| Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Can You Hear Me? | | | | | |
| 2. The Sisters | | | | | |
| 3. Midas Man | | | | | |
| 4. The Captive Heart | | | | | |
| 5. Touching Once (Is So Hard To Keep) | | | | | |
As I've noted in a previous review (for A Song For All Seasons -- see the Tentative Reviews web site), Renaissance managed to last longer than most other progressive bands before beginning their period of decline. During the period of 1977-78, when bands such as Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, ELP fell part-way or whole-way into pop mediocrity, Renaissance managed to come up with one excellent album Novella, from 1977) and one very good one A Song For All Seasons, from 1978). I've already speculated as to why this was, and readers can examine the previous review for full coverage. Central to my theory, though, is the fact that Renaissance had a different audience base than many other progressive bands.
While AOR radio -- and, to a lesser extent, punk -- were undermining the creative licence of other progressive bands, Renaissance managed to escape relatively unscathed (for a few years, at least). Quite simply, they didn't need to go through the channels of "rock and roll" or "hit radio" to keep their audience -- and, as such, they were able to keep going with elaborate musical ventures even while Yes were being pared back to "Going For The One" and "Don't Kill The Whale". (Mind you, Renaissance were starting to experience certain problems by 1979. Perhaps no band can outrun the market forever. But the fact remains that they kept their credibility longer than most of their compatriots).
Novella has somewhat of an ambiguous place in the Renaissance catalogue. Bruce Eder, writing on the All-Music Guide, has written off the album as a retreading of earlier paths -- having the form of previous Renaissance material, but lacking the spark that made it all worthwhile. And it must be admitted that the album does not break any new ground for the band. Nor is it as good as Turn Of The Cards, probably their best all-around release. But it is an album which stands up well in comparison to the rest of their catalogue, all questions of self-similarity (and self-plagiarism) aside. And, in the blur of history, these questions are less significant now than they were at the time of the album's release.
How well one likes this album might be most accurately measured by one's opinion of (i) Genesis's Trespass, and (ii) Russian classical music of the early part of this century. Like the former, Novella mixes epic stories with gentle (often tragic) lyricism, sweeping musical grandeur with chilling ventures into near-silence; the influence of the latter is perhaps more direct, with motifs in the style of the Russian greats (Prokofiev in particular) turning up here and there. Those with an appreciation for both of these forms will probably find much to like here [alternately, those Renaissance fans unfamiliar with early Genesis might want to start with Trespass ... or perhaps A Trick Of The Tail.]
Proof of the band's relative immunity from the events of 1977 can be found in the fact that the album begins with a fourteen-minute epic, entitled "Can You Hear Me?". Beginning with a curious distortion-ambience setting on from the keyboards (which seemingly has nothing to do with the rest of the album), the track proper soon bursts forward with a very classical-seeming motif, first expressed on piano and then by the orchestra. As per the previous paragraph, the influence is clearly Russian; the use of Haslam's voice as an instrument accompanies the track extremely well, and the bass/tympani interplay is a testament to the band's power of arrangement. Moreover, this "classical" theme actually develops -- rather than simply putting forth the "big-sounding melody" into a pop context, they let the motif develop for a few minutes before moving into the "song" section -- and even this is done gradually, with an acoustic guitar line only gradually breaking away from the rest of the accompaniment. One can't help but admire a band that was willing to take its time with such things in 1977.
When the actual "song" does begin, Haslam is revealed to have been in the prime of her voice at this period (or at least very close) -- the sparse nature of the first chorus matches with her voice very well. Most impressive, of course, is her use of the high range in the "bridge" vocal section (also known as "I Call Your Name"). The "song-qua-song" probably wouldn't merit a five-star rating on its own, but fits in well with the rest of the structure. Other instruments take over the main theme as the track develops as well (the bass lead during the instrumental bridge is particularly impressive), and the final appearance of the chorus seems quite triumphant in a musical sense (even if the song's question hasn't been answered). This track easily rates with earlier Renaissance epics -- not without reason, I suppose, was it the leadoff track on the second disc of the best-of compilation Tales Of 1001 Nights).
The second track on the album begins with the tolling of a bell, and, though the band were popular in Philadelphia, the commencing of "The Sisters" is meant to evoke an image of submission rather one of liberty. This track tells the saga of a group of Spanish nuns whose devout prayers are unable to save an entire region from famine; the lyric ends with their faith broken, and the land in devastation. The piano and strings theme on the introduction sets the basis of the track well enough, and the Spanish guitars in the instrumental section seem highly appropriate. This epic ballad deserves credit for not soft-selling the end section, and moreso for a fully appropriate musical backing. The quiet synths at the very end are nice touch as well.
Some might wonder if a five-star rating for "Midas Man" is appropriate; I'm not entirely convinced myself, and may alter this in later times. Still, regardless of the specific rating, this is a fairly impressive number as five-minute tracks go. Somewhat-but-not-really pop-oriented, this number tells the story of a wicked merchant capitalist, deliberately seeking out the oppression of his underlings for the sole purpose of counting his riches [note: unlike Henry Cow, this track does not contain open Marxist references]. Haslam's skills at vocal articulation (as opposed to emoting) come to the foreground here, and her performance in chanting the song title is very impressive. Musically, it's a less complex number than the previous tracks, but still has merit in its sparseness. [This track was also includes on Tales Of 1001 Nights, by the way].
"The Captive Heart" is the least impressive track on the album, even though it's still fairly good. English art-song, with love/romantic-epic lyrics; the piano line falls somewhere in the middle-ground between classical heights and commercial-pop valleys ... and that's basically the track. Jon Camp takes what is thankfully his only lead vocal on the album here, and that only lasts for a line or two -- that aside, there isn't terribly much more to say about this number, except that there's nothing to fault in the performances themselves.
The title "Touching Once (Is So Hard To Keep)" may conjure up nightmarish Streisand-esque images, but the track is thankfully something entirely different -- this is another progressive/epic number, nine minutes in length and possessing a recurring classical motif of the same variety as that used in "Can You Hear Me?" (though obviously not the same motif, lest anyone misinterpret my point). The Russian motifs begin the track on piano [the notes to Tales Of..., which this track appears on, point to Stravinsky in particular], and the vocal melodies and bass performances are particular notable for their excellence (the rapid-line emoting of the vocal line in the middle-section is the most impressive thing about Haslam's performance in this track). The track then moves to a fairly lengthy orchestral build-up, which is most notable for featuring a solo saxophone line towards the end (pretty surprising, all things considered). A reprise then occurs, featuring a bass performance of the aforementioned rapid-fire vocal emotings; and, with a sudden orchestral reprise, we arrive at the end of a very impressive album. [Note: for some reason, the structure of this track reminds me a little bit of "Mad Man Moon" -- hence the Trick Of The Tail recommendation earlier in the review].
If you are a fan of Renaissance, you should own this album -- regardless of whether it's considered to be in their "main sequence" of albums or not. Turn Of The Cards might be a better choice for first time fans ... but, on the other hand, "Can You Hear Me?" was the first Renaissance track that I ever heard; Novella might work fairly well in this capacity as well.
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 12 Jun 1998)