Renaissance

A fascinating album, this. The first Renaissance album, featuring the original line-up and not one member of the band that were so successful in the mid-seventies to 80’s.
The original line-up consisted of Keith Relf on vocals/guitar/harmonica & Jim McCarty percussion (both ex-Yardbirds), John Hawken on piano & Harpsichord (ex-Nashville Teens), Louis Cennamo (ex Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions, Herd, Patto’s People) on bass and Keith Relf’s sister Jane on additional vocals.

It is very much the sound of a band discovering itself. Relf & McCarty had been looking away from the Blues/rock form of Yardbirds and the band’s sound here is a mix of classical, folk, progressive rock and a long way away from the Blues.
The album was top and tailed by two long numbers: ‘Kings & Queens’ & ‘Bullet’. Straight off, the complexities are evident and classical piano gets Flamenco guitar and Arabesque tones mixed in until the vocals. The harmonies around the main theme ring the changes and the overall composition is complex and considered.
The second long piece ‘Bullet’ has a martial air with massive, clanging chords segueing into a quasi-Dr John segment, a bass exploration and a spaced out choral section.
The shorter pieces are no less complex, bringing in all sorts of styles and forms.

Any fan of early progressive (pre-Prog) really will find this at the very least intriguing. It surely isn’t perfect but there is plenty here to grab the ear.