Renaissance
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.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
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Academy of Music 1974 (Live)
Progressive Rock - Erschienen bei Purple Pyramid Records am 31.03.2015
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Dreams & Omens - Live At The Tower Theatre, Philadelphia PA, 1978 (Digitally Remastered Version)
Progressive Rock - Erschienen bei Repertoire Records am 24.02.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Song for All Seasons
Rock - Erschienen bei Cherry Red Records am 01.03.1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tales of 1001 Nights, Vol. 1
Rock - Erschienen bei Cherry Red Records am 01.01.1990
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Azure d'Or
Rock - Erschienen bei Cherry Red Records am 01.01.1979
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A Symphonic Journey (Live at the Keswick Theatre)
Rock - Erschienen bei Symphonic Rock Recordings am 13.12.2021
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Time-Line
Progressive Rock - Erschienen bei Repertoire Records (UK) Limited am 01.01.1983
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Tales of 1001 Nights, Vol. 2
Rock - Erschienen bei Cherry Red Records am 23.03.1990
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Tour 2011: Live in Concert (Live, Keswick Theatre, Glenside, Pennsylvania, 23 September 2011)
Rock - Erschienen bei Esoteric am 13.12.2021
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Live at the Union Chapel
Rock - Erschienen bei Symphonic Rock Recordings am 08.02.2016
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Alive In America - 1974
Pop/Rock - Erschienen bei Rdeg am 06.03.2023
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Kalynda (A Magical Isle) (Early Version)
Rock - Erschienen bei Cherry Red Records am 11.11.2022
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Live At The Capitol Theater - June 18, 1978 (Live)
Progressive Rock - Erschienen bei Rdeg am 01.09.2023
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The Mona Lisa Experience
Dance - Erschienen bei Loveland am 30.04.2015
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Tuscany (2024 Expanded & Remastered Edition)
Progressive Rock - Erschienen bei Esoteric am 03.05.2024
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Ekattorer Renaissance
Rock - Erschienen bei G Series am 26.03.1997
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The It Guys: Shutdown
World Music - Erschienen bei Afrobeats Distro am 16.03.2022
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PANIC!
World Music - Erschienen bei Afrobeats Distro am 31.08.2023
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Assimilate
Hip-Hop/Rap - Erschienen bei Renaissance am 24.01.2024
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