A Song for All Seasons

Last updated

A Song for All Seasons
RenSeason.jpg
Cover design by Hipgnosis
Studio album by
Released3 March 1978 (UK) [1]
RecordedNovember 1977 – January 1978
Studio Advision, CTS and Trident Studios, London
Genre Progressive rock
Length44:31
Label Warner Bros. (UK)
Sire (North America)
Producer David Hentschel
Renaissance chronology
Novella
(1977)
A Song for All Seasons
(1978)
Azure d'Or
(1979)
Singles from A Song for All Seasons
  1. "Back Home Once Again"
    Released: 16 September 1977 [2]
  2. "Northern Lights"
    Released: 26 May 1978 [3]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

A Song for All Seasons is the eighth studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1978. It marked the return of electric guitars to the band's music after several years of absence. [5] "Northern Lights" from the album reached the top ten on the UK Singles Chart and is the band's only UK chart single. [6]

Contents

Overview

A shortened recording of "Back Home Once Again" was used as the theme song for the short-lived 1977 British TV series The Paper Lads .

"She Is Love", sung by Jon Camp, was meant to be sung by Annie Haslam, but the orchestral backing track turned out to have been recorded in the wrong key for her. [7]

Drummer Terry Sullivan had his first songwriting credit with the band on the title track. He was responsible for the basic tune to the song's extended instrumental intro. This was based on a song he wrote on guitar in 1971. [8]

Expanded 2019 edition

In 2019 Esoteric Recordings announced a re-mastered and 3 CD expanded edition of the album which was released on 29 March 2019. [9]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Opening Out"Jon Camp, Michael Dunford4:14
2."Day of the Dreamer"Camp, Dunford9:43
3."Closer than Yesterday"Camp, Dunford3:18
4."Kindness (At the End)"Camp4:51
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Back Home Once Again"Camp, Dunford3:15
6."She Is Love"Dunford, Betty Thatcher 4:11
7."Northern Lights"Dunford, Thatcher4:06
8."A Song for All Seasons"Camp, Dunford, Terence Sullivan, Thatcher, John Tout10:53
Bonus Tracks for 2019 re-mastered & expanded edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
9."Northern Lights" (Promotional single edit - previously unreleased on CD)Dunford, Thatcher 
10."Day of the Dreamer" (BBC Radio One session - 19 August 1978)Camp, Dunford 
11."Midas Man" (BBC Radio One session - 19 August 1978)  
12."The Vultures Fly High" (BBC Radio One session - 19 August 1978)  
13."Northern Lights" (Top of the Pops version - previously unreleased)Dunford, Thatcher 
2019 re-issue Disc two - Live at the Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, 12 April 1978
No.TitleLength
1."Can You Hear Me" 
2."Carpet of the Sun" 
3."Things I Don't Understand" 
4."Opening Out" (Previously unreleased) 
5."Day of the Dreamer" 
6."Midas Man" 
2019 re-issue Disc three - Live at the Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, 12 April 1978
No.TitleLength
1."Northern Lights" 
2."A Song for All Seasons" (Previously unreleased) 
3."Touching Once is So Hard to Keep" (Previously unreleased) 
4."Ashes Are Burning" (Previously unreleased) 

Personnel

Renaissance

Additional musicians

Production

Charts

Certifications

CountryOrganizationYearSales
UK BPI 1979Silver (+ 60,000) [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renaissance (band)</span> English progressive rock band

Renaissance are an English progressive rock band, best known for their 1978 UK top 10 hit "Northern Lights" and progressive rock classics like "Carpet of the Sun", "Mother Russia", and "Ashes Are Burning". They developed a unique sound, combining a female lead vocal with a fusion of classical, folk, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestral arrangements and vocal harmonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie Haslam</span> English vocalist, songwriter, and painter

Annie Haslam is an English vocalist, songwriter and painter. She is best known as the lead singer of progressive rock band Renaissance since 1971, and for her long and diverse solo singing career. She has a five-octave vocal range. From 2002, Haslam has developed a parallel career as a visual artist, producing paintings on canvas, painted musical instruments and giclées.

<i>Scheherazade and Other Stories</i> 1975 studio album by Renaissance

Scheherazade and Other Stories is the sixth studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1975. Some critics consider it their best album, although others prefer earlier albums. This is the first album in which Renaissance did not use quotes from actual classical pieces and the first not to feature any songwriting credits from the original members. Contrary to popular belief, "Song of Scheherazade" is not based on Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, but does have a brief recurring motif that alludes to that work.

<i>Prologue</i> (Renaissance album) 1972 studio album by Renaissance

Prologue is the third studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in October 1972.

<i>Ashes Are Burning</i> 1973 studio album by Renaissance

Ashes Are Burning is the fourth studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1973. It was the first of several Renaissance albums to feature an orchestra playing along with the band. It was the band's first album to make the Billboard 200 album chart, peaking at No. 171.

<i>Turn of the Cards</i> 1974 studio album by Renaissance

Turn of the Cards is the fifth studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in July 1974. It was the last Renaissance studio album to include excerpts from existing classical pieces. It was also the first album recorded by the group after Michael Dunford, who had written songs for their previous three albums, joined the group as an acoustic guitarist.

<i>Live at Carnegie Hall</i> (Renaissance album) 1976 live album by Renaissance

Live at Carnegie Hall is a 1976 live double album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance. It presented songs from all of the band's Annie Haslam-era studio albums thus far, including the forthcoming Scheherazade and Other Stories.

<i>Novella</i> (album) 1977 studio album by Renaissance

Novella is the seventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1977. Bassist Jon Camp began working as a lyricist for this album, making it the first Renaissance album since Illusion (1971) to include songs written entirely by the band members themselves.

<i>Azure dOr</i> 1979 studio album by Renaissance

Azure d'Or is the ninth studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in May 1979.

<i>Time-Line</i> 1983 studio album by Renaissance

Time-Line the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in April 1983. It was the last album released by Renaissance before they disbanded in 1987.

<i>Annie in Wonderland</i> 1977 studio album by Annie Haslam

Annie in Wonderland is the first solo album by Annie Haslam, vocalist with the 1970s band Renaissance. It was produced by Roy Wood, who also wrote some of the material, arranged all the songs, played nearly all of the instruments, and illustrated the cover. The album features a range of musical styles enabling Haslam to experiment with vocal styles outside the ethos of Renaissance. The range for which Haslam is well-known is still apparent, however, especially in the showcase number "Rockalise". The album peaked at No. 167 on the Billboard "pop albums" chart.

<i>Tuscany</i> (album) 2000 studio album by Renaissance

Tuscany is the 12th album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 2001. After a lengthy hiatus, original members Annie Haslam, Michael Dunford, Terence Sullivan and John Tout came together to record a new album, assisted by Roy Wood; Tout was unavailable for the later sessions and was replaced by Mickey Simmonds.

Betty Thatcher was an English lyricist who wrote many of the lyrics for the progressive rock band Renaissance.

"Mother Russia" is the closing song on Renaissance's 1974 album Turn of the Cards. It also appears on the 1976 live album Live at Carnegie Hall, the compilation Tales of 1001 Nights, Vol. 1, and several other Renaissance concert albums.

Nevada were a British folk/progressive rock band and a spin-off from Renaissance, featuring Annie Haslam on vocals and Mick Dunford on guitar. Their Christmas single, "In the Bleak Midwinter", reached the lower edges of the UK singles chart in 1983.

<i>In the Land of the Rising Sun: Live in Japan 2001</i> 2002 live album by Renaissance

In the Land of the Rising Sun: Live in Japan 2001 is a live album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance. It was released in 2002 by Giant Electric Pea. The album was recorded in Tokyo, Japan in 2001.

<i>The Abbey Road Sessions</i> (Kylie Minogue album) 2012 compilation album by Kylie Minogue

The Abbey Road Sessions is an orchestral compilation album by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, released on 24 October 2012 by Parlophone. The album was primarily produced by Steve Anderson and Colin Elliot. The album features 16 tracks, all radically reworked, spanning Minogue's 25 years in the music industry. The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London with Minogue's band and a full orchestra during November 2011. Musically, the album is primarily orchestral music, which features several instrumentation of guitars, pianos, strings and drums.

<i>Grandine il vento</i> 2013 studio album by Renaissance

Grandine il vento is the 13th studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, first released in 2013 and re-released as Symphony of Light in 2014. It was financed through a Kickstarter campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Lights (Renaissance song)</span> 1978 single by Renaissance

"Northern Lights" is a song by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1978 from their album A Song for All Seasons. It was the band's only hit single, reaching No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart.

References

  1. "Brit Certifications for Renaissance".
  2. "Renaissance singles".
  3. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 68.
  4. Eder, Bruce. "A Song for All Seasons". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  5. Liner notes from the Tales of 1001 Nights compilations
  6. 1 2 3 "Renaissance Official Charts". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  7. "Jon Camp Interview 2012". Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  8. Discussion with Terry Sullivan on the (now retired) Northern Lights message board.
  9. "Esoteric New Releases" . Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  10. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 29, No. 12, June 17 1978". Library and Archives Canada. 17 June 1978. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  11. "A Song for All Seasons Billboard Albums". AllMusic . All Media Network . Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  12. "Search for Artist Renaissance". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2015.