There were two groups under the banner of RENAISSANCE. The first group included Keith and Jane Relf (vocals) and came from the YARDBIRDS ashes. The second and better known incarnation,with the soprano voice of Annie Haslam and the piano virtuosity of John Tout ......
....Also the very first album from '69 is essential. After 1979, the band moved towards a more pop direction, like many other bands did in the late 70's.
Album ReviewIn my opinion, this is the best Renaissance album ever. The classical arrangements made by John Hawken and Louis Cemmano are really impressive. The album is perfect to the start to the end. Considering the year (1969), the sound is very progressive and ambitions, comparing to the other major progressive bands such as Genesis and Yes, that are starting and doing a proto progressive sound. The first songs, Kings and Queens, a lenghty tracks that starts with a stunning piano introduction by John Hawken. It sounds like Classical music. Then, the whole song has lots of variations and good arrangements, sometimes very r
ock ´n roll, sometimes very classical, very progressive at all. The second, Innocence, is a beautiful song, with very good keyboards and vocals. The third, Island, is a sweet tune, with Jane´s vocals (I LOVE her voice), the style is close to the Innocence´s style. The fourth, Wanderer, is superb. It is a very beautiful tune based on the harpsichord and has Jane at her best. The last one is Bullet, another lenghty track, with vocals by Keith, is more rock ´n roll at the beginning. The song includes a good harmonica solo by Keith and a incredible bass arrangement is the end. Although the line-up is completely different from the classic Renaissance albums, this is as good as the others (in my opinion, is the best), as Jane sings so well as Annie, and I personally think that the musicians of the first line-up are slightly better than the others.
Studio Album, released in 1969
Songs / Tracks Listing
1. Kings And Queens (10:55)
2. Innocence (7:05)
3. Island (5:57)
4. Wanderer (4:00)
5. Bullet (11:24)
... Bonus tracks on Repertoire and Renaissance cd releases:
6. Island (single) (3:05)
7. The sea (3:36)
Total Time: 48:58
Line-up / Musicians
- Keith Relf / vocals, guitar, harmonica
- Jim McCarty / percussion, vocals
- John Hawken / piano, harspichord
- Louis Cennamo / bass guitar
- Jane Relf / vocals, percussion
==>Renaissance - Renaissance 1969 [rep1995]<==
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