13.01.2008.
Annie Haslam - Annie in Wonderland (1977) (@256)
(Review from amazon.com)
Annie’s first solo album was released in late 1977, while Renaissance was on a brief hiatus. It represented a major departure from her Renaissance work. While Renaissance’s music was progressive rock influenced by folk and classical music, “Annie in Wonderland” runs the stylistic gamut, covering a lot more musical ground. The musical direction is provided by her then-fiancee and ex-Electric Light Orchestra member Roy Wood, who produced, played almost all the instruments, sang backing vocals, and wrote some of the songs.
The tracks can be roughly divided into three groups, the first being covers of songs that Annie evidently loved as a child. These include an ethereal version of Rogers and Hammerstein’s “If I Loved You”, from the musical “Carousel”. “Nature Boy”, first made famous by Nat King Cole, is given a delightful tropical arrangement. The most unusual choice here is “Going Home”, the second movement of Dvorak’s “New World Symphony” with touching lyrics about the afterlife. This song was very popular as a spiritual in the African-American community, but this version has Annie backed powerfully by an orchestra and male choir.
Two songs were written by Renaissance bassist Jon Camp, his first solo compositions. “If I Were Made of Music” and “In My Life” are catchy, upbeat folk rockers. Not too surprisingly, these tracks sounds the most like Renaissance, previewing what would be coming up on their next two albums.
Finally, there are the three tracks by Wood. “Rockalise” has Annie scatting over a tune that starts off slow and soft and then turns into a jam. “I Never Believed in Love” is a another jaunty, cute pop song with Annie switching off vocals with Wood. Finally, the seven minute “Hunioco” is a multi-segmented track with African influences, with Annie and Roy singing a number of lyrics in an African language!
The versatility of Wood is very impressive, but, of course, Annie’s amazing five octave voice is the main reason the album works. She does, for the first time, multiple overdubs of harmonies, which would, again, influence the next couple of Renaissance albums. Renaissance fans who aren’t familiar with her solo work will really enjoy hearing Annie’s voice employed in a great variety of settings, while people who don’t like progressive rock may find these songs more accessible.
Track List :
01. Introlise/If I Were Made of Music
02. I Never Believed in Love
03. If I Loved You
04. Hunioco
05. Rockalise — To Alison
06. Nature Boy
07. Inside My Life
08. Going Home
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Original Post Date : 8.Feb.2007 | 4:04 am
