Renaissance- Northern Lights (First Listen)
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- Опубліковано 17 вер 2024
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Song Link: • Northern Lights
Renaissance ARE UP THERE for serious pure prog fanatics especially those who grew up with the music from it's inceptions in the early 70's. I saw them with Gentle Giant in 1976. Annie then melted my young heart.
For many of us who were in high school in the '70s, Renaissance is no secret.
They are, perhaps, the greatest orchestral rock band in history and there will never be a more angelic voice than that of Annie Haslam.
Regardless of likes this music has always touched my soul,
Song for All Seasons one of the greatest intro's to a track ever, absolute perfection with the wonderful voice of Annie Haslam. John Camp on base is awesome, can't understand how this amazing song is so underplayed or known,nothing like it!
My gosh this brings back some pleasant memories.
Renaissance Northern Lights entered the UK Top 40 on the 15th July 1978. It peaked at no.11.
The top 10 this week in 1978 was:
1 - John Travolta/Olivia Newton John - You're the one that I want
2 - Father Abraham/Smurfs - The Smurf song
3 - Clout - Substitute
4 - Marshall Hain - Dancin' in the city
5 - A Taste Of Honey - Boogie oogie oogie
6 - Showaddywaddy - A little bit of soap
7 - Boomtown Rats - Like clockwork
8 - Electric Light Orchestra - Wild west hero
9 - The Motors - Airport
10 - Lindisfarne - Run for home
Selected climbers and new entries this week were:
Kate Bush - The man with the child in his eyes
Justin Hayward - Forever Autumn
Andrew Gold - How can this be love
Blue Oyster Cult - (Don't fear) The reaper
Rolling Stones - Miss you
Renaissance - The Northern lights
ACDC - Rock n roll damn at ion
Sham 69 - If the kids are united
The Who - Who are you
X Ray Spex - Identity
My memory of the Renaissance track was that it definitely felt like a commercial success with a temendous amount of air play. It was always on the radio. But, as you say it has its own unique stamp that lent it depth indicating that this group weren't just knocking out hits over a cup of tea. 😊
Thats a GREAT list for that week. Thanks for that ssps
Renaissance is a GREAT band. A fantastic classical / progressive group. As good as Genesis, Yes, ELP, Tull, etc.
Absolutely
Bought this as a single Loved it then as now. Love That voice, the bass, and finally, the ending.With the drum. Reminds me of the seventies. It was a sound of the times.Music doesn't come out of a vacuum. Some words or phrases make a song i don't know why, but just the sound of the words never mind the meaning.When you hear the words "the Northern Lights" ; sounds like yearning.
A great under-acclaimed group from the Progressive era that had influence on groups like Led Zeppelin was the English folk rock group "Fairport Convention", with the legendary vocalist Sandy Denny. You'd be happy to know that two of their best songs, "Matty Groves" and "Tam Lin", are ancient folk songs that are royalty-free - no copyright!
The live album "In Real Time" has a killer version of Matty Groves in the "Big Three Medley." If you are going to play any Fairport, that is the best place to start.Great band live.
@@charliecharlie3237 I think that live album was recorded after Sandy's untimely death. I would recommend the 1969 album "Lieg and Lief", which has Richard Thompson on guitar, and Dave Swarbrick on violin.
Fairport Convention was credited with being the first British Folk Rock group, beginning with their Liege and Lief album. I wouldn’t classify them as progressive. Actually, because of their re-imagined takes on some traditional tunes, a case could be made to classify them as “regressive”. They are overlooked outside of the UK, and that’s a shame. Manager Joe Boyd had the ingredients for greatness when Sandy Denny joined up with Richard Thompson. Dave Swarbrick was another inspired addition to the band. So, come on Justin. Try something off of Liege and Lief. Maybe Farewell, Farewell, or Marty Groves, or Crazy Man Michael (my theme song). You can’t go wrong.
rtwbikerider I’m American and I liked and bought some FC albums w/Sandy Denny. Richard Thompson plays gigs over here so he managed to make himself well known. He just played a gig in NYC in February that I missed! Damn!
Yes, In real time was released in 1987. Matty Groves is a much different song live than that studio version.While I love both versions, the much more rocking live version is my favorite. Especially framed by the instrumental "The Swirling Pit and The Rutland Reel/ Sack the Juggler. Every time I saw them live, well after Sandy had left the band, their rocked out version of Matty brought down the roof.
She sings like an angel and this song shows it
Amen ...
Hi JP, my favourite Renaissance song is on that album, The title song A Song For All Seasons is an epic masterpiece in my opinion. As for underrated Prog Rock bands, my choices would be the band IQ (my fave song would be The Last Human Gateway from the album Tales from the Lush Attic) and the band Arena (my favourite song of theirs is Moviedrome from the album Immortal). Cheers for all the great videos! :)
Ty Andy!
Totally agree on the song and how great IQ is. You have excellent taste, sir.
Day Of The Dreamer is up there as well (also from A Song From All Seasons). And indeed, IQ, from any of their albums and Arena as well. And don't forget Pendragon JP ;-)
@@mariobaert8346 I'm not as familiar with Pendragon - my band played Rosfest in Pennsylvania many moons ago, and they were on the bill as well. I ran into the singer/guitarist at an event and he was a hoot! But I have only heard their setlist for the evening.
@@DrVentur3 just went to De Boerderij in Zoetermeer last weekend to see them. 2 and a half hours of great music. The venue was sold out again as it was the last 4 or 5 times I went to see them. Recommended music!
Annie 's voice is just so ethereal and evocative on this song...this song was made for Annie !.
Agree Billy!
Anne had a great voice. I bet Kate Bush would have been proud of this song. And yet it has always been under-rated.
Other under-rated stuff - Steel Eye Span, All Around My Hat
David Essex, Just another Winter's Tale
Thin Lizzy, Parizienne Walkways (sung by Phil Lynott not Gary Moore)
Morningtown Ride - The Seekers
Mike Batt - Caravans on the Move (main orchestral theme from Caravans) Also Barbra Dickson, Caravan (song written by Mike Batt)
Hot Chocolat, Put You Together Again
Lying in the arms of Mary - Sullivan Bros and Quiver
I'm Carrying - Paul McCartney (Wings 1978)
Albums - War of the Worlds (Jeff Wayne 1978)
Hot August Night - Neil Diamond (very special live album , 1972)
Deep Breakfast - Ray Lynch(1985)
Please find on UA-cam the concert recorded by the BBC - Renaissance-Sight and Sound in Concert in 1977. These BBC concerts were a breakthrough as television programmes were in mono with pretty shoddy TV speakers. The BBC set it up so you could watch your TV with the sound turned off and listen through a simultaneous zfeed off a stereo radio receiver thereby using your Hifi system to get a much better quality listening experience. I didn’t know much about Renaissance at that time but I watched the concert, mainly because of the novelty value as this was the first concert to be broadcast in this format, and was blown away by Annie’s voice and from then on was hooked. On the ‘Song for All Seasons’ album is another single ‘Back Home once Again’ which was a theme song for a children’s TV show called ‘The Paper Lads’, a fictional series about kids growing up in North East England.
This is a song I grew up with having first heard it as a 4 year old in 1978, thinking I’d never hear it in the future…
I had the privilege of hearing Renaissance live when they were one of the guest bands aboard the third Moody Blues Cruise, in 2016. Annie sounds just as good as she did decades ago. I remember that in 1978 my mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I told her an album by a band called Renaissance, with a song called Northern Lights. I still have that record.
I love Annie Haslam’s voice and style!
Running Hard blows Northern Lights away. A song For All Seasons is the best song from that album. This was their stab at commercial fame.
Day of the Dreamer LIVE at the tower philadelphia is the one that blows my mind
This song is one of my favourites from Renaissance, personally.
Saw Renaissance twice in 76 and 78. Many years later, I was at one of Ian Anderson's solo concerts and who does he bring out on stage? Annie Haslam! They did Northern Lights as a duet. One of the greatest concert moments ever!
Nice tune !! As for underrated prog bands, I'd say Camel. Check out "First Light", "Skylines" or "Unevensong".
You are right about Camel. Don't forget "Lady Fantasy Encounter" or "Lunar Sea"...two wonderful tunes
Unevensong......absolutety !
I love this song. You know, when it comes to neuro-linguistic programming-type phenomena, music is one of those triggers which evokes feelings from a past so distant that you barely have the shape of them, but so strongly that you can't help but over-extend the limits of your memory. Bobby Hebb's Sunny has that effect on me, as does this; perhaps this digs a little further into the esoteric or, perhaps, hooks onto other hooks of a time before I could even speak. I especially like the woodwind in what I like to call the second middle-eight - it knocks a song which is already out of this world into another universe.
Always loved both this song, and Annie Haslam's voice, ever since it was first released, back in 1978 (I was at the tender age of 13).
Renaissance did two albums before Annie joined the band, so as far as I'm concerned, this was their first album as Renaissance, just as "Fragile" was Yes' first album as Yes after acquiring Rick Wakeman, in my opinion. "Prologue" was that first album. It came out in 1972, the same year as "Close To The Edge". I'd never heard of Renaissance. One evening I was looking through the record section in K-Mart and came across this album in the cut-out section (anyone remember that?) for fifty cents. It had an interesting cover, and it was only fifty cents, so I thought "what the hell", and took it home. I was thoroughly enjoying it, but when it got to the last song, "Rajah Khan", I was blown away. I'd never heard a voice like that. The song has no lyrics. Annie plays her voice like an instrument and demonstrates the full range and capabilities of that voice. Check it out.
ua-cam.com/video/ox_hzO6SIAY/v-deo.html
To add: Renaissance didn't need singles back in the 1970s. Most cities seemed to have at least one FM station that played album tracks. In NY, we had WNEW, and they played good music, even full album side songs.
Today, we have young people who largely have short attention spans and need to have a single rammed down their throats.
Groups like Renaissance, Yes, ELP, Focus, etc got B-side airplay, etc from DJs who enjoyed sharing great music without major commercial overtones.
The title song "A Song For All Seasons" is the best on the album!❤️🎶🎧
Agreed!
"Song For All Seasons" is one of the two greatest songs EVER written (the other being ELP's "Pirates")
As for Renaissance being underrated, don't talk to ME! I've been promoting them relentlessly since 1978. My branded surname is a tribute to them.
ALSO "Back Home Once Again" title to the British series Paper Lads was on that album as well.
For us as a family we were surrounded by renaissance. We even went to see them in concert at Carnegie Hall.
Annie is indeed an angel,so crystal clear,and in an English accent too!
Underrated highest quality prog band?
Easy,that would be Camel.
I thought of this song immediately, when I saw the Northern Lights in beautiful Cornwall, UK last night, nearly fifty years after it came out. Underrated group, a mystery why it did not get to no.1.
To me this is just about as perfect a pop song as I'm likely to find. But that's me. Another great longer one of theirs, and to my mind possibly their most intense song, is Touching Once (Is So Hard To Keep). The ending just leaves me with my jaw on the floor. Surprised no one in the comments seem to be mentioning it.
A great prog song. I love it! Opening Out/Day of the Dreamer is fantastic too.
I am with you on that ending of Scheherazade ... it never ceases to give me goosebumps.
The Carnegie Hall Live album has a very good performance too - the bassoon sounds better, and Annie hits an unbelievable high note at the end.
Well, answering your first question: from the bands you still don't know, probably Van der Graaf Generator and german band Eloy are the most underrated. There are a couple of reasons to why Renaissance is often forgotten when it concerns about progressive music:
1) The lead vocalist. Ok ok, Annie is practically a goddess, but back in the 70's the female singers, to be known as rock stars, needed an attitude similar to Janis Joplin, or even Sonja Kristina. Annie seems like an angel, which goes against the "rebel" idea of rock (think the same way people on that days).
2) The lack of solos, especially guitar ones. If you listen closely, the songs of Renaissance are keyboard-driven (in the sense that John Tout is the bridge between the main parts of the composition) and the shining star is the bass player Jon Camp, which is very unusual. In fact, he does three things at the same time when playing every single bass note, and that gives a whole other dimension to the song.
3) The lyrics. Back on that days, the lyrical content that people seemed to like was very characterized by the silly Beatles and Zeppelin's lyrics, which turn out very difficult for bands such as Renaissance and Van der Graaf Generator (VdGG) to stand out with remarkable ones. Since Renaissance's lyrics are literature based and VdGG are kinda existentialist philosophical essay, it was difficult for the audience to get caught in those narratives. It is far easier to sing "Whoooooooa Aqualung!" than "Now, who's outside, inside Jekyll and Hyde?".
Thanks Augusto! I've only done one song from VdGG here, though hopefully there'll be more soon. I've also listened to Ocean by Eloy a few months ago on my own😉
@@JustJP That's great. I'll see your review, then. And about Eloy, if you listen any album from 1975 Power and the Passion to 1982 Time to Turn, you will see that it's very unfair they are so underrated. Frank Bornemann is a genius.
Augusto Vasconcellos I think Ocean Gypsy was JP’s introduction to Renaissance.
@@shyshift Yeah, I remember now he made a video listening to Ocean Gypsy. But the truth is that Renaissance is underrated in the main prog scene, and the reasons are very clear to me.
Was sitting with a group in a restaurant in Oxford, where i stayed a couple of days to attend a Seminar.
I got an app from friend that there was a high chance of seeing the Aurora.
I sort of dismissed it as i have been trying for over a year to see the Aurora in Rotterdam Netherlands where i live, but failed each time, light pollution, overcast, rain. On the internet i kept seeing photos, but those were from remote locations and i missed it each time.
But then i though, wait, i am in a different surrounding now, maybe where my hotel is, i can find some field or dark space nearby where i could try and see if it is true and i could see it there. At the same time in our group a few people were playing guitar, we were sitting on the patio outside and one song someone sang was Northern Lights from Renaissance.
I found out, like you said that the song wasn't about the Aurora, but seeing UK's harbour lights in the north when sailing away from it to the US. Maybe not sailing, but going by ship.
I went to a field nearby and with the naked eye i saw mostly white ribbons dancing in the sky, though when i tried to photograph it, it was the most beautiful i had ever seen, every colour of the rainbow. It was the event of 10/11th of May this year and seemed to have been a rare event, so right time right place. Back home i scoured youtube about Renaissance and am now completely hooked on most of their albums right after the first album which i feel less attracted to as well as much later albums, except Song for Seasons with Northern Lights. Shehezerade, Ashes Burning, Turn of the Cards being my favourites. I am now completely hooked to the music. While i am from the 70's i sort of vaguely remember some of the music, but what the band was called i was not so aware of. In those days we mostly listened to the radio and many songs i taped now only with Shaza or what it is called recognition app i can find out what the song was called. Of course i know Genesis. And in The Netherlands we had Kayak, Earth and Fire and Focus as progrock bands.
Suggestions for underrated bands:
U.K.: especially their first album, check out their three part songs In The Dead Of Night / By The Light Of Day / Presto Vivace Reprise ... I usually don't like supergroups because they tend to present a watered down version of what members did much better in the past but this is the exception to the rule IMHO.
Marillion: now this is a band with a deep , deep discography with songs both in a more modern poprock vein and songs in a (neo)progressive vein. They definetely always walk their own path following their muse. There is so much stuff to recommend but I would suggest to look into an album like Marbles (especially the song The Invisible Man) which has probably both their best prog material as well as some of their best pop songs (check out Don't Hurt Yourself). Oh, and you probably have heard about crowdfunding ... well, they basically invented that or at least did it for the first time in the music business, asking their fans to pay for an album upfront before it was recorded.
Thanks Chris!
Ocean Cloud
Agree with that totally
Marillion died for me when Fish left. They just didn't habe the same impact.
Your loss, there is some truly powerful music in the post Fish career which has now been much much longer then with Fish. Try the song Neverland, especially a good live recording.
Agree that Renaissance is able to imprint their progressive identity into this more main stream effort. Very enjoyable song to listen to even though it was created to be more of a hit than a masterpiece. Would love to hear your analysis on songs like "Can You Hear Me?" and "Midas Man" from their great Novella album.
Beautiful song
Totally agreed Katie!
Have you heard "Rajah Khan" from Prologue? One of their most psychedelic. This lineups 1st album. Also, Novella is an excellent Renaissance album nobody seems to remember.
JP, you deserve a doctorate of musicology for your expertise in analyzing music.
Thats incredibly kind of you to say adktower; thank you for that
I always saw this song as a perfect statement of them in shorthand, it made me buy the album and you can imagine my excitement as a progger to find what was through the back of the wardrobe. As to underrated bands, got to be Camel, as someone who loves instrumentals, Camel fed that need royally. One of the reasons they didn't hit the top maybe that they never had a GREAT singer, a couple of ok one's but no Phil Collins, Dave Gilmour, Peter Gabriel, Jon Anderson or Greg Lake. They did however have a long and productive career and produced a varied catalogue that maintained an impressive integrity right up to recent times and have a loyal following going to their shows.
I love the harmonic and rhythmic tension in this song
Good point!
I bought the CD box set of Song for all seasons and honestly every track is great, I'd highly recommend it 👌
Please listen to this entire album. I think Camel didn’t the attention they really deserved
Camel is definitely an underrated band
Take a listen to 'The King Will Come' by Wishbone Ash from their classic album Argus. I think you will like it.
Ty Mark!
To be honest, anything from off the Argus album is worthy to be listened to repeatedly until the needle breaks. I had never heard of Wishbone Ash but attended a FREE concert at Stetson University in 1972. I saw and heard dual lead guitars for the first time on "Throw Down the Sword". It literally changed my life. I went and bought a used electric guitar at a pawn shop and haven't stopped playing. JP, Mark H. and I give you permission to consider anything from off this album. Thanks.
@@josephbabitz1643 Absolutely agree! Such a fine album! I think we all know that Justin would love it!
@@josephbabitz1643 I agree this one of an album. Every song on it is perfect. This album, I learned every bass lines on it. And still have fun to play them. Martin Turner is a big influence on y playing (which doesn't give him any credit in fact haha).
Totally agree - I saw them live at the Reading Festival in the early 70s - I’ve only seen one reaction to them.
I seem to remember that this was the theme to a kids TV series late 70's. The album it came from isn't a patch on earlier albums - this is the best track.
Another good one from this album - "Back Home Once Again" is from the kids' TV show, called Paper Lads! There might be a clip of it available.
@@bobholtzmann You're right! it wasn't Northern Lights, but back Home Once Again for that Tv show. God that was SO long ago!!
What an amazing song performed by an extremely underrated band. Thank you Justin for covering this. I share in your enthusiasm of this band and this song in particular. When listening to Annie's voice on this song I am thinking Mama Cass Elliott. To your question on underrated progressive rock bands, three bands that I love and have followed since the early 70's come to mind. Firstly, Uriah Heep. Incredible lead and harmony vocals; sounding like Deep Purple. Secondly, Wishbone Ash (my all-time favorite): again incredible vocals and harmonies plus insane dual lead guitars that harmonize like voices. And finally, Emerson, Lake and Palmer; 'nuff said These three bands are all legendary in their own right and their contributions to Rock music is reaching. However, they all share the same unfortunate history...They all deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...BUT ARE NOT! Anyway, thanks again for another exhaustively thoughtful analysis. You Rock!
Ty Joseph! So many deserve the crown...
Annie sounds more 'English' than Momma Cass......Annie 's voice is just so ethereal and evocative on this song...this song was made for Annie !.
Renaissance is probably the most underrated prog band I know, but Curved Air is another.
Well, they played Carnegie Hall, so they weren't *completely* without recognition! :)
I remember when my girlfriend discovered A Song For All Seasons in the early '80s. We listened to it endlessly for quite a while. There was an English TV show that Renaissance did the theme song for, I think it was called The Paper Lads, but I could be wrong. The whole album is good. I don't know why they weren't bigger, other than the fact that it's progressive rock.
I had hoped that when you were listening to Renaissance, you'd work your way to this song. Such a pretty song. If they can be said to have a single, like you mentioned, this would be the one. Always a pleasure to listen to. Two other really good ones I'd recommend from them are "Ocean Gypsy" and "Mother Russia". Mother Russia is a lot more dramatic, and Ocean Gypsy is mellow and... prettier. But both are really good ones.
Robert Carnevali Justin reacted to “Ocean Gypsy” already. He’s been a Renaissance fan ever since! I’ve recommended “Mother Russia.” I’m sure Justin will get to it eventually.
"Vultures Fly High" is also a good one. :)
@@justintime42000 He has soooooo many reactions! :D I didn't see that one.
@@onsesejoo2605 Ooooh. I forgot about that one! "Vultures Fly High" is good! It's kind of reminiscent of Northern Lights in that it almost sounds like a single. Another one I absolutely love is "Jekyll and Hyde". It's more rock-like, but I like the lyrics and how she sings them.
Northern lights is not about a person is about a place and time
Annie Haslam's voice is warm honey dripping into my ears. I was 10yrs old when this was first a hit in the UK. The keyboard reminds me of Gordon Giltrap's "Heartsong".
My vote for Unsung Prog Band would be the mighty PENDRAGON! 🐲
The perception of radio and long songs just don't work, would be the primary reason some talented bands fall through the cracks. For me the biggest discovery of such a band is "Camel" I also believe publications like "Rolling Stone Magazine" influence the perception on what is supposedly good. Jimmy Page once said, if you buy all the records RSM suggested, you'd have the worst record collection in the world. Lastly on a grander scale from a western world pov, you have to make it in the USA or the UK to be successful. Therefore you could have bias towards local groups vs foreign groups. I came across this type of bias in documentaries like "The Story of Anvil" and Rush's "Beyond the Lighted Stage". I'm sure there are a loads of other reason why some talented bands don't make it or get the recognition they deserve.
Justin I think you should do another reaction to Al Stewart. Some of his songs have a progressive feel in the folk genre. "Roads to Moscow" is a great song but not as popular has his radio hit "Time Passages" Both are long songs, not sure why one got radio play and the other didn't.
Its their best song that's why it was the most successful.
Band which deserves more attention - the short lived folk-rock band Fotheringay.
I find the song quite Festive ! Was even on Top of the pops . Think it got to No 10 and was big on the Radio at the time !
Born January 76, this single has been a part of my musical education and enjoyment since release- bought the album and most of their back catalogue on the strength of this single- still a favourite
Hey, it’s a fine pop song. I saw Annie Haslam live at the now-defunct (probably for quite a while by now) Bottom Line in NYC...when she sang this song, I instantly liked it, and I remember over the next 1-2 months snatching up all of Renaissance’s classic albums in the also long-gone HMV record store. Annie’s warm vocal and harmonies, the lush acoustic guitar, the regal ascending fills of the keyboard...it’s like a cup of hot chocolate with peppermint Schnapps on a cold snowy day...
I like that description!
Renaissance is a cherished band - been following them since the mid seventees. Annie Haslam kills it!
Agreed Even!
Check out "Golden Key" from "Azure d'Or". Annie's last note on that song will astound you
I am shocked and delighted to see you reacting to (or even knowing of) Renaissance. They had a cult following in NYC (as others have said, largely thanks to getting airplay on WNEW-FM). I saw them a few times live, including at Carnegie Hall...which was recorded for their one live album. Others have mentioned a lot of their songs, but I'm surprised that nobody mentioned "Ashes are Burning", which was usually the encore in live performances.
Eric, Justin has done a reaction to Ashes. You should check it out. I think you'll like it!
@@Ignats75, Thanks I will do that. :-)
Well said, mate. As you say, the single "Northern Lights" was for many people the first piece of music by Renaissance that they ever heard. This was then an enticement to listen to the album "A Song for all Seasons', and what a fine album that is! Then of course, all of the preceding albums (and I particularly like "Scheherazade" and "Novella"). An exceptionally talented and most underrated band as you most aptly say.
Renaissance WAS "up there" in terms of the regard of serious prog rock fans in the 1970s -- but they were in their own little niche defined by heavy and obvious classical influence, and may therefore have been disregarded by those who insisted on a hard-edged and highly electrified sound, like that of Led Zeppelin, Yes, Jethro Tull, Genesis, The Who, ELP, and others. These bands were all, in their own ways, symbols of rebellion against cultural authority. But if you were using the music of the past as the basis for your sound and image, you could not help but be seen as somewhat soft. As a result they were automatically relegated to a sort of special "highbrow" status.
Whatever -- the one thing I am sure of is that Annie Haslam is and always will be my all time favorite female voice in ANY genre of music -- closely followed by Kate Pierson of the B52s. What a magnificent singer with such a uniquely beautiful tone, highly trained yet intensely friendly -- and that clean, precise and markedly British elocution -- one of a kind, no one else like her before or since.
What a beautful song! It was successful in its own time but did not top the charts. However, more than four decades later you can see that it has a quality that will take it to many new ears in the ages to come. It is going to be delighting and uplifting new listeners for a long, long time.
Very beautifull music....nice review....thanks for sharing:)
Ty for watching!
It's supposed to be about going on tour in America, and having to leave her then partner (Roy Wood of The Move, ELO and Wizzard fame) behind in the UK for several months, and missing him.
The B side of this single is called Opening Out. It’s a fabulous song. Give it a listen. 😃👍🏻
Hey Justin, first off just want to let you know how much I'm enjoying your channel, especially your song selection. I discovered Renaissance when my older brother was a small college radio station DJ who used to play them regularly (mid '70's). For the most part, I think they went under the radar because they didn't have a lot of tunes that easily lent themselves to radio play (songs typically were too long). This was one of the few tunes that really seems as if they wanted some commercial success. I'd recommend Mother Russia, Ashes are Burning, Carpet of the Sun, or Running Hard as other tunes you might want to check out.
Welcome to the best reaction channel on UA-cam. Justin cuts across all genre; has great insights of the musicianship; and great intelligence to analyze lyrics.. You'll also find alot of intelligent contributors on the comments. I've learned alot from Justin's fans and had some really interesting conversations.
Thank you so much Randy! Glad to hear you're enjoying the channel :) I've actually done Ashes, its somewhere on here lol
If you liked this, you may like.... Barclay James Harvest, a progressive band that often employed an orchestral backing ( at great expense) They released Mocking Bird as a single but it didn't get much radio play as it was too long. A shorter one is Galadriel which has an ethereal sound to it. Child of man, and Medicine Man are also worth while spending time on.
A group which had more success in the singles chart who were very good are Marmalade. Check out: Reflections of my life, Rainbow, baby make it soon, my little one. - an underated band.
Triumvirat, definatly deserves more attention. Their first 5 LP's (and esp the first three) Totally progressive. "Illusions on a Double Dimple" is truly amazing. That album & "Sparticus" are often compared to Emerson, Lake & Palmer's classic period albums. Like ELP, they were a power trio and there keyboards are quite similar.
Renaissance is THE most underrated band in the history of music, IMO. Northern Lights is way down on my list of their best songs, though. The record company obviously asked for something commercial and they got it. Although I like it, and all the songs on Azure D'or as well, going commercial might have been their downfall. None of the majesty of Jon Tout's brilliance is recognizable here. But, of course, Annie is still brilliant...and it is catchy. So, like you said, justin, if they are trying to attract a new audience...then it works.
what a star reviewing this 45 big up!
Ty!
Renacence:They deserve their place in the top progressive rock
This song is sort of a progressive pop with a touch of abba with those gorgeous vocal harmonies 👌. Great stuff
PS: Annie's style is very much like Maddie Prior in Steeleye Span. interestingly enough a folk rock band rather than a prog rock band. Another good singer to listen to would be Jacqui McShee from Pentangle this band being a folk jazz group.
One prog album that gets little to no recognition is "Hope" by Klaatu. It has some memorable tunes that will stick with you and a mix of styles.
Yog-Sothoth : You mean The Beatles right? 🤔
@@sidecardog5244 There was that theory back in the '70s, ex-Beatles were in the group working with other musicians. Of course Capitol Records did nothing to squash those rumors.
Yeah, I bought their first record on the belief they were The Beatles in disguise. The Music was still good though.
@@sidecardog5244 Their first album is very good, "Hope" is even better.
I really love Renaissance, great band and specialy GREAT mixes
I love this album but I would have to say I prefer Turn of the Cards if pushed, better than Scheherazade and Other Stories IMHO. I personally believe that Renaissance had a great sound but were restricted by their inability to move past or experiment enough with that sound. Additionally the rise of punk and new wave decimated many a band at the time, which might be why the albums after A Song for all Seasons were not as well received.
As far as underrated bands go I want to give a big shout out for Glass Hammer. Said it before but their version of Yes's South Side of the Sky (with Jon Anderson on backing vocals) is wonderful. Culture of ascent was one of the hardest albums for me to get into but I now realise what a gem it is.
Everyone comes to a favorite band from different times, different places in their lives... and though Renaissance was pretty consistent in their sound over the years... this song kinda stood out for its attempt at ‘hit’ status. In the minds of most fans, it just sounded light and repetitive.... the band had been around several years by then and ‘captive heart’, another catchy but somehow more intrinsic tune, was well respected but still not a hit.
They were big in the UK, but translated in the US to only a select group on the eastern seaboard. My theory is that while America loved prog, Renaissance was a little too medieval folk-tinged, and had a female lead singer... both of
which repelled young white males from diving in.
Not me... the band was huge in PA, and at Penn State, where I was at school during the late 70’s
After watching this I watched some more videos from this group. Good stuff, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Strange bandin a sense that when they properly made it, there were no single member left from the original line-up. The band was formed by former members of the 60's popular group Yardbirds, singer Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty. With Renaissance Keith Relf was the guitarist, singing only harmonies while his sister Jane Relf was the lead singer. It split during recording the second album. Keyboard player John Tout built up the classic line-up featuring singer Annie Haslam and guitarist Michael Dunford, bassist John Camp and drummer Terence Sullivan.
On Thomas Dolby’s Golden Age of Wireless album, he did a song called Flying North that echoes the message in this song. About Flying North, Dolby explained that most of his flights out of London began on a northern trajectory, typically when he was going to the US to work. Although they sound nothing the same, the messages in these two songs are amazingly similar. And, both songs are worth a listen.
As for Prog groups that fall under the radar, I think that Procol Harum do not get the credit that they deserve. Sure, most people know A Whiter Shade of Pale. Some know A Salty Dog and Conquistador. But, they’ve released many more quality tunes. And, their live shows with orchestras are always great. I like Grand Hotel, Whaling Stories, and Toujour’s L’Amour. If you have a spare 18 minutes, you might enjoy In Held ‘Twas In I.
rtwbikerider I agree! Procol Harum are great! Most people think they faded away and don’t know they’re still making good new music and touring. I saw them twice in 2019 live. I LOVE “A Salty Dog!” I never get tired of hearing it. It always gives me chills toward the end. I would love to see Justin react to it. There’s a live version from Germany with a choir in the background on UA-cam that blows me away! Such a powerful song. All the songs you mentioned are fabulous. Gary Brooker is a genius.
It's hard to tell if they consciously wrote it as a single or it just clicked. From what I have read, they were touring (as usual) in the US when they heard that it had broken into the top 10 and were surprised. So they didn't expect the success. In later albums, they consciously fished for 'another Northern Lights' and failed.
I don't think they truly understood, in that moment in time, what actually made the song tick. It's that the piano-bass riff has a rhythmic pulse that their previous songs didn't have. Previously, they wrote beautiful parts that were interesting harmonically or melodically but this actually has a foot-tapping quality. It's that foot-tapping quality that made it popular; rhythm rules the roost in popular music over the last few decades. That's what they needed (and not necessarily multi-tracked choruses).
Renaissance by far the best!!
Nice, that was very pleasant. I like her voice, but I'm betting they have more potential, based on what you've said. Another prog band I've heard a lot about and never listened to. I will keep it in mind to check out Scheherazade soon, cause it sounds like that's the big one for them.
What comes to mind for an underrated prog band is actually a new band, Izz (so I can't really say they're underrecognized for their contribution to the development of prog, but underrecognized anyway). I've searched for newer prog bands and couldn't really get into any of them until I found Izz. Their newest album "Don't Panic" is probably the best introduction to them. They have a lot of the great classic prog qualities (clear Rush influences) while having very much their own style. Male and female vocals. I think considering both their newness and (I would think) likability to classic prog fans, and their overall creativity and quality, they should be more known.
For older ones, I mean, they all have their dedicated fans, but it seems in prog circles Mike Oldfield just gets the occasional honorable mention, whereas I think he was the best of the best of prog (he's actually my favorite musician), partly because he really was only "proggy" but really totally genreless for his first several albums (he did mostly everything himself and rarely even used drums!). Also he branched into so many styles that he's probably accidentally contributed to the development of multiple styles or even just little musical motifs that people don't realize come from him and in genres that are only vaguely related, like "new age" (a title he really dislikes haha), world music, electronic dance music, and others. He later went on to more prog rock and pop styled albums, which are still almost as amazing.
Then, for similar reasons (being almost entirely instrumental), anything with a large jazz element usually flies under the radar. While Zappa's Hot Rats made a huge impact of the development of jazz fusion, Soft Machine's Third was just as important and I personally prefer it.
Nick, Scheherazade was the title track (Side) from their Album Scheherazade and Other Stories. Their live version only does part of the song. Their signature song is Ashes Are Burning. 23:00 of pure music heaven if you listen to the Live at Carnegie Hall Album. I strongly urge you to take it in.
Ignats75 Only the BBC Sight and Sound live video shortened the length of Scheherazade live. On the Live at Carnegie Hall album, Scheherazade clocks in at 29 minutes (5 minutes longer than the studio album version).
@@justintime42000 Damn! I HATE when I make a mistake! It ruins my image as a music aficianado. But, you are correct. I'm not sure sure what I was thinking. But, you are correct dear Cathy. I was wr wro wro wron ...I can't say it.
Ignats75 Hahaha You weren’t really wrong. You were just thinking of the video (which was probably edited for British TV to be shorter in length) instead of the audio live versions.
Some underrated, or forgotten, prog rockers are: Van Der Graf Generator, Caravan, Soft Machine, Gentle Giant, and Ten Years After. The last a more bluesy band. Jethro Tull, Can, Hawkwind. All British except Can who were German.
Thanks David; some I've listened to, some I have on the way!
The polish band Riverside, the Dutch Earth & Fire; especially the album 'the song of the marching children' , Dead can dance, jeff beck's blow by blow and wired.
Did you know that Annie Haslam got a pearl stuck in her ear in childhood and it ended up destroying her eardrum? Or that she got thrown out of a school choir for singing too loud?
I find those little details make it all more fun, somehow.
Had no idea!🦪
Not a lot of people know that .. poor girl! She's got an amazing voice and natural beauty.
Rajah Kahn is another must from their early years
A song largely about Annie's relationship with Roy Wood at the time and spending some much time apart due to all the touring...
May I kindly suggest Todd Rundgren's 1st Utopia album, Prog ROCK with emphasis on ROCK, before anyone called it "Prog". "The Ikon" has one of Todd's best guitar leads with a melodic appeal. The entire album is epic!! And a great introduction to Todd's other Prog works. Like Born to Synthesize from the album Initiation. Trust me, you will discover a whole other side of Todd's music that is not "pop". Since 1974 I have seen Todd live at least 35 times. The Utopia music was always my favorite!! Hope you enjoy!!
Same for Curved Air and Henry Cow. Beggars Opera as well, include Fruupp there as well!!!
There’s a band from the second wave of progressive bands from the early 1980s called “Solstice” as far as I know they only did one album but there’s some excellent songs on there. The album is called “Silent Dance”. Well worth a listen. 👍🏻
Renaissance is an Amazing Band!!! They Should be up there with Yes & Genesis!!!
I recommend - Twelfth Night - anything from their Fact & Fiction/Live & Let Live and Sequences records. They were the most interesting of the second wave UK progressive bands having a strong punk feel too. Singer Geoff Man was an amazing front man and the band were incredible.
A bit of Yes as when Yes went “popular”. Nice sweet song.
Thanks for the Renaissance love. For more criminally underrated / unknown prog gods, check out Gentle Giant.
Ty David! I've done all of Octopus and am currently going through Power and Glory from GG :)
Underrated:
UK - Van der Graaf Generator
USA: Ambrosia (2 first albums)
Japan: Kenso
Italy: Maxophone
Finland: Wigwam
Happy The Man
Russia: Gourishankar
And PFM from Italy. Their album Chocolate Kings.’
Most underrated prog/fusion artist by far is Steve Tibbetts. Start with the Yr album, the first song "Ur" is killer. Also, they're not underrated, but Porcupine Tree is definitely worth exploring. Start with Sound of Muzak or Trains.
Great analyzing of the song Justin! A song for all seasons were their last epic song, and is also one of their best in my opinion.
I also feel this album and Azure d’or who comes after are quite similar,but Ado lacks the grand epic like A song for all seasons is. But lot’s of good songs on both albums. Both albums produced by Dave Hentchsel if i remember correctly, perhaps that’s one of the reasons they sound similar to me?
if you are "new" to Renaissance, you might want to react to Mother Russia, Ocean Gypsy (which I believe was actually played on the radio (way back in the day), or Running Hard. If you enjoyed what you have heard so far, I really think you would like those suggestions. I am a big fan of their early stuff , not so much of their newer (later) releases.
I was looking for someone to suggest Mother Russia - their definitive song - I have fond memories of seeing this performed live. I think the first one JP did was Ocean Gypsy - quite a rave review! And I agree their early to mid-70s releases are their best..
Ty Jenn :) Ocean Gypsy was actually the first song I heard from them
I recommend a band called IQ. They're still going strong, but I suggest their album 'Ever' from a while back for a first listen.