3 stars as a listening experience, 5 stars as a historical d
DM | 07/17/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Given the crazy changes that this band went through in their early days, there is potential for all kinds of historically interesting material from them to come to light. For example, there's a video of a 1970 TV performance out there that I wouldn't mind getting my hands on; it features a transitional lineup that lasted about 2 months (and a singer who doesn't appear on any released tracks)! Well, this CD may be the next best thing. The first four tracks feature the original 1969-70 Renaissance lineup recorded live in 1970. (That lineup was Keith Relf - vocals/guitar, Jim McCarty - drums, Jane Relf - vocals, John Hawken - keyboards, Louis Cennamo - bass.) The remaining four tracks are odds and ends by the same people, from before, during and after their brief time as "Renaissance." Overall the recording quality leaves something to be desired, but it's acceptable considering these are 30-odd year old tapes never meant for release.
LIVE TRACKS:
"Innocence" - From their self-titled debut album. Manages to omit one part (Jim's vocal cameo "If I could show you") while still being longer than the studio version.
"Wanderer" - Also from their self-titled debut album. Weakest of the live cuts; Jane sounds very shaky here.
"No Name Raga" (not "Rage" as it's usually written) - This is where it gets really interesting historically. This 14-minute piece has never been heard anywhere else; apparently it was dropped before the band even started their 2nd album, ILLUSION. And it's not bad musically -- it makes about as much (or little) sense musically as anything on the debut album. Jane sounds MUCH better here than on the previous track.
"Bullet" - A good, loose performance of another debut-album song. Unfortunately this has been very badly edited, for no apparent reason. The last part of the song (about 5 minutes, or more depending on how long the band kept going) has been chopped off and awkwardly replaced with the last two bars of "Kings & Queens". Why couldn't they have just given us both, complete songs? Tape damage, maybe?
THE OTHER TRACKS:
"Try Believing" - A failed pop song, dating from Keith & Jim's post-Yardbird, pre-Renaissance days (1968) when they called themselves "Together". (This is actually the last track on the disc, but chronologically it belongs before the others.)
"Statues" - Along with "No Name Raga", one of the treasures of the disc. This is a complete (if fairly brief) studio track recorded at the ILLUSION sessions (1970) but never released. Very good vocals from Jane. Unfortunately, for some reason, this is presented in mono when it probably didn't have to be.
"I'd Love To Love You Till Tomorrow" - Features Keith & Jane from their post-Renaissance, pre-Illusion days (1975) when the reunited, original Renaissance was going to be called "Now" (the name "Renaissance", of course, having been taken over by Annie Haslam's band).
"Please Be Home" - Jane, Jim, John & Louis from after Keith's untimely death (1976), when they had decided to carry on as "Illusion" but hadn't yet recruited others to complete the band. Arguably the best track on the disc.
And there you have it! Any diehard Renaissance fan, particularly one with an interest in the early days, needs to have this!
"
There I was...
P. Loretta | Varese, Italy | 02/14/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Yeah... There I was...!!! Sorry for my English, is poor and bad. Why "There I was"? Because I live very near the Swiss border (6 km) and we receive Swiss television. Every Saturday afternoon, 17 o'clock, we could see concerts of a lot of artists during their Swiss Tour. In Italy concerts were very very few. I saw Roxi Music with Eno (!!!), Kiss before make-up, Santan with Neal Shon, Cat Stevens, Johnny WInter, and more and more. And Renaissance with Keith and Jane... I fall in love with this magic group. In this record I miss the great "Kings And Queens", but the other tracks are OK. I asked for Swiss Television to buy the tape or VHS of those concerts of late '60 and early '70, but they said "NO".... They have unique and rare and perfect treasures, and don't want to release or sell them... Now I'm 53, but "There I was"... And I miss those years, the best in my life...!!! Good Luck to you all..."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1
