Scheherazade and Other Stories

Scheherazade and Other Stories
Cover design by Hipgnosis
Studio album by Renaissance
Released	July 1975
Recorded	May 1975
Studio	Abbey Road Studios, London, UK
Genre	Progressive rock, symphonic rock
Length	45:39
Label	BTM (UK) Sire (North America) RCA (Europe and Japan)
Producer	David Hitchcock and Renaissance
Renaissance chronology
Turn of the Cards (1974) Scheherazade and Other Stories (1975) Live at Carnegie Hall (1976)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Scheherazade and Other Stories is the sixth studio album by the British progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1975. Some critics consider it their best album, although others prefer earlier albums.^[2][3] This is the first album in which Renaissance (Annie Haslam's version) did not use quotes from actual classical pieces. Contrary to popular belief, "Song of Scheherazade" is not based on Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, but does have a recurring six-note motif that alludes to that work.^[2]

History

There is confusion over where the sections of "Song of Scheherazade" begin and end. This was caused by the fact that "Fanfare" and "The Betrayal" together sound like a single section, while "Festival Preparations" has two distinct parts of its own (4:00 and 1:11 in length). This confusion was reflected in the packaging and labels of original LP copies of this album, and in the mis-titling of "Festival Preparations" (part 1) as "The Young Prince and Princess" on the 1990 Tales of 1001 Nights, Volume I compilation.^[4]

Also, as has been admitted by the administrators of the official Renaissance site, Northern Lights,^[5] assigning exact composing credits to the individual sections is difficult, since the composers borrowed themes from each other. For example, based on the official credits, which differ slightly between the actual album package and the official Renaissance site, a particular melodic phrase ends up being attributed to both Dunford ("The Sultan") and Tout ("Fugue for the Sultan"); lyricist Betty Thatcher is not credited for her lyrics on "Finale" (which are repeated from "The Sultan").

"Trip to the Fair" was about Annie Haslam's first date with Roy Wood.^[6]

"Ocean Gypsy" has since been covered by Blackmore's Night.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Trip to the Fair" (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher, John Tout) - 10:50
2. "The Vultures Fly High" (Dunford, Thatcher) - 3:07
3. "Ocean Gypsy" (Dunford, Thatcher) - 7:06

Side two

4. "Song of Scheherazade"

   a. Fanfare (Tout) - :38 (instrumental)

   b. The Betrayal (Jon Camp, Dunford, Tout) - 2:05 (instrumental)

   c. The Sultan (Dunford, Thatcher) - 4:45

   d. Love Theme (Camp) - 2:42 (instrumental)

   e. The Young Prince and Princess as told by Scheherazade (Dunford, Thatcher) - 2:29

   f. Festival Preparations (Camp, Dunford, Tout) - 5:10 (instrumental)

   g. Fugue for the Sultan (Tout) - 2:10 (instrumental)

   h. The Festival (Dunford, Thatcher) - 2:10

   i. Finale (Camp, Dunford, Tout) - 2:29

Personnel

Renaissance

• Annie Haslam – lead (1, 2, 3, 4e, 4h, 4i) and backing vocals
• Michael Dunford – acoustic guitars, backing vocals
• John Tout – keyboards, backing vocals
• Jon Camp – bass, bass pedals, lead vocals on track 4c, backing vocals
• Terence Sullivan – drums, backing vocals, percussion

Additional musicians

• Tony Cox – orchestral arrangements

Production

• David Hitchcock - producer
• John Kurlander - engineer
• Patrick Stapley - assistant engineer
• Hipgnosis - cover design

References