11044 - RENAISSANCE - ACADEMY OF MUSIC 1974 (LIVE), DISC TWO (2015)

RENAISSANCE
''ACADEMY OF MUSIC 1974 (LIVE), DISC TWO''
2015
88:20
********************
DISC ONE (48:57)
1 Can You Understand 11:45
2 Black Flame 07:30
3 Carpet of the Sun 04:47
4 Cold Is Being 03:35
5 Things I Don't Understand 10:29
6 Running Hard 10:48
**********
DISC TWO (39:23)
1 Ashes Are Burning 21:01
2 Mother Russia 10:34
3 Prologue 07:48
All Tracks By Dunford, Thatcher
********************
Jon Camp/Bass
Michael Dunford/Guitar
Annie Haslam/Vocals
Andy Powell/Guest Artist, Guitar
Howard Stein/Guest Artist, Piano
Terence Sullivan/Drums
John Tout/Keyboards
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Bruce Eder
The history of Renaissance is essentially the history of two separate groups, rather similar to the two phases of the Moody Blues or the Drifters. The original group was founded in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty as a sort of progressive folk-rock band, who recorded two albums (of which only the first, self-titled LP came out in America, on Elektra Records) but never quite made it, despite some success on England's campus circuit.

The band went through several membership changes, with Relf and his sister Jane (who later fronted the very Renaissance-like Illusion) exiting and McCarty all but gone after 1971. The new lineup formed around the core of bassist Jon Camp, keyboard player John Tout, and Terry Sullivan on drums, with Annie Haslam, an aspiring singer with operatic training and a three-octave range.

Prologue
Their first album in this incarnation, Prologue, released in 1972, was considerably more ambitious than the original band's work, with extended instrumental passages and soaring vocals by Haslam. Their breakthrough came with their next record, Ashes Are Burning, issued in 1973, which introduced guitarist Michael Dunford to the lineup and featured some searing electric licks by guest axeman Andy Powell. Their next record, Turn of the Cards, released by Sire Records, had a much more ornate songwriting style and was awash in lyrics that alternated between the topical and the mystical.

Renaissance Ibiza
The group's ambitions, by now, were growing faster than its audience, which was concentrated on America's East Coast, especially in New York and Philadelphia -- Scheherazade (1975) was built around a 20-minute extended suite for rock group and orchestra that dazzled the fans but made no new converts. A live album recorded at a New York concert date reprised their earlier material, including the "Scheherazade" suite, but covered little new ground and showed the group in a somewhat lethargic manner. The band's next two albums, Novella and A Song for All Seasons, failed to find new listeners, and as the 1970s closed out, the group was running headlong into the punk and new wave booms that made them seem increasingly anachronistic and doomed to cult status.

Their '80s albums were released with less than global or even national fanfare, and the group split up in the early '80s amid reported personality conflicts between members. During 1995, however, both Haslam and Dunford made attempts to revive the Renaissance name in different incarnations, and Jane Relf and the other surviving members of the original band were reportedly planning to launch their own Renaissance revival which, if nothing else, may keep the courts and some trademark attorneys busy for a little while.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
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11043 - RENAISSANCE - ACADEMY OF MUSIC 1974 (LIVE), DISC ONE (2015)

RENAISSANCE
''ACADEMY OF MUSIC 1974 (LIVE), DISC ONE''
2015
88:20
********************
DISC ONE (48:57)
1 Can You Understand 11:45
2 Black Flame 07:30
3 Carpet of the Sun 04:47
4 Cold Is Being 03:35
5 Things I Don't Understand 10:29
6 Running Hard 10:48
**********
DISC TWO (39:23)
1 Ashes Are Burning 21:01
2 Mother Russia 10:34
3 Prologue 07:48
All Tracks By Dunford, Thatcher
********************
Jon Camp/Bass
Michael Dunford/Guitar
Annie Haslam/Vocals
Andy Powell/Guest Artist, Guitar
Howard Stein/Guest Artist, Piano
Terence Sullivan/Drums
John Tout/Keyboards
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Bruce Eder
The history of Renaissance is essentially the history of two separate groups, rather similar to the two phases of the Moody Blues or the Drifters. The original group was founded in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty as a sort of progressive folk-rock band, who recorded two albums (of which only the first, self-titled LP came out in America, on Elektra Records) but never quite made it, despite some success on England's campus circuit.

The band went through several membership changes, with Relf and his sister Jane (who later fronted the very Renaissance-like Illusion) exiting and McCarty all but gone after 1971. The new lineup formed around the core of bassist Jon Camp, keyboard player John Tout, and Terry Sullivan on drums, with Annie Haslam, an aspiring singer with operatic training and a three-octave range.

Prologue
Their first album in this incarnation, Prologue, released in 1972, was considerably more ambitious than the original band's work, with extended instrumental passages and soaring vocals by Haslam. Their breakthrough came with their next record, Ashes Are Burning, issued in 1973, which introduced guitarist Michael Dunford to the lineup and featured some searing electric licks by guest axeman Andy Powell. Their next record, Turn of the Cards, released by Sire Records, had a much more ornate songwriting style and was awash in lyrics that alternated between the topical and the mystical.

Renaissance Ibiza
The group's ambitions, by now, were growing faster than its audience, which was concentrated on America's East Coast, especially in New York and Philadelphia -- Scheherazade (1975) was built around a 20-minute extended suite for rock group and orchestra that dazzled the fans but made no new converts. A live album recorded at a New York concert date reprised their earlier material, including the "Scheherazade" suite, but covered little new ground and showed the group in a somewhat lethargic manner. The band's next two albums, Novella and A Song for All Seasons, failed to find new listeners, and as the 1970s closed out, the group was running headlong into the punk and new wave booms that made them seem increasingly anachronistic and doomed to cult status.

Their '80s albums were released with less than global or even national fanfare, and the group split up in the early '80s amid reported personality conflicts between members. During 1995, however, both Haslam and Dunford made attempts to revive the Renaissance name in different incarnations, and Jane Relf and the other surviving members of the original band were reportedly planning to launch their own Renaissance revival which, if nothing else, may keep the courts and some trademark attorneys busy for a little while.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************

11036 - RENAISSANCE - TALES OF 1001 NIGHTS, VOL. 2 (2005)

RENAISSANCE
''TALES OF 1001 NIGHTS, VOL. 2''
MARCH 27 1990
75:37
********************
1 Can You Hear Me 13:38 (Camp, Dunford, Thatcher)
2 Touching Once (Is So Hard To Keep) 09:27 (Camp, Dunford)
3 Midas Man 05:47 (Dunford, Thatcher)
4 Northern Lights 04:07 (Dunford, Thatcher)
5 A Song For All Seasons 10:55 (Dunford, Thatcher, Camp, Tout, Sullivan)
6 Jekyll And Hyde 04:41 (Dunford, Thatcher)
7 The Winter Tree 03:05 (Dunford, Thatcher)
8 Ashes Are Burning 23:53 (Dunford, Thatcher)
********************
John Tout/Keyboards, Vocals
Annie Haslam/Lead & Backing Vocals
Jon Camp/Bass Guitar, Bass Pedals, Cello, Vocals
Terence Sullivan/Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Michael Dunford/Acoustic Guitars, Electric Guitar, Vocals
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Bruce Eder
The second volume of Sire Records' retrospective compilation on Renaissance is not as impressive musically as its predecessor, devoted as it is primarily to the lesser of the group's late-'70s repertory. The intelligent thing to have done with this volume would have been to put "Song of Scheherazade" on this volume, which would have shored up its value -- perhaps this would have been an awkward fit, as the disc was to include the 23-minute live version of "Ashes Are Burning," but one or two of the lesser songs that are here might've been sacrificed. As it is, the material is less concise and accessible than that of the preceding volume, though it still has very attractive vocal and piano flourishes, and stunning melodies. There are also a few of what could be considered "offbeat" numbers for the group, most notably the folk-like "Northern Lights," and "Midas Man," on which the dominant instrument for much of the song is Mick Dunford's acoustic guitar rather than John Tout's piano. Much of the music seems more of a reach, however, in terms of subject matter, making this volume more of an acquired taste than its companion, and a choice more appropriate for hardcore fans of the group than those with a casual interest.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Bruce Eder
The history of Renaissance is essentially the history of two separate groups, rather similar to the two phases of the Moody Blues or the Drifters. The original group was founded in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty as a sort of progressive folk-rock band, who recorded two albums (of which only the first, self-titled LP came out in America, on Elektra Records) but never quite made it, despite some success on England's campus circuit.

The band went through several membership changes, with Relf and his sister Jane (who later fronted the very Renaissance-like Illusion) exiting and McCarty all but gone after 1971. The new lineup formed around the core of bassist Jon Camp, keyboard player John Tout, and Terry Sullivan on drums, with Annie Haslam, an aspiring singer with operatic training and a three-octave range.

Prologue
Their first album in this incarnation, Prologue, released in 1972, was considerably more ambitious than the original band's work, with extended instrumental passages and soaring vocals by Haslam. Their breakthrough came with their next record, Ashes Are Burning, issued in 1973, which introduced guitarist Michael Dunford to the lineup and featured some searing electric licks by guest axeman Andy Powell. Their next record, Turn of the Cards, released by Sire Records, had a much more ornate songwriting style and was awash in lyrics that alternated between the topical and the mystical.

Renaissance Ibiza
The group's ambitions, by now, were growing faster than its audience, which was concentrated on America's East Coast, especially in New York and Philadelphia -- Scheherazade (1975) was built around a 20-minute extended suite for rock group and orchestra that dazzled the fans but made no new converts. A live album recorded at a New York concert date reprised their earlier material, including the "Scheherazade" suite, but covered little new ground and showed the group in a somewhat lethargic manner. The band's next two albums, Novella and A Song for All Seasons, failed to find new listeners, and as the 1970s closed out, the group was running headlong into the punk and new wave booms that made them seem increasingly anachronistic and doomed to cult status.

Their '80s albums were released with less than global or even national fanfare, and the group split up in the early '80s amid reported personality conflicts between members. During 1995, however, both Haslam and Dunford made attempts to revive the Renaissance name in different incarnations, and Jane Relf and the other surviving members of the original band were reportedly planning to launch their own Renaissance revival which, if nothing else, may keep the courts and some trademark attorneys busy for a little while.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************

11035 - RENAISSANCE - TALES OF 1001 NIGHTS, VOL. 1 (2005)

RENAISSANCE
''TALES OF 1001 NIGHTS, VOL. 1''
1990
75:17
********************
1 Prologue 07:32 (Michael Dunford)
2 Can You Understand 10:23 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
3 Carpet Of The Sun 03:32 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
4 Running Hard 09:37 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
5 I Think Of You 03:09 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
6 Black Flame 06:29 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
7 Mother Russia 09:19 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
8 Ocean Gypsy 07:08 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
9 Trip To The Fair 10:53 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher, John Tout)
10 The Vultures Fly High 03:07 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
11 Young Prince and Princess as Told by Scheherazade 04:04 (Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher)
********************
John Tout/Keyboards, Vocals
Annie Haslam/Lead & Backing Vocals
Jon Camp/Bass Guitar, Bass Pedals, Vocals
Terence Sullivan/Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Michael Dunford/Acoustic Guitars, Vocals
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Bruce Eder
This 75-minute compilation and its companion volume are just about the only acknowledgments on the part of Sire Records that it ever had a progressive rock catalog, somewhere in between signing the Ramones and Madonna. The song lineup on this first volume heavily favors the group's early repertory, including songs originally done for the Sovereign label, represented here in concert recordings from Renaissance Live at Carnegie Hall. How attractive that is depends upon how one feels about those performances, versus the original studio renditions (available from One Way Records domestically and, in superior versions, from HTD Records in England). They were never too impressive on vinyl, although the digital remastering and re-equalization of the material seems to have solved much of that problem. The original Sire studio material, including "Running Hard" and "Black Flame," sound better here than they did on their original vinyl releases, which had fairly noisy pressings and were somewhat top-heavy on the bass. The accompaniments all sound crisper on the CD, the nuances and fine balances between the band and the orchestra much easier to appreciate, and the only major flaw -- and it is a big one -- is the absence of "Song of Scheherazade," their biggest orchestral-accompanied piece ever. Only a four-minute excerpt is included; admittedly, the work as a whole is somewhat overblown, taking up a little more time than it is worth, but it was the centerpiece of two separate albums, which should have told the programmers something about how much it registered to fans.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Bruce Eder
The history of Renaissance is essentially the history of two separate groups, rather similar to the two phases of the Moody Blues or the Drifters. The original group was founded in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty as a sort of progressive folk-rock band, who recorded two albums (of which only the first, self-titled LP came out in America, on Elektra Records) but never quite made it, despite some success on England's campus circuit.

The band went through several membership changes, with Relf and his sister Jane (who later fronted the very Renaissance-like Illusion) exiting and McCarty all but gone after 1971. The new lineup formed around the core of bassist Jon Camp, keyboard player John Tout, and Terry Sullivan on drums, with Annie Haslam, an aspiring singer with operatic training and a three-octave range.

Prologue
Their first album in this incarnation, Prologue, released in 1972, was considerably more ambitious than the original band's work, with extended instrumental passages and soaring vocals by Haslam. Their breakthrough came with their next record, Ashes Are Burning, issued in 1973, which introduced guitarist Michael Dunford to the lineup and featured some searing electric licks by guest axeman Andy Powell. Their next record, Turn of the Cards, released by Sire Records, had a much more ornate songwriting style and was awash in lyrics that alternated between the topical and the mystical.

Renaissance Ibiza
The group's ambitions, by now, were growing faster than its audience, which was concentrated on America's East Coast, especially in New York and Philadelphia -- Scheherazade (1975) was built around a 20-minute extended suite for rock group and orchestra that dazzled the fans but made no new converts. A live album recorded at a New York concert date reprised their earlier material, including the "Scheherazade" suite, but covered little new ground and showed the group in a somewhat lethargic manner. The band's next two albums, Novella and A Song for All Seasons, failed to find new listeners, and as the 1970s closed out, the group was running headlong into the punk and new wave booms that made them seem increasingly anachronistic and doomed to cult status.

Their '80s albums were released with less than global or even national fanfare, and the group split up in the early '80s amid reported personality conflicts between members. During 1995, however, both Haslam and Dunford made attempts to revive the Renaissance name in different incarnations, and Jane Relf and the other surviving members of the original band were reportedly planning to launch their own Renaissance revival which, if nothing else, may keep the courts and some trademark attorneys busy for a little while.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************

10092 - ROLLING STONE - 50 GREATEST PROG ROCK ALBUMS OF ALL TIME, DISC 31 - RENAISSANCE - ASHES ARE BURNING (1973) (2015)

Compilation By Jon Dolan, Dan Epstein, Reed Fischer, Richard Gehr, Brandon Geist, Kory Grow, Will Hermes, Ryan Reed, Jon Weiderhorn (rolling stone)

For close to a half century, prog has been the breeding ground for rock's most out-there, outsized and outlandish ideas: Thick-as-a-brick concept albums, an early embrace of synthesizers, overly complicated time signatures, Tolkienesque fantasies, travails from future days and scenes from a memory. In celebration of Rush's first Rolling Stone cover story, here's the best of the deliciously decadent genre that the punks failed to kill.

**********

RENAISSANCE
''ASHES ARE BURNING''
1973
40:32

1 Can You Understand 09:48
2 Let It Grow 04:11
3 On The Frontier (Jim McCarty, Betty Thatcher) 04:53
4 Carpet Of The Sun 03:31
5 At The Harbour 06:48
6 Ashes Are Burning 11:19
Tracks By Michael Dunford & Betty Thatcher, Except 3

John Camp/Bass Guitar, Guitar, Vocals
Michael Dunford/Guitar (Acoustic)
Annie Haslam/Percussion, Vocals
Richard Hewson/Strings On 1, 4
Andy Powell/Guitar On 6
Terence Sullivan/Drums, Percussion, Vocals
John Tout/Keyboards, Vocals

**********

ABOUT THE ALBUM/WIKIPEDIA

**********

REVIEW/AMG
by Bruce Eder
With electric guitarist Andy Powell sitting in on the title track, Renaissance delivered its best, and first fully formed album, mixing Russian, French, and Indian influences in musical settings that are both lively and elegant. The title track is one of the few lengthy progressive-rock pieces of the era that holds up, and the rest of the material runs the gamut from folk ("Carpet of the Sun") to Impressionist ("At the Harbor"), all of it hauntingly beautiful and enlivening. Reissued in 1993 by One Way Records, with excellent sound.

**********

BIOGRAPHY
by Bruce Eder
The history of Renaissance is essentially the history of two separate groups, rather similar to the two phases of the Moody Blues or the Drifters. The original group was founded in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty as a sort of progressive folk-rock band, who recorded two albums (of which only the first, self-titled LP came out in America, on Elektra Records) but never quite made it, despite some success on England's campus circuit.
The band went through several membership changes, with Relf and his sister Jane (who later fronted the very Renaissance-like Illusion) exiting and McCarty all but gone after 1971. The new lineup formed around the core of bassist Jon Camp, keyboard player John Tout, and Terry Sullivan on drums, with Annie Haslam, an aspiring singer with operatic training and a three-octave range.

Their first album in this incarnation, Prologue, released in 1972, was considerably more ambitious than the original band's work, with extended instrumental passages and soaring vocals by Haslam. Their breakthrough came with their next record, Ashes Are Burning, issued in 1973, which introduced guitarist Michael Dunford to the lineup and featured some searing electric licks by guest axeman Andy Powell. Their next record, Turn of the Cards, released by Sire Records, had a much more ornate songwriting style and was awash in lyrics that alternated between the topical and the mystical.

The group's ambitions, by now, were growing faster than its audience, which was concentrated on America's East Coast, especially in New York and Philadelphia -- Scheherazade (1975) was built around a 20-minute extended suite for rock group and orchestra that dazzled the fans but made no new converts. A live album recorded at a New York concert date reprised their earlier material, including the "Scheherazade" suite, but covered little new ground and showed the group in a somewhat lethargic manner. The band's next two albums, Novella and A Song for All Seasons, failed to find new listeners, and as the 1970s closed out, the group was running headlong into the punk and new wave booms that made them seem increasingly anachronistic and doomed to cult status.
Their '80s albums were released with less than global or even national fanfare, and the group split up in the early '80s amid reported personality conflicts between members. During 1995, however, both Haslam and Dunford made attempts to revive the Renaissance name in different incarnations, and Jane Relf and the other surviving members of the original band were reportedly planning to launch their own Renaissance revival which, if nothing else, may keep the courts and some trademark attorneys busy for a little while.

**********

BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA

**********

WEBSITE

**********

TO THE TOP

6803 - RENAISSANCE - Symphony Of Light (2014)

RENAISSANCE
''SYMPHONY OF LIGHT''
APRIL 2014
53:45

1/Symphony Of Light/12:09
2/Waterfall/4:44
3/Grandine il Vento/6:13
4/Porcelain/6:41
5/Cry To The World/5:44
6/Air Of Drama/5:21
7/Blood Silver Like Moonlight/5:16
8/The Mystic And The Muse/7:48
All songs by Dunford/Haslam except 9 Dunford/Thatcher

Annie Haslam - lead vocals
David J. Keyes - bass
Rave Tesar - keyboards
Frank Pagano - drums, percussion
Jason Hart - keyboards
Michael Dunford - guitars
Additional musicians:
John Wetton (ex-King Crimson, UK) - vocals on "Blood Silver Like Moonlight"
Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) - flute on "Cry To The World"

REVIEW
Anchored by longtime lead vocalist Annie Haslam and the masterful songwriting and arrangement skills of Michael Dunford, Symphony of Light is a testament to the unforgettable melodies and unique blending of progressive rock with classical influences and symphonic arrangements that have become the band's trademark.

Composer and guitarist Michael Dunford died prematurely after the completion of the band's first album in 13 years. Annie Haslam, with Renaissance keyboardist Rave Tesar, composed an additional song, 'Renaissance Man' that they have dedicated to Michael and added to the new album. Guest appearances include Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) and John Wetton (Asia).

BIOGRAPHY
By Bruce Eder
The history of Renaissance is essentially the history of two separate groups, rather similar to the two phases of the Moody Blues or the Drifters. The original group was founded in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds members Keith Relf and Jim McCarty as a sort of progressive folk-rock band, who recorded two albums (of which only the first, self-titled LP came out in America, on Elektra Records) but never quite made it, despite some success on England's campus circuit.

The band went through several membership changes, with Relf and his sister Jane (who later fronted the very Renaissance-like Illusion) exiting and McCarty all but gone after 1971. The new lineup formed around the core of bassist Jon Camp, keyboard player John Tout, and Terry Sullivan on drums, with Annie Haslam, an aspiring singer with operatic training and a three-octave range.

Their first album in this incarnation, Prologue, released in 1972, was considerably more ambitious than the original band's work, with extended instrumental passages and soaring vocals by Haslam. Their breakthrough came with their next record, Ashes Are Burning, issued in 1973, which introduced guitarist Michael Dunford to the lineup and featured some searing electric licks by guest axeman Andy Powell. Their next record, Turn of the Cards, released by Sire Records, had a much more ornate songwriting style and was awash in lyrics that alternated between the topical and the mystical.

The group's ambitions, by now, were growing faster than its audience, which was concentrated on America's East Coast, especially in New York and Philadelphia -- Scheherazade (1975) was built around a 20-minute extended suite for rock group and orchestra that dazzled the fans but made no new converts. A live album recorded at a New York concert date reprised their earlier material, including the "Scheherazade" suite, but covered little new ground and showed the group in a somewhat lethargic manner. The band's next two albums, Novella and A Song for All Seasons, failed to find new listeners, and as the 1970s closed out, the group was running headlong into the punk and new wave booms that made them seem increasingly anachronistic and doomed to cult status.

Their '80s albums were released with less than global or even national fanfare, and the group split up in the early '80s amid reported personality conflicts between members. During 1995, however, both Haslam and Dunford made attempts to revive the Renaissance name in different incarnations, and Jane Relf and the other surviving members of the original band were reportedly planning to launch their own Renaissance revival which, if nothing else, may keep the courts and some trademark attorneys busy for a little while.