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Renaissance was a 1970s progressive rock band. Musically, they were characterized by Annie Haslam's soaring vocals, classical-style piano, and a preference for acoustic guitar instead of electric.
History
Former members of The Yardbirds Paul Samwell-Smith, Keith Relf and Jim McCarty organised a new group devoted to experimentation between rock, folk, and classical forms - "Renaissance". This quintet (bassist Louis Cenammo, pianist John Hawken, and Relf's sister Jane as an additional vocalist) released a pair of albums on Elektra, but dissolved quickly, leaving McCarty to reform the band into a very different lineup, though McCarty also soon departed.
This new lineup, probably the best-known of the band's history, consisted of Annie Haslam (vocals), Michael Dunford (acoustic guitar), John Tout (piano), Jon Camp (bass) and Terry Sullivan (drums). Along with Rob Hendry (electric guitar), this quintet released Prologue in 1972. The music was written primarily by Dunford and McCarty, with lyrics by poet Betty Thatcher. Hendry departed as the group turned away from the electric guitar in their music.
In the 1970s, Renaissance had a commercially successful career, their sound similar in many ways to folk rock with classical overtones. But, as most progressive rock bands, the complexity of the music made it difficult for them to reach mass audiences. Renaissance's performances were normally faithful reproductions of the studio recordings, which was perceived as rigid and not spontaneous.
Renaissance scored a hit single in 1978 with "Northern Lights," taken from the album A Song for All Seasons, but the band floundered following 1979's Azure D'or as fans were unhappy with the band's turn towards synthesizers and, a musically simpler style, a path followed by most progressive rock bands at one time or another. Camp had assumed more of the band's songwriting chores, and Tout and Sullivan left. Haslam, Dunford and Camp released a pair of albums in the 1980s and then broke up. Their albums were not available on CD for some time, though a pair of compilations were issued in 1990. During the 1990s, though, much of their catalog has been released.
In the late 1990s, both Haslam and Dunford formed their own bands using the name Renaissance, and have released albums with different line-ups, but have since reunited.
Discography
External Links
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