| Track: | Rating: | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Moonlight Shadow | | | |
| 2. The Angels Cry | | | |
| 3. When A Heart Finds Another | | | |
| 4. Let It Be Me | | ||
| 5. She's The Light | | | |
| 6. Celestine | | | |
| 7. Further From Fantasy | | | |
| 8. Wishin' On A Star | | | |
| 9. Wildest Dreams | | | |
| 10. One More Arrow | | | |
| 11. One Love | | | |
Not listed, but "Moonlight Shadow" is a remake of the Mike Oldfield song, and "The Angels Cry" is apparently a Justin Hayward creation.
Some cruel individual has given this album a
Annie Haslam is a disgrace, a product which shamelessly panders to the lowest common denominator of the adult-contemporary pop music market (and doesn't even do it terribly well, due to the terrible production). The magic of Renaissance is scarely to be found on this monstrosity -- instead, the listener will only find banal ballads and tiresome pop ditties, a sad testimony to the legacy of a once-great artist.
In fairness, this disaster may not be Haslam's fault. Although the songwriting credits are not listed on my version of the album (could someone fill me in on this? are the songs written by Dunford/Thatcher, both of whom are thanked on inside sleeve?), Haslam was never known for playing even a marginal role in the writing process during her time with Renaissance. Her vocal performances through much of the album do not merit excessive criticism -- though not as memorable as her earlier ventures, they are at least not too much of a step down. In this case, the queen's ministers may be to blame.
Haslam aside, the songwriting and musical performances are generally disgraceful, and the production (by Larry Fast) is even worse (fading out songs too noticeably, burying Justin Hayward's vocals in the mix, etc.) In the absence of a five-star performance by the leading star, the quality of the album must suffer as such.
The album actually begins on a fairly innocuous note, with a textbook remake of Mike Oldfield's "Moonlight Shadow". Despite less-than-stellar performances by the musicians (especially the drummer), the track manages to squeak through to a "decent" rating by virtue of the quality of the original songwriting. The differences from the Oldfield version are fairly minimal; if you like one version, you should like the other. A deceptively tolerable beginning to the album.
Then, things start collapsing rather quickly. "The Angels Cry" is a tedious ballad, featuring horrendously banal lyrics (courtesy Hayward), and uninteresting musical accompaniment. Hayward himself doesn't really do terribly much, even if the terrible mixing of his voice is ignored. The track would receive an even lower rating were it not for Larry Fast's vaguely interesting synth performance (one almost wonders if he only cared about advertising his own skills...).
"When A Heart Finds Another" is a forgettable slice of late-'80s mainstream pop (of the "upbeat" variety), sounding more like a cross between Annie Lennox and Debbie Gibson than the Haslam of old. There's a tiny bit of substance here, but not much. Fast once again messes up the fade-out.
"Let It Be Me" is the album's low point -- a horrendous ballad that not even Mel Collins can save from utter disaster. This is lite-pop fodder, and not worthy of further analysis.
"She's The Light" begins with a keyboard heavy intro which turns out to be the entire song. ;) A trace of the old Haslam re-emerges here, but the track is so insubstantial (and short) as to make it essentially meaningless as an artistic statement. The music then suddenly shifts to "Celestine", a track which switches from conventional lite-pop moments to a slightly more "proggy" section on a regular basis. The vocal performance and drumming are better here than elsewhere, but not by much. Recommended for fans of Johnny Hates Jazz.
"Further From Fantasy" begins with self-parodic vocal emitting, and quickly reveals itself as yet another uptempo pop number. Slightly more tolerable than some of the other material here, it still isn't terribly much.
"Wishin' On A Star" merits an extra half-star for occasionally decent keyboard atmospherics, and for a half-decent ending. Otherwise, it's just another entry in the catalogue of tedium.
"Wildest Dreams" begins with a vaguely interesting musical setting, and quickly breaks down. It's ... another boring pop song, with little to distinguish it from anything else on the album. The guitar solo at the end is not compelling.
"One More Arrow" has the sad distinction of featuring a recurring four-second proggy keyboard solo, and is otherwise notable only for its uptempo nature.
"One Love" contains vaguely Caribbean percussion, but is otherwise just another tedious pop track, with banalities stacked up like a set of Emerson's keyboards. The reviewer is left to complain that he has so little to talk about ...
In short, this album is recommended only for completists and masochists. Prog fans need not bother. It is to Haslam's credit that her recent duet number with Steve Howe ("Lily's In The Field") is a step back in the right direction; Annie Haslam, though, appears to be the nadir of her career.
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 17 July 1997)