Scheherazade and Other Stories

Scheherazade and Other Stories
Renaissance studio album
Publication (s)	July 1975
admission	May 1975
Label (s)	BTM Records (UK) Sire Records (US)
Format (s)	LP
Genre (s)	Art rock , progressive rock
Title (number)	4th
running time	45:39 min
occupation	Singing: Annie Haslam Keyboards, background vocals: John Tout Bass, vocals: Jon Camp Drums, percussion : Terence Sullivan Acoustic guitar, backing vocals: Michael Dunford
production	David Hitchcock Renaissance
Studio (s)	Abbey Road Studios
chronology Turn of the Cards (1974) Scheherazade and Other Stories Live at Carnegie Hall (1976)

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Scheherazade and Other Stories   US 48 October 25, 1975 (13 weeks)

Scheherazade and Other Stories is the sixth studio album by the British progressive rock group Renaissance . It was released in July 1975.

background

Around Easter 1975, Annie Haslam went out to dinner with Roy Wood (formerly ELO ), Dick Plant (the producer of Turn of the Cards ) and his wife. Someone suggested going to Hampstead Heath , there would be a fair there. When they got there, nobody was there anymore, it was already after midnight. The next day Annie Haslam called Betty Thatcher, the Renaissance copywriter, and said, "We went to the fair and there was nobody there." Betty Thatcher wrote the song Trip to the Fair from it .

Song of Scheherazade is not an interpretation of the symphonic poem by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov . However, just like the work of Rimsky-Korsakov, it is based on the story Thousand and One Nights , which Michael Dunford was fascinated by.

The London Symphony Orchestra played during the recording , the orchestral arrangements are by Tony Cox.

Track list

page 1

1. Trip to the Fair - 10:51 (Dunford / Thatcher / Tout)
2. The Vultures Fly High - 03:04 (Dunford / Thatcher)
3. Ocean Gypsy - 07:05 (Dunford / Thatcher)

Page 2

1. Song of Scheherazade - 24:37 (Camp / Dunford / Thatcher / Tout)
   1. Fanfare - 2:37 (instrumental)
   2. The Betrayal - 4:55 (instrumental)
   3. The Sultan - 2:46 (vocals Jon Camp)
   4. Love Theme - 2:29 (instrumental)
   5. The Young Prince and the Princess As Told By Scheherazade - 4:04
   6. Festival Preparations - 1:07 (instrumental)
   7. Fugue for the Sultan - 2:12 (instrumental)
   8. The Festival - 2:12
   9. Final - 2:30

Reviews

"The" Song Of Scheherazade "suite is very varied, from the wind fanfare to driving and ballad-like pieces with catchy, but never cheap melodies, orchestral interludes, a fugue-like part to the bombast finale. Motifs and melodies are presented and later taken up again in a different context: this is how symphonic prog should be. Perhaps one or the other part sounds a bit very film music-like, but what the heck: this record is simply beautiful. "

- Udo Gerhards on babyblaue-seiten.de

"This 24 minutes epic piece is one of the most impressive suite in the whole progressive genre and, maybe, the most refined. Highly recommended masterpiece! "

- progarchives.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Charts US
2. ↑ Interview with Annie Haslam , dprp.net, accessed on September 7, 2012 (English).
3. ↑ Liner Notes of the CD "Tales of 1001 Nights"
4. ↑ this is how symphonic prog should be. , babyblaue-seiten.de, accessed on September 7, 2012.
5. ↑ Highly recommended masterpiece! , progarchives.com, accessed September 7, 2012.

Web links

• Scheherazade and Other Stories at Allmusic (English)
• Scheherazade and Other Stories on Discogs
• Reviews of Scheherazade and Other Stories on the Babyblauen Seiten