A Song for All Seasons

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.[3] "Northern Lights" from the album reached the top ten on the UK Singles Chart and is the band's only UK chart single.[4]

This article is about the album. For the song, see Volunteers (Jefferson Airplane album).

A Song for All Seasons
Cover design by Hipgnosis
Studio album by
Renaissance
ReleasedMarch 1978[1]
RecordedNovember 1977–January 1978, Advision, CTS and Trident Studios, London
GenreProgressive rock
Length44:31
LabelWarner Bros. (UK)
Sire (North America)
ProducerDavid 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" / "The Captive Heart"
    Released: 1977 (UK only)
  2. "Northern Lights" / "Opening Out"
    Released: 1978
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

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.[5] This is Jon Camp's version; another version is from an Annie Haslam interview, where she confirmed she was too exhausted to get in to her car and drive to the studio and sing the song. According to her, the producers were "devastated", because the song was clearly orchestrated for her to sing, and at the time studio technique was advanced enough to transform the backing track to any key that would have suited her — with her five-octave range it would be difficult to find a key that did not suit her.

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.[6]

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.[7]

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 Thatcher4:11
7."Northern Lights"Dunford, Thatcher4:06
8."A Song for All Seasons"Camp, Dunford, Terence Sullivan, Thatcher, John Tout10:53

Expanded edition
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, 4 December 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, 4 December 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
  • 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

Production
  • David Hentschel – producer, engineer
  • Barry Kidd, Declan O'Doherty, Dick Plant, Steve Short – assistant engineers
  • Hipgnosis – album cover design

Charts

Certifications
Country Organization Year Sales
UK BPI 1979 Silver (+ 60,000)[10]
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References
  1. "1978 Albums". progressiverock.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  2. Eder, Bruce. "A Song for All Seasons – Renaissance review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  3. Liner notes from the Tales of 1001 Nights compilations
  4. "Renaissance Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  5. "Jon Camp Interview 2012".
  6. Discussion with Terry Sullivan on the (now retired) Northern Lights message board.
  7. "Esoteric New Releases". Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  8. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 29, No. 12, June 17 1978". Library and Archives Canada. 17 June 1978. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  9. "A Song for All Seasons Billboard Albums". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  10. "Search for Artist Renaissance". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
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