Search - Renaissance :: Day of the Dreamer

A Delightful Surprise -- Now how about a reunion?

07/03/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was very excited to hear about this release because it is the first time live recordings of many of the tracks have appeared. Apparently recorded during the "Song For All Seasons" tour, Annie Haslam and the band are in fine form and the 20+ year old recordings sound great. This is a real treat for hardcore fans like me and will hopefully attract new fans for this overlooked and underappreciated band. My only criticism is of the packaging which does not even include a picture of the band nor does it include any information about the recordings. The liner notes are supposedly written by Annie Haslam but it seems highly unlikely since the text talks about Annie and Renaissance in the third person! Still, if you love this music you can't go wrong with this disc."

Very good, if somewhat redundant

R. Josef | New Haven, CT United States | 03/11/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Another good live album (the 4th) from 70's progressive rockers Renaissance, appearing only six months after the "BBC Sessions" double disc. (The band must have been a bit strapped for cash).
However, while that album contained performances ranging over four years, it does look like "Day of the Dreamer" comes from their 1978 tour promoting the "Song for All Seasons" album. The newest songs are from that album -- although, surprisingly, the big hit single from that album, "Northern Lights" does NOT appear.If you own "BBC Sessions", you may find this compilation unnecessary, since 7 of the 9 songs are also on there. The band sound, of course, is basically the same --its usual concert sound, without the orchestra used on many of its songs in the studio. That said, the performances are equally as good, with all the band members in full flight. Annie Haslam, in particular, sounds as great as always.However, this disc does contain two songs that did not make it to other live albums. "Back Home Once Again" is a delightful, upbeat song, with nice percussion from Terry Sullivan. And while an edited version of the epic "A Song for All Seasons" accidentally appeared on the first edition (since deleted) of the "King Biscuit" live album , this is now the only place where you can find a live version. This is another stunning track, with the band changing the arrangement intriguingly to compensate for the lack of strings. And "The Vultures Fly High" appears here with an extended intro lifted from the song "Can't You Understand?" that the band had been doing on the '78 and '79 tours. This arrangement is also unique to this CD.The sound quality is overall better than on "BBC Sessions", too. The occasional sonic screw-ups on that set don't appear here,and the digital remastering results in clearer sound with less hiss. The skimpy liner notes say NOTHING about the origin of the tracks, so that's the only major downer. Unlike the previous three live sets,though, it's a single disc. So, this is a pretty good, economical choice for anybody who wants to start exploring the sound of Renaissance. Pick it up, and you'll be a converted fan."

Some Good, Some Not So Good

kireviewer | Sunnyvale, Ca United States | 04/13/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a live CD that is 73 minutes long. The sound quality is uneven. Also, there are some digital defects where a few milliseconds get repeated during a number of spots on Ocean Gypsy. I don't know if it is just my copy or exists on all. (The CD looks clean).



There are sparse liner notes with this CD (just a few paragraphs from Annie Haslam talking abou the band), so it hard to tell the origins of these recordings. The liner notes do suggests that they come from several different concerts and years. I am guessing that two or three concerts/years are involved.



I would guess that the first two tracks come from a concert tour when Renaissance was playing with an orchestra, after the album Novela was released. The performance sounds similar to that on the live CD "Can You Hear Me" (that CD is hard to find right now). The sound quality on these two tracks is poor. The bass is mixed in very loud, but is very distorted and mushy. The performance of Can You Hear Me Call Your Name is very nice, with the vibe solos, but is not that enjoyable because of the poor sound quality.



The middle tracks (and maybe the last three tracks) come from the tour to support the album "Song For All Seasons". Since the sound quality varies from very good to fair, I would guess that some of the tracks are from different concerts.



Track 5 is the musical intro to Can You Understand, with Vultures tacked on. It is very good. Also very good is the 11 minute A Song For All Seasons.



Day of The Dreamer, and especially Back Home Once Again, are not very exciting. This was the start of the downward trend of Renaissance's music, where the compositions did not match up with the best of their earlier work.



The last three tracks are Renaissance standards, and they don't sound much different than what was on Live at Carnegie Hall. From the sound quality of these tracks, I would guess that they come from a different concert than the earlier tracks. I do like the version of Prologue here, but I haven't closely compared it to Carnegie Hall (it could be the same one for all I know)."