Renaissance

★★★ Scheherazade & Other Stories ESOTERIC. CD

Expanded version of folk-classical troupe’s most acclaimed album.

By 1975 and Renaissance’s sixth album, all their founder members – including ex-Yardbirds core Keith Relf and Jim McCarty – had gone, and their original blueprint of folk stretched by classical progressions had been refined and beautified. Comprising just four tracks across 46 minutes, Scheherazade aims for the epic, ebbing and flowing through vocal – Annie Haslam recalls a flightier Maddy Prior – and instrumental parts; John Tout’s piano stands alongside Genesis’ Tony Banks (both bands briefly shared producer David Hitchcock) in flourishes that don’t topple over into showing off. It culminates in the nine-part, 25-minute title track, based on Middle Eastern folk tales One Thousand And One Nights (and not Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphony), but it’s less peak convoluted prog than fullflowing AOR. The bonus live disc includes the full Scheherazade, but there is little to choose between both versions. Martin Aston