans in new ways as well as give themselves great artistic satisfaction, which they seem to have.  For instance, playing "island" was a dream come true for Annie, as this was the song she had to sing to get the job.  Coming from renaissance Mach 1's repertoire, it shows a degree of respect for the earlier incarnation without which the Haslam-fronted lineup would never have existed.  Plus it's a very good song.

If you can't make it to the shows, do pick up the upcoming DVD recorded with the Chamber Orchestra!


Edited by kenethlevine - May 11 2018 at 10:17
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I must admit, I'm a bit jealous.

Glad you enjoyed it, Ken.
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Never saw Renaissance live but, yeah baby, I've seen the mighty Van der Graaf Generator.
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Originally posted by Barbu Barbu wrote:

Never saw Renaissance live but, yeah baby, I've seen the mighty Van der Graaf Generator.   

hmm kind of a case of apples and oranges, or possibly plums and grapefruit?  While I'm at it, probably my favourite French word is pamplemousse (a much better name for grapefruit)  Tongue
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Plutôt d'accord, c'est comme comparer un pamplemousse avec un litchi chevelu. LoL

TGIF
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et oui!
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So, I've got some great news for Renaissance fans... Annie and I have co-written a song which she sings lead on. It will appear on my new album The Sound of Dreams. Not only that, she will be providing vocals for an additional 10 minute epic that Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues and I co-wrote, which in my opinion combines the best elements of both of those bands during their classic periods. Steve Hackett and Billy Sherwood will also be on the album. 

Best;
David Minasian
http://www.davidminasian.com/
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yet another reason to look forward to the album, David!
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Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

@ken
Age is catching up with Annie.  In some of the cellphone recordings (yikes!) I have seen on youtube, she doesn't properly get to the "Not sure how you can" high note in Ashes are burning.  Well, that is to be expected after such a long career and she wouldn't be human if she was able to still keep it up all the time. But the band, as you say, is well oiled and plays beautifully, taking care of things on the days when she's not quite there. Not that she didn't have her off days in the 70s but her off days then would be a great show today!

This is reinforced as I listen to the digital download of the orchestra concert which was made available yesterday.  She is singing quite a bit within herself maybe to avoid veering off pitch. Also that if she opened her throat, perhaps the tone would not be so pleasant (there is a rather nasty term using in singing parlance for when a female singer's voice goes old which I won't use here).  Still, from the snatches I heard, she did very well on Ashes Are Burning.  I swear she has some mystical connection to that song, always gets up for it.
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Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

@ken
Age is catching up with Annie.  In some of the cellphone recordings (yikes!) I have seen on youtube, she doesn't properly get to the "Not sure how you can" high note in Ashes are burning.  Well, that is to be expected after such a long career and she wouldn't be human if she was able to still keep it up all the time. But the band, as you say, is well oiled and plays beautifully, taking care of things on the days when she's not quite there. Not that she didn't have her off days in the 70s but her off days then would be a great show today!

This is reinforced as I listen to the digital download of the orchestra concert which was made available yesterday.  She is singing quite a bit within herself maybe to avoid veering off pitch. Also that if she opened her throat, perhaps the tone would not be so pleasant (there is a rather nasty term using in singing parlance for when a female singer's voice goes old which I won't use here).  Still, from the snatches I heard, she did very well on Ashes Are Burning.  I swear she has some mystical connection to that song, always gets up for it.

Agreed, there seems to be a decline in the last few years.  But I em enjoying the digital download.  The visuals will add to the appeal when the DVD is available
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Originally posted by kenethlevine kenethlevine wrote:

Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

@ken
Age is catching up with Annie.  In some of the cellphone recordings (yikes!) I have seen on youtube, she doesn't properly get to the "Not sure how you can" high note in Ashes are burning.  Well, that is to be expected after such a long career and she wouldn't be human if she was able to still keep it up all the time. But the band, as you say, is well oiled and plays beautifully, taking care of things on the days when she's not quite there. Not that she didn't have her off days in the 70s but her off days then would be a great show today!

This is reinforced as I listen to the digital download of the orchestra concert which was made available yesterday.  She is singing quite a bit within herself maybe to avoid veering off pitch. Also that if she opened her throat, perhaps the tone would not be so pleasant (there is a rather nasty term using in singing parlance for when a female singer's voice goes old which I won't use here).  Still, from the snatches I heard, she did very well on Ashes Are Burning.  I swear she has some mystical connection to that song, always gets up for it.

Agreed, there seems to be a decline in the last few years.  But I em enjoying the digital download.  The visuals will add to the appeal when the DVD is available

Well, what I did is while watching something on youtube, I saw a documentary on Whitney Houston and speed-browsed through it.  Inevitably, it had clips of her singing horrifically in the last few years of her life, her voice gone after years of abuse from drugs etc. After that, when I listened to the Carpet of the Sun teaser again, it sounded positively heavenly.  So, not gonna be greedy, lol.  Maybe if I hadn't been tripping over that 1978 concert I shared with you, I wouldn't even have noticed.  It's ok if she's lost some power in the fifth octave, it's still beautiful singing, all told.


Edited by rogerthat - June 02 2018 at 06:37
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Originally posted by DavidMinasian DavidMinasian wrote:

So, I've got some great news for Renaissance fans... Annie and I have co-written a song which she sings lead on. It will appear on my new album The Sound of Dreams. Not only that, she will be providing vocals for an additional 10 minute epic that Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues and I co-wrote, which in my opinion combines the best elements of both of those bands during their classic periods. Steve Hackett and Billy Sherwood will also be on the album. 

Best;
David Minasian


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Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

Originally posted by rogerthat rogerthat wrote:

@ken
Age is catching up with Annie.  In some of the cellphone recordings (yikes!) I have seen on youtube, she doesn't properly get to the "Not sure how you can" high note in Ashes are burning.  Well, that is to be expected after such a long career and she wouldn't be human if she was able to still keep it up all the time. But the band, as you say, is well oiled and plays beautifully, taking care of things on the days when she's not quite there. Not that she didn't have her off days in the 70s but her off days then would be a great show today!

This is reinforced as I listen to the digital download of the orchestra concert which was made available yesterday.  She is singing quite a bit within herself maybe to avoid veering off pitch. Also that if she opened her throat, perhaps the tone would not be so pleasant (there is a rather nasty term using in singing parlance for when a female singer's voice goes old which I won't use here).  Still, from the snatches I heard, she did very well on Ashes Are Burning.  I swear she has some mystical connection to that song, always gets up for it.

Upon listening again, I think the problem is more that the audio requires cranking up.  She does tiptoe often rather than grabbing it by the throat but it's within an acceptable level and nothing unusual at her age.  Nothing to worry, she's going to rock it for some more time.
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Points: 9070 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote kenethlevine Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 03 2018 at 19:06
^ yes I agree the level is somewhat subdued, which certainly won't win any new converts among those who complain the band doesn't rock enough!  But I can say they did rock in person, and perhaps we will see that on the video.  But then, rocking isn't the most important aspect of the Renaissance sound anyway!
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So, today after hearing Annie's beautiful rendition of Island on the new concert with orchestra recordings, out of curiosity I listened to the performance of the original line up in 1970 (which is up on YouTube). I had to strain to make out Jane's vocals, sorry. In Annie's rendition, I can actually make out the lyrics without having to consult Google because every word is crystal clear.
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