The release of this album and its predecessor, Annie Haslam's Renaissance, began the phenomenon of "dueling Renaissances" that took place in the 1990s, Michael Dunford...
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Renaissance's Camera Camera is one of the all-time "Who do they think they're fooling?" albums. Released in 1981 on former manager Miles Copeland's unassailably hip label...
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The original group's debut album was a then-groundbreaking meld of progressive rock with classical and jazz influences. The album is a little clunky by today's standards,...
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The second Renaissance album is the least-known in the group's entire output, having originally failed to get released anywhere except Germany. Although it is a much less...
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This compilation of the Prologue and Ashes Are Burning albums should be great, but it isn't. The sound is flat and two major songs from Ashes were cut mercilessly. Good for...
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The first album by the '70s (i.e. Annie Haslam) version of Renaissance is a transitional work, rooted in more standard hard rock sounds (including psychedelia) than what...
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The second volume of Sire Records' retrospective compilation on Renaissance is not as impressive musically as its predecessor, devoted as it is primarily to the lesser of...
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The first Renaissance album features what, today, would be considered almost a legendary lineup at its core. At the time of the Yardbirds' split in mid-'68, Jimmy Page...
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An October 14, 1977 concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz. The group had already done a live album with a 30-piece orchestra from...
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The second part of this October 14, 1977 show is preferable to the first, showing the band in better form and doing songs that they seem to be playing and singing with...
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Best known for their light progressive sound, Renaissance combines startling vocals with resonant classical arrangements that results in a truly unique musical concoction....
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The fourth great album in a row for Renaissance, Live at Carnegie Hall was recorded at three concerts on June 20, 21, and 22, 1975, at New York's Carnegie Hall. Although no...
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Live Renaissance albums have become so ubiquitous that they're no longer intrinsically special. This particular recording dates back to 1985, at a point when Annie Haslam...
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This reviewer's first thought on seeing this release was, "Wonderful, just what the world needs, another live Renaissance recording." Then he heard the release, and the...
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This 77-minute, 16-song compilation is made up of the highlights of the first two albums by Michael Dunford's Renaissance, and may be the most convenient way to access the...
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Innocence and Illusion, the first two Renaissance albums (by the early incarnation of the group) had their moments, but each promised slightly more than it delivered. This...
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The third album by this incarnation of Renaissance was a match for their previous success, Ashes Are Burning, with equally impressive performances and songwriting and a few...
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This album was the group's magnum opus in the perception of many on-lookers and fans, and it still plays well, though its flaws are more evident now than they were at the...
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By this time, the formula behind the group's sound was becoming predictable, as were many of the songs, although this record and its successor retained some interest for...
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This is one of the better late-era Renaissance albums from the original continuity of the "mark II" lineup of the group (which is the one everyone knows). It's also...
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This CD is a most satisfying listening experience, despite a few shortcomings in the packaging. Released under the auspices of Annie Haslam at a time when Renaissance had...
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Annie Haslam and Michael Dunford re-formed a version of Renaissance for this album, which has its feet planted in two different decades. The opening track and "The Race"...
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