RENAISSANCE : DREAMS & OMENS - 'LIVE' AT THE TOWER THEATRE, PHILADELPHIA PA 1978

1. Can You Hear Me ?
2. Carpet Of The Sun
3. Day Of The Dreamer
4. Midas Man
5. Northern Lights
6. Things I Don't Understand

Label : Friday Music

Release Date : October 21, 2008

Length : 47:16

Review (AllMusic) : There are several very distinct periods of Renaissance history - of which the most exciting may well be the time surrounding their best album, A Song for All Seasons, It is the album - along with Azure d'Or and Novella - that almost broke them as pop stars and was filled with some of the most interesting (in their prog rock roots) songs they had yet written. This live album is from the tour accompanying the Song for All Seasons tour - and, as such, it could be argued that it is Renaissance at the peak of their powers. Even more so than Live at Carnegie Hall or the welcomed reunion concert, In the Land of the Rising Sun, Dreams & Omens captures Renaissance as one tight pop band. They almost play like a cross between the Alan Parsons Project and late-era ABBA (as in The Visitors-era ABBA!). Never mind that there are only six songs and that some of them top out at over ten minutes. This is great pop music played by professionals at the top of their game. To hear the two included numbers from Song for All Seasons is the absolute highlight - their mini-single, "Northern Lights," and - especially - the epic "Day of the Dreamer." One only wishes that the band or the label had seen fit to reissue this concert in its entirety, in order to hear more of the gems that don't often come across the usual Renaissance live albums and compilations. This is the sound of a band hitting its creative peak and understanding how to reconcile ten-minute epics with three-minute pop songs with astonishing results in both arenas. And you can only listen and marvel as they do it so effortlessly. Hands down, this is Renaissance's best live release. Its only flaw is in its brevity. Essential for fans.

Review (Amazon) : For the first time ever, Annie Haslam of Renaissance has gone back to her archives, and has located the much rumored pristine 1978 concert recording at Philly's most famous venue The Tower Theatre. This incredible performance includes wonderful favorites like Carpet Of The Sun, and several lengthy tracks like the fifteen minute Can You Hear Me, as well as more tracks from all of their key albums like Ashes Are Burning, Turn Of The Cards and Novella. Include new liners from the band, as well as unique artwork graphics designed by Annie herself!

Review (ProgArchives) : For sure it's difficult to evaluate an important live concert like the present one (dated 1978), where the monophonic mix, as well as their first turning point of their career (culminating into the disappointing "Azure D'or" ), seem to make us express a controversial opinion about it! Don't get me wrong, Annie's voice is clear as usual and in general the sound of the best ensemble of Renaissance as well; but here the mix of the bass guitar is bad (perhaps can you hear it?), being almost missing and- moreover- They have not included any symphonic track from "Turn of the cards" (with the exception of "Things I Don't Understand"), "Scheherazade" and also the majority of "A Song for All Seasons"...well this is the point, this latter album issued on the same period, was a perfect balance between the commercial ballads such as "Northern Lights" and the symphonic suite of the title track, of which there's no trace in the present live act . You can find the main songs from "Novella", played in a remarkable manner as usual, but their attempt to achieve a wider audience is clearly evident when you listen to "Northern Lights" (otherwise already used for a tv-series in the UK), an hit single in that period, where their new mood began to grow...Unfortunately their best folk-symphonic period ended after the issue of "Novella" (dated 1977) and here (despite of their good execution concerning "Day of the Dreamer", the second track inside "A Song for All..."), their stuff is not enough to know the best Renaissance" (otherwise is a very short audio cd- 47 minutes long, which is not completely representative of the band) and at the end you lose the acoustic guitar a bit and the bass guitar too much...nevermind, cause the duo represented by John Tout at the keyboards and Annie Haslam with her magic fascination and her clear voice, makes this "Dreams & Omens" worth checking out at least!! Perhaps, by means of a great sound engineer like for instance Terry Brown, the final output as well as the quality of the recording should be completely different...but such defect cannot erase the grandeur of a legendary band, which became a controversial group only in the late seventies/early eighties!!

Review (Repertoire Records) : Renaissance has been at the forefront of progressive rock for an incredible four decades and they are still weaving their magic in the year 2011. The story all began in the early 1970s, when the band that specialises in creating melodic classical rock themes began touring and recording a series of fine albums. Many of these have been reissued by Repertoire and among the latest is the much sought after 'live album 'Dreams & Omens: Live At The Tower Theatre, Philadelphia 1978.' 'Dreams & Omens' captures the band in action during one of its many U.S. tours and they are heard performing at their vibrant best for those enthusiastic Philadelphians who have long supported British prog rock. The CD comprises six tracks including 'Can You Hear Me', 'Carpet Of The Sun', 'Day Of The Dreamer', 'Midas Man', 'Northern Lights' and 'Things I Don't Understand' all recorded at the Tower Theatre and rescued from the archives. The band's classic line up at this time comprised singer Annie Haslam together with Michael Dunford (guitar), Jon Camp (bass), John Tout (piano) and Terry Sullivan (drums). Since the CD liner notes were first compiled with Michael's assistance, we have now been able to update them with more information and comments from Annie. Here is the essay in full to complement your future enjoyment of the music. RENAISSANCE 'Dreams & Omens: Live at the Tower Theatre 1978 Philadelphia' Dreams and omens can turn into realities, especially when the dream-like world of recorded music can help us see into the past and the future. It's strange to think that the ideas, moods, ambitions and even dreams captured on record can provide a time capsule to be replayed and enjoyed at anytime we choose. Such is the case with this glimpse into the past provided by 'Dreams & Omens', a superb album that showcases the British progressive group Renaissance, performing at their best during one of their happiest times together. Renaissance came to fame in the Seventies with an appealing blend of classical and rock themes mixed with overtones of folk. The band has undergone a welcome revival in recent years and is still performing with original members Annie Haslam and Michael Dunford. They are reaching out to young audiences, who are probably unaware of their long history. Their new fans will surely be pleased to hear this performance recorded in 1978 at the height of their first brush with fame, and now digitally restored. 1978 was the year 'Dreams & Omens' was recorded at the Tower Theatre in Philadelphia, and Michael Dunford remembers the exciting atmosphere at the concert, and the songs they recorded now happily restored for this CD. "The band was doing really well in America at that time. The Tower Theatre was a great venue for us - we'd played there a number of times. They really liked progressive rock in Philadelphia and still do, as proven by the tumultuous reception that Annie and I received with the new Renaissance line up on our 2009 Anniversary tour. The North East of the States was always our strongest market." Michael confesses he doesn't remember quite how the concert was recorded, but says they tended to record all shows whenever they played together. I know we received one of our strongest audience reactions at this show, and when that happens, it makes you feel great. The two best cities for us in the States right from the early Seventies were always New York and Philadelphia. "The recording quality is very good and captures the original Renaissance in action with myself and Annie. The rest of the band were Jon Camp on bass, John Tout on piano and Terry Sullivan on drums. 1978 was a very good year for us, because we also played at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. And we had our hit single 'Northern Lights'. "This all happened towards the end of the Seventies, just before the music scene changed and punk rock took over. After that, there was less money to spend on bands like us, and there was no more champagne or lavish dinners! The record companies cut back quite a bit. But until then, it was a really good time for us." However, Renaissance was never a superstar band with their own private jet. Michael: "We did do a lot of flying early on and also travelled to gigs by station wagon and even RV's. Touring can be very expensive and you really have to make it work for you." The concert at the Tower Theatre kicked off with 'Can You Hear Me', a 15 minute epic. The piece was originally featured on the studio album 'Novella' (1977). "We devised a set that included our most popular numbers and one or two newer songs. What we hear on the CD is just as it was performed at the concert, with the same running order. Thus 'Carpet Of The Sun' is the second item that Michael says has always been a Renaissance favourite. "It's a very uplifting, catchy tune and it always goes down well. It came from our second album 'Ashes Are Burning', which was the first time we'd used an orchestra in the studio. Of course, we couldn't take an orchestra on tour and, nowadays, keyboards are so advanced that you can use 'samples'. We couldn't reproduce strings so well back then, but John Tout made up for that in other ways." Annie would also sing vocalise parts where flutes etc were missing and couldn't be duplicated by JT. The next track 'Day Of The Dreamer' was first heard on the 1977 album 'A Song For All Seasons'. 'Midas Man' is another perennial favourite, still played by Renaissance and originally featured on 'Novella'. "Who was the 'Midas Man'? I don't know. I wish we all had the magic touch and the ability to turn base metal into gold. It was lyric idea from my writing partner Betty Thatcher, so she came up with that one. 'Northern Lights' was our big hit in the U.K., but surprisingly, although it got played on radio, it never really happened in any big way in the States." The last track 'Things I Don't Understand' has recently been revived by Renaissance. Michael: "It's a great up tempo song, which comes from our album 'Turn Of The Cards' and is quite a lengthy performance. The concert brings back lots of memories and the audience reaction was really quite something. The album title Dreams and Omens was something that Annie dreamed up!" Maybe, back in 1978, Renaissance never dreamt how their future would unfold. But looking back, they are glad they are still making music - in the present.