FEATURED CD : Renaissance : Renaissance

[Duncan Glenday]

Credit for this featured CD : The Czar

Based on a CD received from the collection bequeathed to Progressive Ears by Chris Buckley (Winkersnuff)

The Czar's comments:


In my package, I received all new music that I never owned (except for the Bruford DVD, but it's a different version, so it's still awesome!), but the one CD that stood out was the first Renaissance album!

I have never really delved into the catalog of Renaissance, but the first album sparked an interest. Slightly more on the jazzier side than I expected, but still quite enjoyable. One thing that was only ok to me, was the original female singer. This made me wonder about other albums in their discography, and found that by the 3rd album, the whole band except one person was new. I did a lot of research on those Annie Haslam albums and realized that I needed to get more. Soon I will have all the Esoteric versions of six Renaissance CDs to go along with that first album.

Sometimes new music comes to you when you are not even expecting it and from complete strangers. I never had the pleasure of meeting Chris, but I would like to thank him for passing on his music, knowledge and love for Prog to all of us.

[Mister Triscuits]

Really fine and interesting album, with the classical-rock direction of the classic lineup already firmly in place, but combined with some blues/hard rock elements carried over from the Yardbirds that would completely disappear from the Haslam-fronted band.

[Monet]

The first Renaissance line-up is often wrongly overlooked. Much of what defines the classic albums of the later incarnation of the band is already there: the influence of Classical music, especially through the wonderful piano playing by John Hawken, which dominates almost all songs, the slight folk-music influence, almost complete renunciation of guitars, female vocals... well, Jane Relf in no way comes close to Annie Haslam, but her male counterpart Keith Relf remains just as pale in his attempts at singing as Jon Camp later.
What is missing on the two albums of the Relf era - if you want to call those two years the "era" - is the tendency towards pop that was always latent in the later Renaissance. In my opinion, Renaissance's music were often more a mixture of 'neo-classical' and 'Art Rock' (in the meaning of Art Rock as Pop Rock with huge artistic and 'symphonic' tendencies) than sympho-rock, and a certain sweetening was involved from the start. There's no such thing here, as well as missing the orchestra. Instead, between the verses there is always jamming with relish in a small line-up, sometimes folky, sometimes classical, sometimes even a little jazz. The music always sounds a bit "raw", not so trimmed for beauty as in later times, and with the strange sound experiments at the end of "Bullet it even gets really adventurous.
The Renaissance debut may not be as perfect as the classic albums of the second line-up, but the incarnation of the band's love of play and experimentation easily makes up for it. This is music to which I think of aging car enthusiasts who rave about the sight of a classic car: "Something like that is no longer built today". Recommended!

[Progatron]

I love the first two Renaissance albums. Not for the same reasons as I love those that followed, but they both have their magic moments for me when the mood strikes.

That raises an interesting question for me: I've never delved into Illusion (the band). I know some people who quite like those albums, any input from PE'ers on those?

[Mister Triscuits]

That raises an interesting question for me: I've never delved into Illusion (the band). I know some people who quite like those albums, any input from PE'ers on those?

The first one is really good. The self-titled one I find leans a bit too much on the easy listening side, but still includes some nice material, especially the last two cuts.

[Rarebird]

What I like on this album is the interplay between piano and bass.

I love the first two Renaissance albums. Not for the same reasons as I love those that followed, but they both have their magic moments for me when the mood strikes.

That raises an interesting question for me: I've never delved into Illusion (the band). I know some people who quite like those albums, any input from PE'ers on those?

I have both Illusion-albums on one CD and if you like the Renaissance debut, I think you can't go wrong with Illusion.

[Progatron]

Cool, thanks chaps. I'll bump them up on the 'Check Out' list.

[pb2015]

Nice album, brings back the time when prog was a new idea.

[Trane]

The first Renaissance line-up is often wrongly overlooked.

The Haslam/Dunford line-up owes everything to the Ex-Yardbirds line-up.

I love the first two Renaissance albums. Not for the same reasons as I love those that followed, but they both have their magic moments for me when the mood strikes.

The debut is my fave Renaissance by a mile. Illusion is only coming to its waist level. But I like Prologue quite a bit as well, because both Illusion and prologue are a little psych than their other albums (both line-ups considered)

That raises an interesting question for me: I've never delved into Illusion (the band). I know some people who quite like those albums, any input from PE'ers on those?

Not any worse (or better, FTM) than the Renaissance albums of the same years, IMHO.

What I like on this album is the interplay between piano and bass.


I have both Illusion-albums on one CD and if you like the Renaissance debut, I think you can't go wrong with Illusion.

I wouldn't really call it interplay: Cennamo on bass +/- doubles Hawken (piano)

But this went on with Tout and Camp throughout most of the 70's.

[Progbear]

That first album really is something special. I mean, you could argue that it’s just another Fairport Convention knockoff with some classical pretensions, but “Kings and Queens” and “Island” are real classics for me. Keith and Jane really had chemistry as singers (being siblings surely helped). I was listening to Prologue recently, and at that early phase they were trying to do the same thing with Jon and Annie, with mixed success. “Bullet” does tend to go on, but you have to be impressed by it on a certain level, i.e.: “the second line-up would never try something like THIS!”

Illusion seriously dropped the ball, but the band was obviously in a state of entropy by then. It did produce two real gems in “Golden Thread” and “Face of Yesterday.”

That raises an interesting question for me: I've never delved into Illusion (the band). I know some people who quite like those albums, any input from PE'ers on those?

As you might guess, they kind of sound like Renaissance Mk. II, but performed by (more or less) Renaissance Mk. I. It’s perhaps a bit more low-key, and Jane isn’t nearly as pyrotechnical a singer as Annie, but I have always liked her voice. Obviously you have Jim McCarty stepping in for the sadly late Keith, but I like his voice too. Technically, he might be considered a better singer. “Isadora” is a favorite.

[SRS]

Nice! looking forward to reading more of these Featured CD threads. Wonder if the thread titles should say "FEATURED CD (Buckley Collection) :" or something like that to show it is part of that series.

[Paulrus]

The initial review is a great example how checking one thing out leads you down a bread crumb of discoveries until suddenly your collection is bulging with a bunch of new music!

Re: this disc, it gets a spin every once in a while and it's always an easy, enjoyable listen (props to Louis Cennamo's bass work). Obviously the Mk II band owe everything in terms of format and style to what this group put down. I've always thought that Keith Relf had a lot of potential that was prematurely cut off, sort of like Steve Marriott. But we're fortunate that Jim McCarty connected with Miles Copeland and Betty Thatcher to keep things rolling.

[begnagrad]

The Haslam/Dunford line-up owes everything to the Ex-Yardbirds line-up.

I always wondered up to what point McCarty was involved after he left the band, Prologue, Ashes are burning and Turn of the cards have music composed by McCarty/Tatcher and McCarty/Dunford.

The first album is still one of my favorites from the band

[Trane]

I always wondered up to what point McCarty was involved after he left the band, Prologue, Ashes are burning and Turn of the cards have music composed by McCarty/Tatcher and McCarty/Dunford.

The first album is still one of my favorites from the band

IMHO, it's always been +/- clear that McCarty was the brainchild of the Haslam/Dunford/Tatcher era, to the point that he allowed or helped (with spite) the first line-up to reform as Illusion, to make competition as he was gradually losing control in the Sherazade/Novella days.

I wonder just how much the first line-up's creation can be attributed to him and how he controlled the transition line-up fully.

[auxfnx]

Always felt like the start of 'Innocence' on this album was a bit like a proto-My Iron Lung (Radiohead).
'Wanderer' also has a very cool groove that I could see being well utilised in hip hop.
Plenty of cool moments on this one

[Scrotum Scissor]

I love the first two Renaissance albums. Not for the same reasons as I love those that followed,

I think one of the most interesting aspects of the Renaissance debut is the way in which the piano is essentially applied as a truly heavy instrument. Not only central to the melodic sound at hand, but also in a percussive sense. In accordance with Keith Relf's vocal arrangements from his later Yardbirds years, they also frequently sing in tonal unison - as opposed to multi-harmonically. This was somewhat uncommon and renders a pretty powerful effect of agitation, something he perfected on the later-era psychedelic/experimental recordings of the Yards' like "Glimpses" and the (sadly unavailable)Top Gear recordings. You can hear a direct link between the moods of these onto that debut Renaissance, although the overall concept differed.

I still feel that both of those two early Renaissance records have something going for them, especially "Past Orbits of Dust", the remarkable epic closer from Illusion. The heavy piano was by and large gone by then, though.

[the winter tree]

I really love the debut. I found the original vinyl about 20 years ago for $10 at a local record store. I should have bought it. The artwork looks fantastic on the vinyl version.

[Progatron]

I think one of the most interesting aspects of the Renaissance debut is the way in which the piano is essentially applied as a truly heavy instrument. Not only central to the melodic sound at hand, but also in a percussive sense.

Indeed, most notably on the strongest track to my ears, Bullet.

Re: Past Orbits Of Dust - my favourite from either album, and perhaps in my top 5 or so of the entire Renaissance output, lineup changes notwithstanding.

[Progbear]

I still feel that both of those two early Renaissance records have something going for them, especially "Past Orbits of Dust", the remarkable epic closer from Illusion. The heavy piano was by and large gone by then, though.

“Past Orbits of Dust” was recorded by Jane Relf and a bunch of session musicians just to finish the album. That’s Don Shinn on Hohner Clavinet on that one.

[Progatron]

Jane Relf at 0:33, for anyone old enough to remember this iconic commercial:



... back when she was dating Paul Whitehead!

[calyx]

“Past Orbits of Dust” was recorded by Jane Relf and a bunch of session musicians just to finish the album. That’s Don Shinn on Hohner Clavinet on that one.

"A bunch of session musicians" ? As far as I'm aware, it's the original line-up (Relf/Relf/Cennamo/McCarty) minus Hawken. It's unclear why that particular combination recorded this track, though. Was this a studio-only reunion after Cennamo, K.Relf and J.McCarty had left ? If it was recorded before they'd left, why isn't Hawken on this ? That's one of the still unanswered mysteries about the transition from Renaissance #1 and subsequent line-ups.

[Progbear]

Jane also did this commercial for Findus Frozen Foods (produced by Jeff Wayne) right around the same time:

[calyx]

I always wondered up to what point McCarty was involved after he left the band, Prologue, Ashes are burning and Turn of the cards have music composed by McCarty/Tatcher and McCarty/Dunford.

The relationship between McCarty and the 2nd Renaissance evolved over time. Initially, he and Relf were involved in a quasi-managerial capacity. Annie Haslam has said that both were present at her audition, over half a year after they'd left the band as performing members. What followed isn't entirely clear. McCarty's involvement in songwriting continued at the rate of one song per album, but "On The Frontier" was also recorded for his own band Shoot, so did Renaissance record it on the basis of having lyrics by Betty Thatcher rather than it being written specially for them (if so, why the Shoot version ?) ? As for "Things I Don't Understand", it was written in 1970 (a early 1971 performance of it was recently posted on YouTube), so it's in no way evidence of McCarty's continued involvement in 1974. My guess is that the status of outside contributor proved intenable, especially after Dunford, who for a while had reverted to a non-performing member, rejoined the touring line-up in 1973. With such a prolific composer as Dunford, and Camp and Tout soon to contribute also, the band didn't really need non-member songwriters anymore.

[The Czar]

Also I will add that I think they are more folk or folk rock and would very rarely lump the Annie era in prog.
But it really doesn't matter here, just in my cd collection! Still probably gonna put them in with my folk stuff, because I think they fit next to Trees and Fairport Convention more than King Crimson

[Trane]

“Past Orbits of Dust” was recorded by Jane Relf and a bunch of session musicians just to finish the album. That’s Don Shinn on Hohner Clavinet on that one.

from the album's credits and liner notes, the only track with a different line-up on Illusion is Mr Pine and I wouldn't call them "studio rats"

the line-up (let's call it Mk 1.1) for that track is:
- Terry Crowe / lead vocals (4)
- Michael Dunford / guitar (4)
- Neil Korner / bass (4)
- Terry Slade / drums (4)
- Don Shinn / electric piano (6)

And the touring line-up (the one that made the Belgian TV broadcast) was (Mk 1.2):
- John Tout / keyboards
- Mike Dunford / guitar
- Terry Crowe / vocals
- Binky Cullom / vocals
- Neil Korner / bass
- Terry Slade / drums