Renaissance is an English group formed in 1969 and originally composed of Keith Relf (ex Yardbirds), Jim McCarty (ex Yarbirds), John Hawken, Louis Cennamo and Jane Relf.
The group released their eponymous debut album the same year, an album with highly esteemed success which allowed them to appear for the first time on the front of the English music scene. Album from which their first single "Island" will be extracted, a title which paradoxically will go somewhat unnoticed ...
This will also be the case to go unnoticed for the following 2 albums, “Illusion” in 1971 and “Prologue” in 1972. Album which will save the furniture with the title “Spare some love”, the only title to be released as a single.
Business picked up for a while in 1973 with the release of the album "Ashes are burning", an album that will not go unnoticed in the USA. Album which owes its relative success only to the titles "Carpet of the sun" and "Let it grow".
Change of label from 1974 and change from Sovereign Records to BTM, a label which gave more financial means to the group. With as result a first album "Turn of the cards" with this label the same year. Album that allows the group to gain strength in an obvious way.
A rise in power which was confirmed the following year in 1975 with the release of the album "Scheherazade and other stories". album which will also make a remarkable journey in the United States despite the fact that it only has 4 titles !
The album "Novella" which came out two years later in 1977 will feature 5, which is already a little better. Album which will also know its heyday in the USA. Mainly thanks to the title “Sisters”.
The year 1978 and especially the album "A song for all seasons" will bring the group its biggest hits. First by the enormous success of the album and then by the success of certain singles including "Back home once again" but also, and above all, "Northern lights", a flagship single which remains to this day their biggest discographic success at the singles level.
New album "Azure D'Or" in 1979, album which will not match the enormous success of its predecessor. And who will not produce any major single except for the title "Winter tree" which will be the only one to perform pretty well.
We find them in the early 1980s with the album "Camera camera", album released in 1981 and which saw the group lose more and more ground on the competition. The album "Time-line" which will be released in 1983 will see the group almost disappear from the radar.
We thought they were definitely lost but they will return at the beginning of the 2000s with the album "Tuscany" in 2001, then at the beginning of the 2010 decade with the album "Grandine il vento" in 2013. Improbable returns that will not change the situation unfortunately…
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
Island 1969
The sea 1969
Love goes on 1971
Spare some love 1972
Sound of the sea 1972
Let it grow 1973
Carpet of the sun 1973
I think of you 1974
Mother Russia 1974
The vultures fly high 1975
Ocean gypsy 1975
The sisters 1977
Back home once again 1978
Northern lights 1978
The winter tree 1979
Kalynda (A magical isle) 1979
Bonjour swansong 1981
Runing away from you 1981
Faeries 1981
Eva’s pond 2001
Clips :
1969 ... for the beginnings, it is clear that the sound, like the style, sticks perfectly to the standards of the time. Unfortunately, that's not everything ...
1969 ... it is clear that there is still work to be done but the bases are good, that's it already. You just have to give time to time ...
1971 ... the style is very 'Flower Power' and even if this style is still somewhat trendy, they will still have to think about the future ...
1972 ... a light and airy style that works quite well for now but it is clear that it will work much less as it is at the end of the decade ...
1972 ... but we are only at the beginning of the decade so no worries for the moment. Be careful not to lose too much ground compared to the competition ...
1973 ... the sound evolution is slow, very slow. They take their time, to say the least. A group to say the least atypical, it is clear ...
1973 ... that's it, the tempo picks up a little, it's about time. And as luck would have it, the level of success rises accordingly. Like what it really did not take much ...
1974 ... hunt the natural, it comes back at a gallop. The rhythmic improvement will have been of very short duration unfortunately. Pity...
1974 ... they really don't do anything like the others. This is what makes their strength as much as their weakness. Be careful not to fall in the caricature ...
1975 ... where the art of going from one extreme to the other. This time, the band is playing it in high-powered mode and showing us that they can seriously speed up the tempo. After that, a happy medium would be welcome ...
1975 ... a pretty ballad of which they have the secret. It is clear that in this area, their know-how is more than evident. Even if the gap with the competition increases with this kind of title, they do not intend to change anything for the moment ...
1977 ... and the gap with the competition will not get better with this kind of title, that's for sure. But that's also what makes this permanent gap so charming ...
1978 ... there would be a slight improvement in the evolution of the sound. Would the group finally take the measure of the world around him and the new musical trends of the end of the decade. Hope for them ...
1978 ... at first glance, they were finally able to adapt their own style to what the general public demand. Result of the races, they obtain here the biggest success of all their discography and at the same time offer themselves a direct ticket for posterity. HU-GE !
1979 ... we are still light years away from the Bee Gees and the Disco wave that is submerging the planet, that's for sure. But the charm of this decade, as it will also be the case for the next, is that all styles coexist in a certain harmony. A real joy !
1979 ... the group is obviously stuck on the model 'Flower Power' and leaves very little. A risky and above all counterproductive bias unfortunately ...
1981 ... and the arrival in the 80s will not change much. The group's musical immobility is surprising to say the least and especially suicidal in the long term ...
1981 ... ah, luckily, things are starting to move. Even if it is far too late to reverse the trend for long, they are finally showing us a different side of their talent. It's already that...
1981 ... a trend reversal which is confirmed with this title. But why didn't they evolve long before because they had ample potential for !
2001 ... the 80s will see them gradually disappear from the radar and we thought the case folded. And here they are again as if by a miracle at the beginning of the 2000s. A comeback that unfortunately will not change the situation ...
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Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :