A Song for All Seasons
| A Song for All Seasons | ||||
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| Renaissance studio album | ||||
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Publication |
March 1978 |
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admission |
November 1977 - January 1978 |
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| Label (s) |
Sire Records (US / CA) Warner Bros. Records (Rest of the World) |
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Format (s) |
LP |
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Title (number) |
8th |
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running time |
44:36 min |
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| occupation |
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David Hentschel |
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Studio (s) |
Advision, CTS and Trident Studios, London |
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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| Albums | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Singles | ||||||||||||||||||
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A Song for All Seasons is the eighth studio album by the British progressive rock group Renaissance . It was released in 1978.
background
On A Song for All Seasons , the electric guitar was played for the first time since Ashes Are Burning , but very subtly. Jon Camp took part in songwriting and also appeared as a singer. The orchestral arrangements were made by Louis Clark (keyboard player of the Electric Light Orchestra ), except for She Is Love , which was arranged by Harry Rabinowitz. The orchestra involved was the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra . The released single Northern Lights reached number 10 in the UK singles charts. The album seems a bit more pop-oriented than its predecessors.
Track list
page 1
- Opening Out - 04:14 (Camp / Dunford)
- Day of the Dreamer - 09:43 (Camp / Dunford)
- Closer than Yesterday - 03:18 (Camp / Dunford)
- Kindness (At the End) - 04:51 (Camp)
Page 2
- Back Home Once Again - 03:15 (Camp / Dunford)
- She Is Love - 04:11 (Dunford / Thatcher)
- Northern Lights - 04:06 (Dunford / Thatcher)
- A Song for All Seasons - 10:53 (Camp / Dunford / Thatcher / Tout / Sullivan)
Reviews
“The clear highlight of the record, however, is the final track A Song For All Seasons. Rarely has an intro to a song (which lasts around four minutes) been so complex - not related to the instruments, xylophone, wind instruments of all kinds, driving drums and strings, but also from the mood and tempo changes. The collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra rounds off this song in particular very well. The relaxed middle section, dominated by keyboard and guitar, is followed by a hymn-like chorus, which makes this song one of the best in the history of the band. At the same time it forms a worthy conclusion to a very listenable album. Unfortunately, it should remain the last in the extensive discography. "
“In terms of sound, it's all very good and actually very catchy (David Hentschel at the controls; the Hentschel, who had also produced Elton John's masterpiece Yellow Brick Road, produced GENESIS and RENAISSANCE tailored a little more 'guitar' here), compositionally very demanding - but overloaded. Not necessarily recommendable - but the Dreamer - it's great! "
"Given its date of release, A Song For All Seasons must be considered as a considerable triumph. While Yes, ELP, Gentle Giant, Starcastle and other groups were releasing inferior product, Renaissance managed to create a work which ranks close to their best material. If Song For All Seasons isn't quite as good as Turn Of The Cards, Ashes Are Burning or Prologue, it at least has the distinction of coming very close. Renaissance seemed to be immune from the onrushes of punk and AOR; if there was a minor capitulation involved, it was more in the direction of Euro-pop than anything else ... which is to say that this 'capitulation' still allowed the group to operate within their normal parameters. "
“For me, 'A Song For All Seasons' has a top position within the Renaissance discography, also because, from my point of view, the music can cover the needs of different audiences. I think the almost unspectacular integration of the orchestra is very successful, because the strings never act superficially and an attempt is made to steer the direction clearly there. Rather, it forms an important, co-determining part within music, and that is / was not always the case with similar attempts to merge light and serious music. In this respect, it is also an important aspect for assessment. "
"With this album the band moved deeper to the realms of commercial oriented music, but there are still some very beautiful moments on it."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Singles , jtl.us, accessed on September 20, 2012 (English).
- ^ Northern Lights single , discogs.com, accessed September 20, 2012.
- ↑ Charts UK Charts US
- ↑ very listenable album ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , hooked-on-music.de, accessed on September 21, 2012.
- ^ A Song for All Seasons ( Memento from February 6, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ), home-of-rock.de, accessed on September 21, 2012.
- ↑ a work which ranks close to their best material ( Memento of June 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), tranglos.com, accessed on September 21, 2012.
- ↑ unspectacular integration of the orchestra , rocktimes.de, accessed on September 21, 2012.
- ↑ some very beautiful moments , progarchives.com, accessed September 21, 2012.
Web links
- A Song for All Seasons on Allmusic (English)
- A Song for All Seasons on Discogs
- Reviews of A Song for All Seasons on the Babyblauen Seiten