Renaissance

Following the demise of The Yardbirds, guitarist Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty opted for a completely different direction than the American blues of their former band: music that combined classical, jazz and folk influences—how progressive! With Relf's sister Jane on vocals, ex-Herd bassist Louis Cennamo and ex-Nashville Teen pianist John Hawken were the keys to this new direction of "classical interpretation." The lengthy "Kings & Queens" opens the album; Relf's guitar takes a back seat to Hawken's piano, which paces through hook and quotation with surprising imagination. The band's execution throughout is impeccable: Cennamo and McCarty are a tight rhythm section, giving the arrangements a lift. Revealing a strong folk influence, Jane Relf takes her first crack at lead vocals on "Island." "Bullet," clocking in at over 11 minutes, gets gritty and ends with Cennamo's solo bass fading into an eerie chorus. All in all, it is an auspicious debut that managed to reach No. 60 in the UK. Renaissance recorded a second album, Illusion, the following year; however, it would not see release until 1971. Folksier, it contains the most vital track the band would record, the excellent "Past Orbits of Dust," featuring Don Shinn on electric piano. But the band had already begun to splinter; Hawken guided a transitional lineup in 1970 with some members of The Nashville Teens, but by the time the next Renaissance album was released in 1972, none of the original members would be present. McCarty would next join drummer Craig Collinge in Shoot, while Relf and Cennamo would form Armageddon in 1974 with ex-Steamhammer guitarist Martin Pugh. Hawken was off to Third World War and later, the Strawbs. However, adopting the name Illusion, Hawken, McCarty, Cennamo and Jane Relf would regroup in 1977 for two albums on Island Records.