The incredible live sound of Renaissance, combining classical and rock music, is showcased in a new box set.

Release date:  Available now

Label: Esoteric Recordings/Cherry Red Records

Format: 2 CD + Blu Ray Box Set

This new Renaissance box set includes the complete iconic BBC Sight & Sound In Concert performance from 8th January 1977 on CD 1. Sight & Sound In Concert allowed BBC viewers to simultaneously watch the concert on television while listening to the music on a stereo broadcast on BBC Radio 1, and Renaissance were the first artists featured. Sight & Sound In Concert was broadcast live, and was a pioneering approach to presenting live performances on the screen accompanied by enhanced audio. Renaissance had just released their studio album Novella in the USA with a UK release to follow later in the year, and the concert features two songs from that album, as well as some classic tracks from earlier albums. The Blu-ray disc includes the video of the Sight & Sound performance.

The second CD includes a BBC Radio 1 In Concert performance from 4th October 1978, which is previously unreleased. It features material from the album A Song For All Seasons, released in March 1978, alongside again some classic Renaissance tracks.

The Blu-ray disc, alongside the Sight & Sound In Concert, features an early two song appearance, on a television show from Switzerland called Kaleidospop, on 30th March 1974. Concluding with the band performing their single Northern Lights on the BBC’s weekly Top Of The Pops show on 13th July 1978.

All the discs feature the classic Renaissance line up of Annie Haslam, vocals, John Tout, piano, organ and keyboards, Michael Dunford, acoustic and electric guitars, Jon Camp, bass guitar, bass pedals, backing vocals, and Terence Sullivan, drums and percussion.

CD One

On the Sight & Sound set, the band begin with Carpet Of The Sun, from the Ashes Are Burning album. It is a really spirited performance of the song with Annie Haslam’s pitch perfect phrasing and incredible vocal range immediately impressive. Similarly, John Tout’s skilled and expansive use of his keyboards, means you don’t miss the string parts at all from the original recorded version. That the sound goes a little awry at times, is quite endearing and reflects that this was after all a live recording.

Mother Russia from the Turn Of The Cards album follows, and is introduced as  ”…a song all about Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a Russian writer”. It is a song of epic sweep which is fully realised in this live version. The introductory section has the power of a full orchestra and sets the scene for Annie Haslam’s attesting narrative voice that gives full flight to Betty Thatcher’s wonderfully evocative lyrics. Just listen to the words of the chorus:

“Red blood, white snow
He knows frozen rivers won’t flow
So cold, so true
Mother Russia – he cries for you”

The instrumental section made up of gently building rhythmic phrases and John Tout’s extemporising of some quite exquisite piano melodies, also features a thrilling wordless vocal from Annie Haslam that soars over the music. The audience applause at the end of the song is testament to the authenticity and commitment the band put into this live version of a classic Renaissance song.

The two songs that follow, are Can You Hear Me? from the Novella album, and Ocean Gypsy from Scheherazade and Other Stories. Can You Hear Me? is classic Renaissance, with a heroic soundstage, where live all the instruments and the vocal charge at the song, offering with a breathtaking precision, both softer musical sections and anthemic washes of sound. It also has some intricate time signature changes that the rhythm section of Terence Sullivan (drums), Jon Camp (bass guitar) and Michael Dunford (guitar) navigate beautifully. Terrence Sullivan’s percussive accents and Jon Camp’s melodic bass notes really standout in a meticulous piece of ensemble playing. Ocean Gypsy, with its ballad-like structure, witnesses the band deftly change pace, and offer a poignant reading of this lovely song. It is also a good example of the subtle blending of Annie Haslam and Jon Camp’s voices on the chorus.

Next on the Sight & Sound In Concert recording is a glorious performance of one of this reviewers favourite Renaissance pieces, Running Hard, from the Turn Of The Cards album. After John Tout’s spellbinding piano introduction, Annie Haslam leads the headlong charge into this adrenaline driven live version. It is sweeping, majestic, and showcases the bands musical breadth and the stunning emotional range of Annie Haslam’s vocals.

When Annie Haslam sings Betty Thatcher’s final chorus over Michael Dunford’s ringing acoustic guitar, it is a moment packed with feeling and emotional insight:

“Running hard towards what used to be
Losing ground in changes, sliding endlessly
Reaching out for shadows passing through
See the dark around is coming down on you.”

And of course, there is the wonderful section where the vocal harmonies see Renaissance transform into a wonderous mix of Fairport Convention and Pentangle.

This magnificent set is rounded off by Touching Once (Is So Hard To Keep) from the Novella album, and Prologue the title song from the album of the same name. The former has a really interesting operatic structure, with folk and ambient progressive rock interludes. Terence Sullivan and Jon Camp’s dynamic drumming and bass playing provide a rhythmic underpinning that is complex, layered, and incredibly exciting.  Prologue is driven by Michael Dunford’s intense and rhythmic acoustic guitar, over which Annie Haslam weaves a glorious wordless jazz vocal.  John Tout delivers a flowing piano solo, and the band hit the most sweeping of jazz grooves in the ensemble sections. It is a very powerful live performance to close the concert, which is quite rightly enthusiastically applauded. 

CD Two

In discussing the BBC Radio 1 In Concert performance on CD 2, we will concentrate on those songs in the set list that are not featured on the Sight & Sound In Concert, including three from the then current album A Song for All Seasons.

Day Of The Dreamer, from the A Song For All Seasons album, initially has a sparkling spring like feel, then proceeding into a gothic infused atmosphere, before changing pace again into a synthesizer led very contemporary progressive rock sound. This all happens in the first five minutes. John Tout’s piano then leads the band into a ballad section, and the song is concluded with rattling drums and deep booming bass over which the synthesiser explores and develops variations on a thematic phrase. Throughout Annie Haslam’s voice beautifully matches all the changes of musical mood. One can only imagine the challenges of playing this piece live, but Renaissance deliver it with a lightness of touch and almost carefreeness that is truly impressive. 

Back Home Once Again that follows, is once again taken from the A Song for All Seasons album, though it was from Annie Haslam’s introduction, written specifically for a TV series. It is a charming song with a very winning chorus, and another opportunity to hear the full range of Annie Haslam’s vocal abilities as she hits some incredible high notes.

Can You Understand? from the Ashes Are Burning album, begins with a crashing of the chau gong and John Tout’s sparkling piano phrase. It is a short instrumental excerpt from the song which has a striking angular modality, where repeating musical phrases cross over each other. It cleverly segues into The Vultures Fly High, from the Scheherazade and Other Stories album, which has a lyrical theme ruminating on the impact of thoughtless and hurtful criticism and is sung and played by the band with a strong sense of intentionality, and perhaps sorrowful resignation.

It is succeeded by A Song For All Seasons, the title track of the same album, which instantly lifts the mood. It’s a pacy, intricate, live reading of the song, which holds the listener throughout its 11 minutes plus length. Classical phrases are juxtaposed with contemporary rock, and jazz influenced time signatures, and imbued with some magnificent melodies. When Annie Haslam sings Betty Thatcher’s lyrical couplet about Autumn, you can palpably feel the change of seasons, such is the quality of the words and Annie Haslam’s vocal interpretation. It is absolutely thrilling.

“Within the heart of all things born that day
The Autumn scene brings the Winters way
Colors are shading
Misting and fading”

Blu-Ray

So, to the final disc, which is a Blu-ray disc which contains video material of a number of Renaissance performances, as detailed at the beginning of this review. 

We begin with the two-song live appearance, on the Television show Kaleidospop, from the 30th March 1974. Featured are Can You Understand and Ashes Are Burning from the Ashes Are Burning album. The audio and video is very good, considering when it was filmed. The small intimate setting the band are playing in, gives a really good sense of how the band work together live, with both an intense concentration and glances exchanged at key moments.

It is clear that at even at this earlier point in the band’s career, they were already an impressive musical force live, capable of delivering complex pieces in a very dynamic way. John Tout is playing a grand piano which further expands the bands musical palette and Annie Haslam’s voice is very clear in the mix, allowing all the subtleties in her vocals to be heard. The version of Ashes Are Burning here is very strong indeed, including a powerful instrumental section, where the band really push the song to the limit, while never losing their musicality. 

The complete Sight & Sound In Concert follows. We have reflected on the audio version of the concert on CD Disc 1 in detail in the earlier part of this review, so I will just add here some thoughts on the visuals from the concert. Playing on a much bigger stage than on the Kaleidospop performance, with glimpses of the large appreciative audience spread over  a two-tier theatre; the rotating lighting of reds, purples, greens and blues, adds a real sense of occasion and atmosphere.  The filming is impressive, with a variety of shots of different band members and the group collectively, that matches really well what is going on musically. At points during Mother Russia, John Tout’s piano is superimposed with Michael Dunford’s acoustic guitar in a stunning visual. 

Particularly striking is the way the filming illuminates Annie Haslam’s breathtaking vocal performance, where you get a clear sense of the concentrated focus and emotion she brings to each song. There is little doubt for this reviewer that Annie Haslam is one of the very best vocalists we have witnessed in the world of progressive rock, both live and on record. 

Finally on the Blu-ray, we have Renaissance performing their single Northern Lights on BBC’s weekly Top Of The Pops show. The background and visuals are quite quirky and as seemed to be the requirement on the show at that time, the band appear to be miming. Nevertheless, the band treat it seriously which perhaps wasn’t always the case with artists appearing on the show.

The accompanying booklet helpfully sets the live recordings within the context of the band’s career, and includes a selection of band photos, a number of which seem to be from some of the performances in the box set. This is a great box set, beautifully presenting the powerful and engaging live performances the classic Renaissance line up was able to deliver. It also shines a light on the high level of musicality each of the band members brought to the Renaissance sound. Truly, a wonderful band, who have been on a farewell tour in October to say thank you and celebrate with their fans and supporters. We have been very privileged to share in their music, and they leave an incredible legacy of inspired records and performances that we can revisit and enjoy.

You can find more information about Renaissance here: Website / Facebook

You can find out more about Esoteric Recordings and Cherry Red Records releases here: Cherry Red Records / Cherry Red Records Facebook / Esoteric Recordings / Esoteric Recordings Facebook

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