Scheherazade And Other Stories

Signed to Manager Miles Copeland's BTM label, Renaissance released Turn Of The Cards in May 1974; the album would break the band into the US Top 100. It also contained a few songs that would become concert favorites, including "Running Hard" and "Mother Russia." However, Scheherazade And Other Stories, released in August 1975, was the more accomplished of the two releases. It features the standard Renaissance fare: Annie Haslam's crystal clear and five-octave voice high in the mix, supported by the virtuoso talents of John Tout on piano, Jon Camp on his distinctive Rickenbacker bass and Tony Cox providing orchestral arrangements. Acoustic guitarist Michael Dunford is still the band's main songwriter (and link to the "other" lineup), with lyrics written by Cornish poetess Betty Thatcher; but this album also is the first to include written contributions from Camp and Tout. In particular, "Trip to the Fair," is a delight, benefiting from rich production. The album's second side features their version of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. Perhaps more than any other band of the era, Renaissance did more than borrow classic motifs for the basis of their compositions: They wrote classical music for rock instruments, with "Song Of Scheherazade" being the perfect ringer. The band toured both the US and the UK with an orchestra, including high-profile concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. However, the band's popularity would shine in the US, where their albums now saw release on Sire Records. The album was their highest charting album yet, entering the Top US 50 at No. 48.