Renaissance (Renaissance album)

Renaissance is the debut album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in November 1969.

Renaissance
Studio album by Renaissance
Released	November 1969[1]
Recorded	1969
Studio	Olympic Sound Studios, London, UK
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	39:21
Label	Island (Europe) Elektra (US)
Producer	Paul Samwell-Smith
Renaissance chronology
Renaissance (1969) Illusion (1971)
Singles from Renaissance
"Island" Released: January 1970 [2]
Original US release cover
Innocence reissue

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]

Track listing

The single version of "Island" (a different recording from the album version, with faster tempo, more overdubbed backing vocals, and no classical themes at the end) was backed with a non-LP B-side, "The Sea." Some CD editions of the album include both of these tracks.

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Kings and Queens"	10:55
2.	"Innocence"	7:05

All tracks are written by Keith Relf and Jim McCarty, with themes by John Hawken and Louis Cennamo, except where noted

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
3.	"Island[nb 1]"		5:57
4.	"Wanderer"	John Hawken, McCarty	4:00
5.	"Bullet"		11:24

Bonus tracks on CD

No.	Title	Length
6.	"The Sea"	3:00
7.	"Island (single version)"	3:37

Personnel

Renaissance

• Jane Relf - lead vocals (3,4,6,7), backing vocals, percussion
• Keith Relf - guitar, harmonica, lead vocals (1,2,5), backing vocals
• John Hawken - piano, harpsichord
• Louis Cennamo - bass
• Jim McCarty - drums, percussion, backing vocals, brief 2nd lead vocal (2)

Production

• Paul Samwell-Smith - producer
• Andy Johns - engineer

Releases

Renaissance was initially released in the UK in 1969 by Island Records as catalogue ILPS-9114; it was also released in America on Elektra as EKS-74068, and by Island in Germany as 87 609 ET.

In 1998, Renaissance was reissued by Mooncrest Records in the UK as Innocence. This reissue included six bonus tracks, but the packaging included no explanation of what they were. Besides "Island" (single version) and "The Sea" (see above), there were the following:^[4][5]

• "Shining Where the Sun Has Been": pre-Renaissance demo (1968) recorded by Keith Relf and Jim McCarty under the name "Together."
• "Prayer for Light" and "Walking Away": tracks recorded, post-Renaissance, by Relf and McCarty (written & sung by Jim) for the unreleased 1971 film Schizom.
• "All the Fallen Angels": Demo, 1976. Keith's final recorded performance. Also released on the album Enchanted Caress (1979), under the name Illusion.

On 29 November 2010, Esoteric Recordings released a remastered and expanded edition (including both sides of the band’s first single).^[6]

Notes and references

Notes

1. This track borrows heavily from Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata (Piano Sonata No.8 In C Minor Op.13, 'Pathétique' : I. Grave. Allegro di molto e con brio and III. Rondo. Allegro)

References

1. "Album Reviews" (PDF). Melody Maker. 29 November 1969. p. 19. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
2. "Renaissance singles".
3. Eder, Bruce. "Renaissance - Renaissance review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
4. "Renaissance Discography". Nlightsweb.com. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
5. "The History Of Renaissance". Nlightsweb.com. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
6. "Renaissance 'Renaissance' Esoteric Recordings". Cherry Red Records. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.