Ashes Are Burning [Import]

Annie Haslam, Renaissance | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 20, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Repertoire
• ASIN: B000006X8V
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,435 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #47 in Music > Indie Music > Rock > Progressive

Editorial Reviews

Probably One of the Best and First Fully Formed Album, Mixing Russian, French, and Indian Influences in Musical Settings that Are Both Lively and Elegant. Features Andy Powell on Title Track. Now Available on CD for the First Time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The beginning of a creative peak, June 4, 2006

By 

Jeffrey J.Park (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ashes Are Burning (Audio CD)

This 1973 album marks the beginning of the bands signature sound and a four album period that shows them at a creative peak. The lineup on this album included lead vocalist Annie Haslam, John Camp (Rickenbacker 4001 bass and vocals), John Tout (acoustic piano, harpsichord, organ, moog synthesizer, and vocals), Michael Dunford (acoustic guitar), and Terence Sullivan (drums/percussion and vocals). Of the musicians, Annie Haslam's soaring soprano, John Tout's delicate acoustic piano playing, and John Camp's aggressive and trebly Rickenbacker bass sound really make this album work for me. Some people have complained about Michael Dunford's approach to the guitar but I actually like his folky strumming on the acoustic - it works well with the material. In addition to the core musicians, guest Andy Powell plays electric guitar on Ashes are Burning, and various pieces of an orchestra are featured here and there.

The six tracks on the album range in length from 3'34" to 11'24" (with most in the 3-7 minute range) and feature haunting melodies and soft acoustic textures, with some heavy bass playing. In general the overall style is that of progressive rock, with a great deal of English folk influences and European classical. In fact, there are a number of classical sounding melodies scattered throughout the album that sound awfully familiar - I am sure that if I took out some recordings by (for example) Debussy or Prokofiev, I would probably unravel the mystery. My favorite tracks include the proggy Ashes are Burning with it's churchy organ work and Can you Understand? although the rest of material is pretty strong.

This album is strongly recommended to prog fans that do not mind a lot of classical and folk mixed in with their prog rock. Other great albums include Turn of the Cards (1974); Scheherazade and other Stories (1975); and Novella (1977).

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Renaissance Masterpiece, July 19, 2006

By 

Alan Caylow (USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ashes Are Burning (Audio CD)

1973's "Ashes Are Burning" is the fourth Renaissance album, which saw the band say goodbye to guitarist Rob Hendry and a hearty hello to guitarist/songwriter Michael Dunford. "Ashes Are Burning" is also the band's masterpiece, with stunningly superb songs & performances from beginning to end. It's just an incredible listening experience. All six songs on "Ashes" are musical works of art in their own right. The nearly 10-minute "Can You Understand" sees Renaissance thundering in like a powerful storm, before the thunder gives way to the calm and beauty of Annie Haslam's voice and the lovely accompanyment by the band. Then they go thundering out again at the end. It's brilliant! The next four pieces, "Let It Grow," "On The Frontier," "Carpet Of The Sun," and "At The Harbor" are simply gorgeous numbers. But the band save the best for last---the title track, which is 11 1/2 minutes of astounding, passionate classical/rock (with a thrilling, jamming instrumental bridge and powerful conclusion, too). It is without question the Renaissance signature song, the number they always concluded their concerts with, and rightfully so. Absolutely phenomenal work from the whole band---Annie Haslam's astonishing five-octave voice, and the equally astonishng playing of guitarist Michael Dunford, bassist Jon Camp, keyboardist John Tout, and drummer Terry Sullivan. "Ashes Are Burning" is a sensational album from a sensational group. Buy it now!

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three of their best songs ever on only their second album, September 27, 2000

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ashes Are Burning (Audio CD)

Half of the half-dozen songs on Renaissance's second album from 1972 are prime examples of the group's progressive (nee classical) rock sound. The best proof of this is that "Can You Understand?", "Carpet of the Sun" and "Ashes Are Burning" are also performed on the 1976 "Live from Carnegie Hall" album.

The title track is undoubtedly the ultimate Renaissance encore piece. Indeed, it serves as the final track on not only that pair of albums but also the two volume "Tales of 1001 Nights" set, where it is moved from its contemporary pieces on the first volume to the last track on the second. "Ashes Are Burning" is the perfect encore piece because it serves so well as an extended showcase for solos by the group's members.

In contrast, "Can You Understand?" has always been the ideal opening song for a Renaissance album, with its driving piano melody that spurns the rest of the band to match it as the song progresses. Yet within this 10 minute epic we are also treated to Annie Halsam singing accompanied only by acoustic guitar, before the song again builds upon a larger them appropriated from a Russian classical composer.

"Carpet of the Sun" remains the group's best known "single," not only because it is one of the few songs short enough to be given airplay, but also because Annie Halsam's vocals with that dazzling trill continues to delight. More than any other singer of her time, Halsam's singing voice was an instrument integral to the composition and performance of each song, which is why she is as effective singing a series of la's as she is singing Betty Thatcher's lyrics.

Michael Dunford wrote the music for all but one of the songs on this album, which marked his official return to the group. Jim McCarty did the music for the remaining track ("On the Frontier) while Richard Hewson wrote and conducted the orchestral arrangements that became a defining element of Renaissance's work. In retrospect, what is most impressive about "Ashes Are Burning" is how quickly the group found its voice after the release of their first album, "Prologue." For the next six years things would only be getting better with many considering their next effort, "Turn of the Cards" to be their best album.