Renaissance Live At Carnegie Hall CD - Import

This is a continuous in-the-mix CD compiled and mixed by DJ Richard Morel.

INNOCENTS AND ILLUSIONS compiles the albums RENAISSANCE and ILLUSIONS, as well as bonus tracks.

Recorded between 1969 & 1998. Includes liner notes by David Wells.

LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL is a two-disc in-concert recording by Renaissance. "Ocean Gypsy," "Carpet of the Sun," and "Mother Russia" are among the tracks.

This double-disc set offers the first two Renaissance albums in state-of-the-art sound, which is a big help, but there's also a lot more than that -- the producers have augmented the group's self-titled debut album with the single edit of "Island," and the B-side "The Sea," a good piano-driven piece that's a killer showcase for Jane Relf's falsetto, as well as the backup singing of Keith Relf. Much more important is the addition on disc two (devoted mostly to the Illusion album) of the four songs that Keith Relf and Jim McCarty recorded before and after the early history of the group, as a duo. "Shining Where the Sun Has Been" is one of the most charming pieces of sunshine pop ever. The pair of 1970 McCarty-Relf sides (which feature McCarty singing), "All the Fallen Angels" are excellent pieces of spaced out psychedelic folk-pop, and "Prayer for Light" is a bravura Jane Relf showcase. These additions add immeasurably to the appeal of the two albums, and also give us a much better picture of some of what McCarty and Relf were doing beyond the finished first album and the thrown-together second album by the group. The annotation also presents the fullest account yet given of the early history of Renaissance, leading up to the establishment of the group's second incarnation. ~ Bruce Eder

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 one could have known it at the time, it also marked the high point of the group's influence and acceptance -- waiting in the wings, at just about the time this album was released the following year, was the punk rock boom and, a little after that, the disco boom, which would quickly sour audiences and critics on progressive rock. Recorded on tour ahead of the release of Scheherazade and Other Stories, this was the most ambitious concert venture to come out of the progressive rock boom of the 1970s up to that time, featuring the group accompanied by the (uncredited) New York Philharmonic, whose playing shows up on several numbers, but is mostly here for "Song of Scheherazade," which took up one side of the original double LP and more than half of the second disc in the CD version. It and the seven other cuts range across the group's repertory, including revamped versions of "Prologue," "Can You Understand," "Carpet of the Sun," and "Ashes Are Burning," plus live versions of "Mother Russia" and "Running Hard" and a concert preview of "Ocean Gypsy." The original LP suffered from the inevitable

1994 reissue on Repertoire of the prog icon's 1976 doublelive album for BTM, complete with the original artwork.Contains all eight tracks on two CDs within a doubleslimline jewelcase. Includes 'Mother Russia', 'Ocean Gypsy'and 'Ashes Are Burning'. The album was recorded with the NewYork Philharmonic backing Renaissance.

Includes liner notes by Russ Elliot.

Renaissance includes: Keith Ralf (vocals); Jim McCarty (drums).

Composer: Betty Thatcher Newsinger.

Personnel: Michael Dunford (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar); Jon Camp (vocals, guitar); John Tout (vocals, keyboards); Terence Sullivan (vocals, drums, percussion); Annie Haslam (vocals, percussion); New York Philharmonic (strings, horns).

Audio Mixer: Dick Plant.

Audio Remasterer: Joe Reagoso.

Liner Note Authors: Mark Brennan ; Annie Haslam.

Recording information: Carnegie Hall, New York, NY (06/20/1975-06/22/1975).

Photographers: John Kuczynski; Chuck Pulin; Bob Gruen; Annie Haslam.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Jim McCarty ; Keith Relf.

RenQ (11/00, p.118) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...The best compilation of the current season....embodying quality clubbing..."
Mixmag (10/00, p.176) - 4 out of 5 - "...Marks the point where deep house slides into progressive trance and it all blends into one narcotic thrum..."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.98) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Keyboardist John Tout's classical training is apparent throughout, and he certainly makes a case for being recognised as a minor-league Emerson on 'Can You Understand'..."