Renaissance - Scheherazade And Other Stories (2014) MFSL SACD FLAC Beolab1700
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Renaissance - Scheherazade And Other Stories [2014 Audio Fidelity SACD AFZ 183]
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Artist...............: Renaissance
Album................: Scheherazade And Other Stories [2014 Audio Fidelity SACD AFZ 183]
Genre................: Progressive Rock
Source...............: CD
Year.................: 2014
Ripper...............: EAC (Secure mode) / LAME 3.92 & Asus CD-S520
Codec................: Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)
Version..............: reference libFLAC 1.2.1 20070917
Quality..............: Lossless, (avg. compression: 59 %)
Channels.............: Stereo / 44100 HZ / 16 Bit
Tags.................: VorbisComment
Information..........: CD IMAGE - LOG - CUE - SCANS
Posted by............: Beolab1700 on 17/07/2014
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Tracklisting
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01. Trip To The Fair (Dunford-Thatcher-Tout) - 10:51
02. The Vultures Fly High (Dunford-Thatcher) - 3:04
03. Ocean Gypsy (Dunford-Thatcher) - 7:05
04. Song Of Scheherazade (Camp-Dunford-Thatcher-Tout) - 24:39
i. Fanfare - :38
ii. The Betrayal - 2:05
iii. The Sultan - 4:45
iv. Love Theme - 2:42
v. The Young Prince And Princess As Told By Scheherazade - 2:29
vi. Festival Preparations - 5:11
vii. Fugue For The Sultan - 2:10
viii. The Festival - 2:10
ix. Finale - 2:29
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Scheherazade and Other Stories is a 1975 album by progressive rock band Renaissance. Some critics consider it their best album, although others prefer earlier albums. This is the first album in which Renaissance (Annie Haslam's version) did not use quotes from actual classical pieces. Contrary to popular belief, "Song of Scheherazade" is not based on Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, but does have a recurring six-note motif that alludes to that work.
This album was the group's magnum opus in the perception of many onlookers and fans, and it still plays well, though its flaws are more evident than they were at the time. The "Song of Scheherazade," really a suite for the group supported by the London Symphony Orchestra and a chorus, started with guitarist-composer Michael Dunford, who had a personal fascination with the medieval literary work Tales of 1,001 Arabian Nights, and was realized by Dunford and his composing partner Betty Thatcher, with bassist Jon Camp and pianist John Tout. The piece, really nine sections assembled together, was one of the more ambitious works to come out of the progressive rock boom -- it fits together nicely and does have some gorgeous passages and many lyrical, powerful sections, although it also seems slightly repetitive, overstaying its welcome somewhat; additionally, it never uses the orchestra quite as effectively as one senses it might have, for anything except embellishment. Less ambitious and more completely successful are "Ocean Gypsy," "The Vultures Fly High," and "Trip to the Fair" on side one, all relatively unpretentious pieces which feature extraordinary singing by Annie Haslam.
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