Customer Reviews

Song of Scheherezade

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

There has been much written about the faulty disc that marred the release of this DVD. I received my copy from Amazon a couple of days ago and the speed problem has been fixed.

The two concerts represented on this DVD have been filmed in black and white, and as the result the video isn't what one would hope. That said, there is a dearth of video material for Renaissance so anything is welcome. And the best part is that the two concerts are actually of the band... they were shot from the stage and give you an up-close and personal view of the group in action. There isn't any of that vertigo-inducing MTV editing that seems to be so much part and parcel of many modern concert vids.

I give this a definite five stars. The video isn't perfect and the audio isn't exquisite, but the music represents two really great periods of Renaissance output.

If you're a fan, I highly recommend it!

After reading the other reviews of this, the only video recording available of the best lineup of Renaissance, I decided to take a chance on it. I saw them at their peak in 1978 and have always considered them the best kept secret of the glorious progressive rock era of the 1970's. The DVD is in keeping with the descriptions written by other reviewers in that the picture is in black and white and the sound is decidedly disappointing, but considering that it must never have been intended for distribution, I find the camera work to be fairly polished and the audio more than acceptable.
There are two concerts on the disc. The 1979 show is playing now and represents such a tragic decline for Renaissance that it pains me to hear it. I find it incredible that they could have plunged to such depths. Personnel changes took place between the two shows recorded for this offering, and the one is 1979 is horrible. Annie Haslam is out of tune. Need I say more.
The 1976 concert at The Capital Theater is transcendent. It was very similar to the ones I remember in Austin and Houston two years later. The material is a wish list for Renaissance fans, and Annie's five-octave voice is in full bloom. The group was in perfect form as they moved through the best of their catalogue in what really was a dream set list for the knowledgeable fan.
Aside from the overall excellence of this performance by this criminally obscure band, Jon Camp's bass playing marks him as one of the best of the era, as he treats his four-stringed guitar like a lead instrument.
Annie Haslam is captured exactly as I remember her: beautiful, elegant, and flawless. Great possibilities came to fruition when Renaissance mixed an opera singer with virtuoso rock. I fell in love with her thirty years ago along with every other guy in Jones Hall, and I am now left to pine anew.

"Renaissance DVD Faulty, DO NOT Purchase.

Sadly, the first 'Renaissance' DVD was released to the public as a faulty product. The company, Cherry Red Records, is working on correcting the problem.

Please do not purchase the DVD until we give the go ahead.

If yours is faulty, please contact Cherry Red directly. Contact information will be on your copy.

Renaissance assumes no responsibility for this, as it was out of their hands. They are very upset this has happened and are sad about the disappointment felt by many fans."

Although it's only listed with three movements on the disc, the 1976 show contains ALL of Song of Scheherezade (although some sections use the orchestral backing tapes from the original recording).
Much has already been made of the fact that the sound and video quality on this disc is less than optimal (ah, the anal retentive prog-rock fan), but please try to remember that this was the 70s, and video documentation of this group is sadly negligible to begin with (apart from some even poorer quality footage of the group on Rock Concert which you can find on YouTube). Despite all that one can still enjoy the fruits of this extraordinary ensemble. Their music, so full of wonder and bereft of the desperate, self-conscious fear and irony that completely dominates modern music, is an oasis for the soul. Also, in a strange way, the black-and-white footage lends a kind of poignancy to the proceedings, giving the musicians the look of phantoms from the past, which in essence is what they are.
Here are some highlights:
-- Annie Haslam giggling and laughing between songs, chatting it up with the rowdy Jersey crowds.
-- Jon Camp's left hand, which never stops moving over the neck of his bass.
-- Camp's intro to Scheherezade, which is snarkier and racier than on Live at Carnegie Hall.
-- John Tout, like an octopus, replicating all the various orchestral parts on his ARPs.
-- the ultra-cheesy 70s disco flying saucer lights on Secret Mission.
-- Annie Haslam dancing with her hands on her hips, and the guy in the audience proposing to her (and, of course, her zillion-octave vocal range).
--oh, and did I mention ALL OF FRIGGIN' SCHEHEREZADE!!
There is much humanity in this music. Renaissance in the 70s embodied youth, passion, imagination, and joy. You almost want to caress this band. Thanks to Cherry Red UK for releasing this, and working out the technical glitches. Enjoy!
(If they had performed Trip to the Fair, I would have been in tears.)

The only complaint to have about this DVD is the fact that it is in B&W, color would have been alot better, and why 2 shows filmed in 1976 & 1979 are in B&W, I don't know.It's also a faded B&W, not nice & crisp, BUT it is Renaissance, and it's the ONLY Reniassance in DVD, so if your a fan I highly endorse it. Two seperate concerts (not highlights from 2 different shows), you can choose the show you want to see at the beginning (it goes right into the 2nd show after the first), the only other problem is as mentioned in another review is that the sound for the 2nd show is not as good as the first, Annie's voice does sound a little out of tune,but you can handle it o-k.I relly enjoyed the DVD and mainly the 1st show,being from New Jersey originally, it was good to see a show from there( the 1st show from Passiac & the 2nd from Asbury Park).If you love Renaissance, buy it you won't be sorry.

This Rock group has to be one of the top ten groups in the world....and there is NO voice in the world like Annie Halsam---truly remarkable...
Just listen to THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND to hear this amazing group's full talent range....
I was lucky to see them on a special concert tour in Oct 2009--found about it by accident. REMARKABLE...you will want all their albums!

Yes, this dvd is in black & white, & yes, the sound isn't up to date with modern technology, but then again, it wasn't recorded with modern technology. In spite of these things, any true Renaissance fan who's loved them since the 70's will cherish this chance to see the band live again, after all these years. It is filmed quite well, not like the MTV-type machine gun style of so many live show dvds of recent years. You can actually watch the members perform without getting motion sickness from extreme camera movement, and they didn't edit out the in-between song repartee between the band and the very appreciate audience. The fact that there are 2 separate concerts recorded a few years apart is also very interesting, as the viewer gets a chance to see & hear how the band had changed (and also remained the same) from one show to another. Just getting a chance to see and hear Annie Haslam perform at her vocal best is reason enough to purchase this dvd.

"This DVD was mastered from the original 1976/79 video recordings. Due to the age of these, there contains some loss of technical quality compared to normal broadcast standards. We still believe they capture the essence of the band."

So it says (in small print) on the back of "Song Of Scheherazade", the first-ever concert DVD by the band Renaissance. Yes, there's no denying that the video quality is only average at best: the two concerts, both shot in New Jersey in 1976 and 1979, respectively, are in black-and-white (for unexplained reasons), and the passing of three decades have put some very-obvious wear on these old concert videotapes. I presume a digital clean-up was impossible, so this Renaissance footage has been released "as-is". Nonetheless, as there simply isn't very much film or video material in existence of the group, I'll take whatever footage I can get! On that basis alone, the "Song Of Scheherazade" DVD is a must-buy for any diehard Renaissance fan. If you were lucky enough to see Renaissance all those years ago, or especially if you *never* got to see them live and have had to make due with listening to their live albums and recorded work (like me), then I'm confident that, like me, you will greatly appreciate owning this DVD.

The grainy, black-and-white picture quality? I got used to it after a while. At the very least, it IS watchable. And the sound quality? Not the greatest, but it's certainly good enough. Look, I'm just grateful that, with this DVD, I can finally SEE Renaissance in concert at long last, and not just hear them. SEE the gorgeous Annie Haslam, with her spellbinding voice, great beauty and stage presence (heck, *I* would've proposed to her too back then, just like the guy in the concert video)! SEE Jon Camp on bass! SEE Michael Dunford on guitar! SEE John Tout on keyboards! SEE Terry Sullivan on drums! And SEE the band perform such classics as "Prologue", "Mother Russia", "A Song For All Seasons", and a complete performance of the 25-minute epic, "Song Of Scheherazade"! Works for me.

If I have any real criticism about the DVD, it's that both concerts are shown incomplete. And no grand finale of "Ashes Are Burning" either??? That alone is a shameful omission. And, as good a song as "Flood At Lyons" is, it's simply the wrong song to end the DVD with. Still, I really can't complain. Mind you, I know the band recorded a couple of short concerts for television (one for the BBC and one for Don Kirschner), plus a few early music videos, as You Tube clearly shows. Hopefully this material will get a release sometime in the future. But for now, I'm very happy with "Song Of Scheherazade". I'm just grateful to have any concert footage of the band at all! So thank you, Renaissance, for making this vintage concert footage available to your fans at last. Please bring us more---if possible!

If your choice is no video record of one of the most sophisticated bands ever or this DVD, you choose this without hesitation. Until something better comes along, I will cherish this offering and enjoy it on a regular basis. For those spoiled by the high definition of blu-ray and cannot accept anything historical for the treat that it is ... stay away. We don't need to hear your complaints. (Also stay away from any video of the Beatles, they broke up long before blu-ray.) If you enjoy musical artistry at it's highest level, watch these five amazing masters of their craft at the pinnacle of their career.

It's in medium quality B&W
Captures the band live at one of their most musically together times.
If you love Renaissance you will enjoy it and wish a super clean digital
version was available.