Customer Reviews

Live at Carnegie Hall

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Even though there were many other great (usually shorter) songs from their first few albums that didn't even make it to this album, "Live at Carnegie Hall" is still pretty much a "best of" for Renaissance up to their 1976 output. They grandly showcase their unique brand of classical rock (complete with orchestra!), which was often heavily influenced by Russian romantic and impressionist composers of classical music. Annie Haslam's voice is as beautiful as ever here, and she hits a high note at the end of "Scheherazade" that still astounds me. I love the between-songs dialogue between her, John Camp and the very appreciative audience. Camp's bass solo on "Ashes are Burning" - simply sublime! In fact, the whole band sounds tight. This is an absolute treasure for progressive rock lovers.

I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:

Music quality = 9.3/10; Performance = 9.5/10; Production = 9/10; CD length = 10/10.

Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 9.4 ("5 stars")

I don't even know where to begin with this collection. There is no bad cut here. There is, however, romance and adventure. Magic and myth. Joy and sadness. The voice of Annie Haslam will take you up and wisk you away on a journey of the mind and heart. A journey you will want to take over and over. Whether in the middle of the night or in the bright sunlight. I have many favorites including "Scheherazade", "Ocean Gypsy", Ashes Are Burning", and "Can You Understand". Really they are all good because of the voice (Annie Haslam) and the incredible backing of Tout, Camp, and Dunford this band is the best. Without doubt in the top 5 of my collection - all time.

After years of reading these posts, I've decided to weigh in with my own, and it is this: "Live at Carnegie Hall" is, simply, Renaissance's finest moment.

My relationship with their music began late one autumn night in 1976 at the University of Nevada in Reno. A twist of the radio dial to an obscure FM station landed on "Running Hard." I took it all in, and fortunately the DJ later identified the band. I was hooked.

The next day I headed for the record store, but all they had in stock was the "Carnegie" double LP, and reluctantly I seized it. Good decision, turns out. From then on -- and to this day -- I have none of the band's studio recordings save for "Novella." Don't know that I even want them, either. Live recordings never appealed to me, but Renaissance, especially "Carnegie," I humbly bow to.

I wish I could have been there that summer solstice weekend in 1975. Imagine hearing "Scheherazade," live on stage for the first time. Blows my mind listening even now, three decades later, and imagining having a seat in Carnegie Hall.

To those of you who wish to argue over the finer points of the Renaissance sound, album versus album, song vs. song, go right ahead. I can't read a lick of music, but I know great sound when I hear it, and anytime Renaissance played live, it was indeed great.

I own the "Carnegie" CD, both volumes of the King Biscuit Royal Albert Hall performance (love the orchestra leader's reference to "Ren-AYE-saunce" in the intro) and "British Tour `76." I do not wish to compare, only enjoy. None disappoints, as each has its own personality.

"Carnegie," though, sits top of the heap. Some think the band played it too safe; I say so what. They, and the orchestra, were so on their game -- Jon Camp, especially, with his muscular bass guitar. And his solo on "Ashes Are Burning"? Stupendous. What I'd give to see a video of that.

Keyboardist John Tout amazes; clearly among the elite of the era. And what can one say about Annie Haslam that hasn't already been said? There are great female voices in music, but she defies categorization and rises a classy and oh, so gorgeous head and shoulders above them all. The guy yelling, "You're lovely!" in the Carnegie audience during a pause in "Ashes Are Burning" said it best.

Other late 60s/70s-era bands I cherish -- those were my formative years, after all -- but time has eroded my tolerance. Seems that after one play I find myself reaching for my Renaissance CDs, and "Live at Carnegie Hall" is first among equals. Such staying power I can only attribute to the band's musicianship created in a rare, Beatle-esque convergence of talent.

Sadly, Renaissance never got the attention and fame the band so richly deserved. But gladly, I hit the right radio station that fateful night back in `76. Thanks to "Live at Carnegie Hall," I revel to this day in a band that transcends time and outlasts fads and fly-by-nighters.

Great music ­-- and a heavenly voice -- always will.

Based upon its own merits this is a five star recording, but I gave it only four and a half because I have to compare it to the live performance at the Royal Albert Hall produced by the King Biscuit Flower Hour. 'Live at Carnegie' is a fine recording with outstanding sound quality for a live performance. It is a compilation of all the favorite songs readily identifiable by all Renaissance fans and bears all the characteristics of their studio sessions. So much so, that it may be to a fault because the band's performance is executed as if they were in a studio and not giving a live show. It lacks all the exuberance and confidence displayed by the group in their later live recordings.

By contrast, the performance with the Royal Philharmonic at the Royal Albert Hall may have had a few minor technical gliches in sound quality, but these are more than tolerable given the band was two years more mature at that performance and it is evident in both group cohesion and individual musicianship. The arrangement and performance of 'Scheherazade' with the Royal Philharmonic is by far the best yet. The group used this performance as a forum to display a musicianship that by far surpasses the performance at Carnegie.

The Carnegie recording may be termed somewhat subdued in comparison, both band and orchestra. Noticeable lacking was the vocal acrobatics Annie Haslam displayed in later, more mature performances. For instance, in the King Biscuit recording. Haslam has a duo with John Tout's piano in 'Can you Understand' that is incredible, as well as a vocal duo with the xylophone in 'Running Hard'. Tout's piano, Camp's bass, Dunford's guitar, and group harmonies are in submission at the Carnegie performance, and the New York Philharmonic also just doesn't quite cut it.

All in all, it is a good recording and any Renaissance fan would do well to own it. But I would rather listen to the King Biscuit performance. All that is missing in that recording is "Ocean Gypsy", but it also has the later cuts of 'Can you Hear Me' and 'Touching Once', a song where Haslam uses her voice as an instrument mimicking a saxophone in an extraordinary display of musicianship. Carnegie listens well, but you don't feel the music like you do with the Albert Hall recording.

My only regret about being a relatively new diehard fan of Renaissance is that I got into the band *after* they split up. Oh sure, they briefly reunited back in 2001, but I was still too late! Also, there don't seem to be any live Renaissance concert DVD's available anywhere (were the band ever filmed, I wonder?), so, my enjoyment of Renaissance live in concert will have to be confined to their wonderful set of live albums. Thankfully, there are four of them (at least, four that I know of): "BBC Sessions", the "King Biscuit" double live album (though the two halves are sold seperately!), "In The Land Of The Rising Sun" (their farewell tour from 2001, as it turned out), and this one, "Live At Carnegie Hall." Released in 1976 (but recorded in '75), "Live At Carnegie Hall" is the 1st Renaissance live album, and it is also the best. In fact, this live album is absolutely phenomenal, one of the greatest live albums I have ever heard. If you never got to see Renaissance in concert, this live album will give you the closest thing to having the actual experience. Turn down the lights, push "Play" on your CD player, close your eyes, kick back....and you are at Carnegie Hall with Renaissance! Quite simply, Renaissance were--and are--a *fantastic* live band. The musical chemistry, dynamics, and power they display so effortlessly on their studio albums is greatly increased even further on the live concert stage. I mean, you can *feel* the band's onstage magic listening to this live set, I kid you not! "Live At Carnegie Hall" also captures Renaissance in the prime of their musical career, at the peak of their popularity. (Mind you, Renaissance never sold mass quantities of albums, unfortunately, but they did have a huge cult following, and they still do to this day.) It was 1975, the band were about to release their classic "Scheherazade And Other Stories" album (one of their highest-charting albums, going Top 50), and they sold out three nights at New York's Carnegie Hall, which is no small acheivement. In fact, New York was the most receptive place for Renaissance on the globe at the time. New York *loved* Renaissance in the mid-70's, playing their music to the hilt on the radio, and buying all those tickets to the Carnegie Hall gigs. Renaissance were treated like royalty in New York, so it was only fitting that their first live album be recorded there. As you can plainly hear on this live set, Renaissance loved their New York audiences right back, and gave them an outstanding performance, complete with orchestral accompanyment from the New York Philharmonic. The band blaze through the set, performing such gems as "Prologue," "Ocean Gypsy," "Can You Understand," "Carpet Of The Sun," "Running Hard" and "Mother Russia" with such focus and passion. These songs are then followed by two Renaissance magnum opuses: the brilliant, nearly half-hour tale of "Scheherazade" (featuring the New York Philharmonic), and the grand finale, a mindblowing, 23-minute "Ashes Are Burning" that will totally rock you from start to finish. As if I haven't made it clear enough, the band are simply superb: the soaring voice of singer Annie Haslam (her voice is *so* beautifully angelic, she must've dropped in from Heaven itself), guitarist Michael Dunford, bassist Jon Camp (who gets a *scorching* bass solo on "Ashes Are Burning"), keyboardist John Tout, and drummer Terry Sullivan. And the sound quality is astoundingly good, giving the listener a wonderful "you are there" experience. All four of the Renaissance live albums are wonderful, and you should get them all. But "Live At Carnegie Hall," for me, is The Big One. I cannot recommend this live album enough. So buy it, put it on, and recall those magical nights when Renaissance took the stage and held their audiences absolutely spellbound. It's all right here in "Live At Carnegie Hall."

This was a wonderful concert, all the more so for being held in Carnegie Hall. Some highlights that remain with me to this day are John Camp's bass solo and the really cheesy rotating christmas tree light they used on Annie Haslam at the conclusion of "Ashes Are Burning". The music was phenomenal, the vibe in the audience was beautiful and this album captures the ambiance and the mood perfectly. I'd highly recommend it.

This is a high-water mark for this group. No matter what you think of their other albums, this live performance is far better than any of their studio cuts! It is a testiment to their talent. Renaissance goes through their "greatest hits" with great energy and excitement, and the crowd really adds to it. They feed off of each other's energy in this recording, and that makes it really fun! This group's fusion of rock and classical music has never been more evident than in this recording, and each member excells. I have been listening to the LP version of this for over 25 years, and I am glad they finally put it on a CD.

Forget the arguments about which of Renaissance's albums was their best. If you don't already have an opinion on the subject, your best bet is this live collection, recorded at the band's peak in 1976.

While more commercially successful progressive bands were fusing classical forms with the driving beats and electrically charged energy of rock, Renaissance focused on the ideal of musical beauty. Chalk some of that up to Annie Haslem's voice - one of the most beautiful I've heard. The backing instruments are also selected not for power, but for beautiful tonal color. For instance: no electric guitar. Even the acoustic guitar is not overused; the keyboards do most of the heavy lifting. And while we're on the subject, there're no ungodly synthesizer noises, either. So the comparisons to Yes and ELP are not really that meaningful. Renaissance fits better into the Moody Blues/Procol Harum mold - they aren't really trying to rock.

Featuring the best material from several albums, this collection is a fine example of the beauty and grandeur that progressive music strives for. The lush orchestra arrangements and solid musicianship shine through on every single track. So why doesn't everybody have this stuff?

Well, a top-forty hit would have helped and despite the joyful "Carpet of the Sun" and the tearful "Ocean Gypsy" this band somehow never quite broke into the mainstream. Perhaps, ultimately, the obscurity of the material was too much for many, especially since art rock was to some extent really a guy thing. Sure, women were rocking in the seventies, but how many of them kept their audiences once they stopped singing about their own personal experiences? Haslem's voice is very strong and clear and vibrant - but not very vulnerable. Add to this the simple fact that these classical and folk-based rhythms are almost impossible to dance to, and you'll see why Renaissance was never more than a marginal act even in their prime.

Still a great performance is a great performance and when all is said and done the biggest weakness of this exquisite set is that fans of this band have heard it all before. As often happens with this kind of music, the band gets on stage and gives a very straight, very clean reading of the music exactly as it was recorded in the studio. Now this may be what the fans at Carnegie Hall wanted to hear, but fans buying CD's at home would really like a little something extra. Apart from the rousing choral break in "Running Hard" and a stunning bass solo in "Ashes are Burning," there's nothing on this disk that real fans don't already have in their collections.

So if you don't have "Song of Scheherazade" or any of the band's earlier seventies albums, this is a magnificent work of rare beauty that you'll be thrilled to listen to again and again. But if you do, take one star off this review's rating for each one that you already own.

I saw this band in 1977 at or near the peak of their powers in a fairly intimate setting at Wesleyan University. Art-rockers from Chris Squire on down favored the Rickenbacker Stereo Bass (model 4001 if you must know) It provided a primitive but effective "electric" solution that later bass makers would solve more simply, electronically. The problem is simple: if one wanted a lot of thunderous deep bass volume, you would loose the articulation (i.e. it would be sort of a big rumble) If instead you wanted a lot of articulation, so people could actually hear the notes you we're playing, you lost the thunder. Doug Irwin from Alembic built Guild based versions of an instrument for both Jack Cassidy and Phil Lesh. They were terrific sounding instruments but complicated as hell to operate. The English Art-rockers knew not of Doug Irwin, so it was to the Rickenbacker they turned. This solution could not be more simple: the bridge position or "treble" pick-up was on one channel of a stereo plug and the neck position or "bass" pick up was on the other. They called it "Rick-o-Sound" (no kidding) and gave you a stereo ¼ in. plug and a little box that separated the two signals into two 1.4 inch jacks at the end of your cord (remember cords?) So then run the base side through, say an Acoustic 371 with a folded horn 18" portable earthquake for a speaker and the treble side through, say a Baseman with 4- 10" Jensens. You then used the primitive tone controls to enhance the bass on the bass amp and the treble on the treble amp turn the whole contraption up real loud and hold forth! The bass player in Renaissance was probably the single best practitioner of this cool trick ever recorded. The Soaring vocals of Annie Haslam above all of that lovely great pipe organ deep bass was one of a kind in all of rock, maybe in all of music. I miss the days when record companies would keep bands like this around just for the pure musical genius of it. We're all the worse for it.

This album captured the flavor and feel of what the concert was really like. I was at the second show at carnegie hall that contrubuted to the making of this album. Seeing Renaissance with a full orchestra to compliment their sound was a treat. This was also the introduction of Scheherezad and completely blew everyone away. the concert version of Ashes are burning shows off Annies vocal range much more than the album version. I recommend this cd for both the new Renaissance listener as well as those who are just discovering the band.