A Song For All Seasons
	Produced by David Hentschel
	Released on 1978
	US CHART POSITION #58
	Find it at GEMM
SRK 6049 cover [high resolution photo]

W ith Genesis producer David Hentschel and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra aboard, Renaissance released the intricate, pastoral-sounding A Song For All Seasons. It’s the closest they’ve come to sounding like mid-period Genesis (c. A Trick of the Tail), from the gauzy 12-string guitars and fluid bass lines to the ornate keyboard passages. In a world that now included The Clash, The Sex Pistols and no turning back, A Song For All Seasons is unseasonably outfitted music that better suits the taste of the early ‘70s. Yet as a result Renaissance, who got lost in the initial wave of progressive artists, were now one of the standard-bearers of the current prog rock movement. Listening to “Kindness (At The End)” or “Day of the Dreamer” is to hear the ghost of Genesis dance again, much as it did in the music of Kansas. While the old English guard was crumbling (ELP, Genesis) or bumbling (Gentle Giant), bands like Renaissance and Marillion kept the English faction afloat alongside the American invasion of would-be proggers (Kansas, Styx, Boston). In fact, you could argue that Renaissance was just hitting their stride in the late Seventies. Songwriters Michael Dunford and Jon Camp had managed to contain a wealth of musical ideas in four- and five-minute songs (although the title track spills over to eleven minutes), a feat that many progressive acts had difficulty matching. The gentle “Back Home Once Again” and melodic “Northern Lights” forego the musical gymnastics without losing the pastoral spirit of the album. They’re the more accessible tracks on A Song For All Seasons, but not a good indication of the album’s progressive merits. On deeper inspection, the album doesn’t boast the musical profundity of a Genesis or Gentle Giant at their best, but if you found Kansas alluring (and maybe a little bombastic) then this Renaissance record is ripe for a rainy day rediscovery.

SRK 6049 back cover	SRK 6049 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. OPENING OUT    (Jon Camp/Michael Dunford)    4:15
2. DAY OF THE DREAMER    (Jon Camp/Michael Dunford)    9:45
3. CLOSER THAN YESTERDAY    (Jon Camp/Michael Dunford)    3:18
4. KINDNESS (AT THE END)    (Jon Camp)    5:02
5. BACK HOME ONCE AGAIN (Theme from the T.V. series "The Paper Lads")    (Jon Camp/Michael Dunford)    3:16
6. SHE IS LOVE    (Michael Dunford/Betty Thatcher)    4:12
7. NORTHERN LIGHTS    (Michael Dunford/Betty Thatcher)    4:06
8. A SONG FOR ALL SEASONS    (Jon Camp/Michael Dunford/Betty Thatcher/John Tout/Terence Sullivan)    10:56
   
   Musical arrangements by Renaissance

CREDITS

JON CAMP -- basses, bass pedals, electric guitar, lead vocals
MICHAEL DUNFORD -- 6 and 12 string acoustic guitars, electric guitars
ANNIE HASLAM -- lead vocals
TERENCE SULLIVAN -- drums and percussion
JOHN TOUT -- keyboards
Louis Clark -- orchestral arrangements
Barry Griffiths -- orchestra leader
Harry Rabinowitz -- conductor, orchestral arrangement (6)
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra -- orchestra
David Hentschel -- engineer
Hipgnosis -- album design and photography

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