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Topic: Renaissance - Any Fans? (Read 1188 times) |
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CountingOutTime
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Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Thread started on: Mar 28th, 2007, 2:14pm » |
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I've not seen anyone say they like Renaissance, but they were a very formidable force on the English progressive music scene in the 1970s.
I went to see them at a small club around the time "Camera Camera" came out. The venue had standing room only available, so my friend and I bought tickets and really enjoyed the show.
Annie Haslam has a very pure voice and the band is very tight. John Wetton was bassist for the band in 1971 but left in 1972. Ian Mosley was added as their second drummer in 1983, but left in 1984. Even Nick Magnus had a brief stint with the band in 1983. Roy Wood joined briefly in 1998.
The band originated from an idea by former Yardbird members (Paul Samwell-Smith, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty) devoted to the folk, rock and classical music styles, with Keith Relf's sister, Jane Relf, as an additional vocalist. Annie Haslam joined the band in 1971. The lyrics were provided by poet Betty Thatcher, which the songwriting was always based on.
ISLAND- 1970 - with original lineup - Jane Relf on vocals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvObtQgtxEU&mode=related&search=
WINTER TREE with Annie Haslam on vocals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGn4jXtJP6k&mode=related&search=
CARPET OF THE SUN - 1977
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtSQFewjDD0&mode=related&search=
RUNNING HARD - 1983
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsLBM0Uudx4
OPENING OUT - 1983
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDLCdH9ojI0
Original lineup in 1969
1977
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Rajaz
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #1 on: Mar 28th, 2007, 4:09pm » |
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I own all 12 of Renaissance's studio albums--even the two from the early 80's when they were in synth-pop mode. I like some stuff from those, but the other albums are much better.
They were actually two different bands. The Keith Relf/Jim McCarty version (yes, ex-Yardbirds) only lasted for the first two albums. Then the Annie Haslam version came after that--a completely different lineup, but their sound (elements of rock, classical, and folk) still remained intact.
Here are all the studio albums:
Renaissance (1969)
Illusion (1971)
Prologue (1972) This was the first for the Annie Haslam lineup.
Ashes Are Burning (1973)
Turn Of The Cards (1974)
Scheherazade And Other Stories (1975)
Novella (1977)
A Song For All Seasons (1978)
Azure d'Or (1979)
Camera Camera (1981)
Time Line (1983)
Tuscany (2001)
Many fans swear by Ashes Are Burning. That one put Renaissance on the map (in America anyway). "Carpet Of The Sun" got a lot of airplay here in 1973. The previous Prologue album is very good too.
Turn Of The Cards is excellent. I strongly recommend that one. Scheherazade And Other Stories has only four tracks. The title track is a masterpiece. It takes up the whole second side of the record and has a lot of parts to it, like "Supper's Ready".
Up until this point, the band had been centered mostly around acoustic piano. On Novella and A Song For All Seasons, acoustic guitar takes more of a center stage here. Both are excellent albums. A Song For All Seasons has "Northern Lights" on it, which got a lot of attention in the UK. Unfortunately, this would turn out to be their last great album. It also marked the end of Renaissance using an orchestra, which they had used regularly since Ashes Are Burning.
Azure d'Or has the band going in a pop direction. Much more straight-forward stuff. It has some prog stuff on it, like "Secret Mission", "The Discovery", and "The Flood At Lyons", but those are watered down compared to the previous stuff. The production is not very good either. David Hentschel might have been good for Genesis production-wise, but on Azure d'Or, the bass sounds thin and the drums muddy. He had produced the previous Song For All Seasons too, but he did a much better job there.
Camera Camera and Time Line (the two 80's recordings) sound like a product of their time. Very un-Renaissance like on a lot of tracks, since they were more synth-pop at the time. I like Camera Camera much more than Time Line, but neither album comes anywhere near the quality of the 70's albums.
In 2001, Renaissance got back together and did Tuscany. This was a return to their pastoral 70's sound, but not as progressive as the 70's. Still, I think it's the best thing they've done since A Song For All Seasons.
For those who aren't familiar, you can check out "Ashes Are Burning" and "Mother Russia" on Progarchives and read reviews on the albums.
http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=3022
Finally, here's their official website:
http://www.nlightsweb.com/
Cheers. Rajaz
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| « Last Edit: Mar 28th, 2007, 5:40pm by Rajaz » |
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CountingOutTime
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #2 on: Mar 28th, 2007, 4:40pm » |
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on Mar 28th, 2007, 4:09pm, Rajaz wrote:
Your progarchives link doesn't work for some reason. Try this one
http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=3022
Love the "Ashes Are Burning" and "Mother Russia" tracks, Rajaz!
I guess John Wetton never recorded anything during his stint with the band?
JOHN WETTON AND ANNIE HASLAM AT THE READING FESTIVAL IN 1971
ROGER DEAN (OF YES ALBUM ARTWORK FAME) AND ANNIE HASLAM AT NearFest - MORE RECENTLY
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Rajaz
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #3 on: Mar 28th, 2007, 5:18pm » |
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John Wetton was never in Renaissance. John and Annie probably did something together, but not in Renaissance.
Glad you enjoyed the tracks Dave. Actually, I copied most of that message from a post I made earlier on the Invisionzone forum. That's probably why the Progarchives link didn't work. I just now changed it. 
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| « Last Edit: Mar 28th, 2007, 5:41pm by Rajaz » |
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Witchwood
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #4 on: Mar 28th, 2007, 6:26pm » |
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I don't have any of their music but I think Renaissance is a band I would like.
I'm a fan of several British folk rock bands: Strawbs, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, The Trees - and I imagine the music of Renaissance fits in with that bunch.
Despite my fondness for folk rock, it's always been the Yardbirds connection that drew my interest to this band.
Chances are if I bought one of their CDs, the first one would be one of the early ones with McCarty and Relf.
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Fulcrum
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #6 on: Mar 29th, 2007, 10:37am » |
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on Mar 28th, 2007, 6:26pm, Witchwood wrote:I don't have any of their music but I think Renaissance is a band I would like.
I'm a fan of several British folk rock bands: Strawbs, Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny, The Trees - and I imagine the music of Renaissance fits in with that bunch. |
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They fit, but only in the sense that the best of their music is primarily "wooden". While there are indeed folk overtones, Renaissance relied a lot more on symphonic convention than folk-- the first several Haslam-era LPs especially betray a strong whiff of Prokofiev and Rachmaninov.
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Narnialady
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #7 on: Mar 29th, 2007, 1:37pm » |
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Great band saw them in the early eighties in Derby 
my fave vocalist female Annie Haslam
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demolition man
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #8 on: Mar 29th, 2007, 1:47pm » |
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You guys are way ahead of me because I only have one album "Ashes Are Burning" which is pretty good.
I'm not rushing out to add to my meagre collection just yet though 
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Rajaz
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #9 on: Mar 29th, 2007, 6:35pm » |
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on Mar 28th, 2007, 6:27pm, CountingOutTime wrote:
I'm not one to usually take the word of a reviewer. I've seen so many reviewers say things that weren't true so many times. However in this case, you're both right.  From the official website:
Further changes were needed so Renaissance manager Jon Michelle worked with Dunford and McCarty to fill in the new lineup. Melody Maker advertisements were placed for new artists including one for a female singer. Annie Haslam, a brilliant young singer with formal classical vocal training, a beautiful five-octave range and a vivacious personality, answered the Melody Maker advert and got an audition with the band where she met founding members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty. Annie, who had been trained by Sybil Knight, the famous opera singer, learnt the Kings And Queens album back to front before the audition and her vocal performance of the song "Island" got her the job on New Year's Day 1971. Annie's stunning voice would begin a transformation of the band and become one of the most recognised and well respected in the industry. The lineup of Annie Haslam, John Tout, Terry Crowe, Neil Korner, Terry Slade and Michael Dunford toured Europe extensively leading to further personal and acoustic transitions. Danny McCullough, Frank Farrell and John Wetton each took their turn at bass during the period. Keith Relf and Jim McCarty were still very much involved in the direction of the band behind the scenes and while Relf eventually became disinterested, McCarty remained involved until 1973.
http://www.nlightsweb.com/lib/renhist.htm
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Mozo
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #10 on: Jun 7th, 2007, 2:07pm » |
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I saw them at the Hippodrome Theatre in Birmingham. I think it must have been circa '78 because they did 'Northern Lights' and more off A Song For All Seasons.
I love 'Midas Man' off Novella, which I had on vinyl, I say 'had' 'cos I can't find it now 
IMHO two of the greatest female vocalists to come from the UK are both called 'Annie' - Haslam & Lennox. Both have a beautiful 'pure' tone over a 5-octave range.
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Nov
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #11 on: Jun 7th, 2007, 7:31pm » |
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A friend of mine has recently given me a CD of some of the stuff he likes and one of the tracks is by Renaissance.
It's "The Day Of The Dreamer" and I have to say that I really like it.
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Down And Out
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #12 on: Feb 23rd, 2011, 10:38am » |
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Just managed to find this thread after a lot of searching. Spurred on by my love of A Song For All Seasons, I've been listening to quite a lot of Renaissance via Spotify. There's some great stuff out there - Ashes Are Burning, Turn Of The Cards and Novella, the last of which I do own on vinyl. I even thought that Azure d'Or was OK, albeit not on a par with their symphonic masterpieces. Unfortunately, Scheherazade And Other Stories - which generally seems to be rated their best studio album - is not available on Spotify. I would recommend this band to any fans of mid-period Genesis, especially A Trick Of The Tail.
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Hoggy
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #13 on: Feb 23rd, 2011, 10:50am » |
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I mentioned elsewhere that I have recently rediscovered Renaissance. I saw them at Nottingham Uni in '76 which has been recorded and released as a live album.
It's hard to find much to fault with any of their albums, and I even like Azure d'Or which some people don't.
Can You Understand and Can You Hear Me from Novello have only recently caught my ear and I'm kicking myself for wasting 35 years getting into some of their music. I bought Turn of the Cards and Scheherezade soon after the Nottingham show and thought that must be their strongest work, so I missed Ashes are Burning until the mid 90s when a friend lent it to me. I didn't even know about Prologue until recently.
It's so much more than Annie's voice, great band, great music.
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genesis1964
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Re: Renaissance - Any Fans?
« Reply #14 on: Feb 23rd, 2011, 10:59am » |
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Love the band. I have
A Song For All Seasons
Ashes Are Burning
Azure D'Or
British Tour'76
Camera Camera
Illusion
Illusion (2010 remaster)
In The Land Of The Rising Sun
King Biscuit Flower Hour vol 1
Live At Carnegie Hall
Live In Chicago 1983
Prologue
Renaissance
Renaissance (2010 remaster)
Scheherazade & Other Stories
Songs From Renaissance Days
Tales Of 1001 Night vol 1
Tales Of 1001 Night vol 2
Time Line
Turn Of The Cards
Tuscany
I have been listening to quite a few of these albums recently and always have a couple of them on my ipod.
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