OUT OF THE MIST

With the success of the mark II line up of Renaissance, it was only logical that the original members of that band reunite for another shot. Under the name of their second album (Illusion) the group rehearsed some new stuff. Unfortunatly singer and guitarrist Keith Relf died, eletrocuted by his own guitar, before any recording was made. The solution was simple: original drummer Jim McCarty assumed Relf´s role and they contracted two new members: electric guitarrist John Knightsbridge and drummer Eddie McNeill. As for the others, the personel remained the same: keyboardist John Hawken (ex-Strawbs), bassist Louis Cennamo and singer Jane Relf. In 1977 the ´new´ band released its first album called Out Of The Mist.

As anyone might have guessed, they sound a lot like Renaissance. Not as much as their first, self titled album, but more in the vein of the Renaissance of the Annie Haslam´s fame. The main diference was the fact they had an electric guitar and Jane Relf sharing lead vocals duties with McCarty. The music is really beautiful, soft and very well done. Certainly they had the chops (especially Hawken and Cennamo), and Jim McCarty did a fine job replacing Relf, although the lacking of a strong songwriter was clear (McCarty is certainly no Michael Dunford). The tunes are simpler than what Renaissance was doing at the time, much less symphonic and quite softer. But there are some fine stuff here like the opener Isadora, the haunting Face Of Yesterday (a re-recording of a track included on Renaissance´s second LP Illusion) and the epic suite Candles Are Burning.

Actually I like this album very much: there are no fillers and although their sound is not very outstanding, it is truly nice and interesting. I found this CD to be quite promising. If you´re a fan of the softer, simpler side Renaissance or like melodic music in general, then you should try this album. 3,5 stars.