A Song for All Seasons
1978 studio album by Renaissance
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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]
| A Song for All Seasons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cover design by Hipgnosis | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 3 March 1978 (UK)[1] | |||
| Recorded | November 1977 – January 1978 | |||
| Studio | Advision, CTS and Trident Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 44:31 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. (UK) Sire (North America) | |||
| Producer | David Hentschel | |||
| Renaissance chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Song for All Seasons | ||||
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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]
"Kindness (At the End)" is both written and sung by Jon Camp.
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
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Opening Out" | Jon Camp, Michael Dunford | 4:14 |
| 2. | "Day of the Dreamer" | Camp, Dunford | 9:43 |
| 3. | "Closer than Yesterday" | Camp, Dunford | 3:18 |
| 4. | "Kindness (At the End)" | Camp | 4:51 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Back Home Once Again" | Camp, Dunford | 3:15 |
| 6. | "She Is Love" | Dunford, Betty Thatcher | 4:11 |
| 7. | "Northern Lights" | Dunford, Thatcher | 4:06 |
| 8. | "A Song for All Seasons" | Camp, Dunford, Terence Sullivan, Thatcher, John Tout | 10:53 |
| No. | Title | Writer(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 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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
- Annie Haslam – lead vocals on tracks 1–3, 5, 7, 8
- Michael Dunford – 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars, electric guitar
- John Tout – keyboards
- Jon Camp – bass, bass pedals, electric guitar, lead vocals on tracks 4 and 6
- Terence Sullivan – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- Harry Rabinowitz – conductor, arrangements on track 6
- Louis Clark – orchestral arrangements
Production
- David Hentschel – producer, engineer
- Barry Kidd, Declan O'Doherty, Dick Plant, Steve Short – assistant engineers
- Hipgnosis – album cover design
Charts
Album
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Singles
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