Search - Renaissance :: Renaissance (Mlps) (Shm)

Think more psychadelic Yardbirds than classic Renaissance

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 06/16/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the debut album for the original version of Renaissance, which put out two albums with this lineup before the group re-emerged in 1972 as the powerhouse progressive rock group fronted by the glorious voice of Annie Haslam. At this point the vocalist was Jane Relf, who was certainly a unique vocalist in her own right. However, the name I recognized from this lineup was John Hawken, was would go on to be the keyboard player on the best albums of a lesser known but pretty good in their own right prog-rock group, the Strawbs. However, despite the classical influences that Relf and Hawken brought to the group, the dominant force were cofounders Keith Relf and Jim McCarty. The duo had been the psychedelic half of the final lineup of the Yardbirds. This means that in terms of musical history, they are the counterpart to Led Zeppelin in terms of answering the Sixties trivia question as to which groups sprang up from the demise of the aforementioned Yardbirds. Amazing how little the two groups had in common, huh? What we have here is the original five tracks plus two bonus tracks, which are both sides of the group's first single. This album does offer up a sort of fusion between progressive rock and not only classical but also jazz. As is usually the case with this type of music, the best tracks are the longest ones; in this case that would be "Kings and Queens" and "Bullet," both of which come in at over 10 minutes in length. However, I like "Wanderer" best, probably because of Hawken's contributions. This 1969 album was followed up by "Illusion" in 1971, and it is a toss-up at to which album is better. The latter album would also serve as the title for the group that McCarty, Hawken and Jane Relf formed after the death of Keith Relf. The key thing is that they pale in comparison to what the new and improved Renaissance would put out in the Seventies. Ultimately, "Renaissance" by Renaissance, is of more importance historically in terms of the merging of progressive rock and classical music than from the standpoint of the actual quality of the music. Still, of passing interest to those interested in the genre more than the group yet to be."

Post Yardbirds experiment that "worked"

Daniel Jones | Hilo, HI United States | 01/28/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Some Renaissance fans may not realize that there was another group who actually launched the "original" Renaissance concept. This is *that* group, and they were quite a talented collection of musicians. They were also very successful, touring the US (and the rest of the world) to positive reviews and a significant number of record sales during 1969-71. I gather this record continued to sell throughout the mid 1970's - especially in Germany...



Actually, this band is an off-shoot of The Yardbirds, the amazing British blues/rockers who folded 6 months prior to this LP's release (1969). Yardbird's vocalist Keith Relf (who also plays guitar here) and drummer Jim McCarty enlisted former Yardbird's bassist Paul Samwell-Smith to produce, and they recruited some fabulous players to join them on this departure from the usual blues/rock format of the day. I personally find the songs to be very memorable, and they illustrate the wide scope of Keith Relf's genius - he started musical trends that others eventually made fortunes off of - The Yardbirds, Renaissance, and progressive rockers Armageddon (his final project - he died in 1976 from electrocution while playing the guitar at home in London)...



Relf was transitioning out of the band during 1970/71, when later day Renaissance vocalist Annie Haslam was auditioned/recruited. It was thought that he would help to put a new band together, and assist with production and writing...but he must have "gotten busy" producing other bands like Medicine Head, Saturnalia, and Steamhammer. Of course, the Annie Haslam version of the band went on to even greater (and much deserved) success. Drummer Jim McCarty did continue to help with a bit of songwriting for a few years, but by the mid 1970's all traces of the original Yardbirds members were gone.



The fans of later day Renaissance may or may not like this record, as the "classical rock" style here is still in an embryonic form. But I personally have found this record to be very enjoyable for many, many years now - and as an illustration of the origin of the Renaissance sound, it's a "must have". By the way, this configuration actually reformed (minus Keith Relf, obviously) as "Illusion" in the mid 70's and put out 2 or 3 good sounding albums."

KEITH RELF

Travis K. Peoples | SPRING, TEXAS USA | 11/05/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"GOT THIS CAUSE I HAVE IT ON RECORD BUT WANTED CD FOR CAR - I AM BIG YARDBIRD FAN - SO I FOLLOWED KEITH ON HIS OTHER ITEMS TILL HIS DEATH. THIS IS A LITTLE MELLOW AND SOFT FOR MY LIKINGS BUT IT IS OKAY I GUESS, MEANING NOT BAD STUFF JUST RENAISSANCE AND IT IS THE ORIGINAL RENAISSANCE WITH KEITH'S SISTER JANE."