#progrock — Public Fediverse posts

Renaissance – Live at Carnegie Hall (1976, UK)

Our next spotlight is on number 307 on The List, submitted by 955_36.

Formed from the ashes of (the original 1963-8 blues rock incarnation of) The Yardbirds, this band first began in 1968 as an acoustic duo of Keith Reif (vocals) and Jim McCarty (drums) named Together, expanding to a quintet who released a couple classical- and folk-tinged prog rock albums under the name Renaissance, the 1969 s/t debut and then Illusion (1971). The lineup then changed completely (though McCarty would continue writing songs for the group up to their 1974 release), with Annie Haslam joining on vocals following her audition in January 1971, plus John Tout (keys), Jon Camp (bass), Terry Sullivan (drums), and Michael Dunford (guitar). The group’s sound also evolved from about Ashes Are Burning (1973) on, bringing in a more orchestral sound and moving to symphonic prog, plus dropping their until-then frequent use of excerpts from classical pieces.

With such deep changes, it could be said that Live at Carnegie Hall catches the group just before the release of either their sixth or – if we consider this lineup an entirely different band – fourth studio album, Scheherazade and Other Stories (1975). Recorded during a 3-night run and backed by the New York Philharmonic, this double LP is essentially a “best of” of this second edition of Renaissance, with the entire second disc showing their epic just-as-good-as-in-the-studio chops via the 29-minute (and then still unreleased) “Song of Schedherazade” and (what seems to be a common fan favourite) the 24-minute “Ashes Are Burning”. After the release of this album, the band’s label (BTM, owned by the band’s former producer and soon to become The Police’s manager, Miles Coupland) went bankrupt, which resulted in their next studio album, Novella (1977), being released in the US before the UK.

Or, as The Mountain Goats put it:

“Six years hard labor on the heavy blues
they haggled and bargained when we gave them the news
one more long shift, then free to do as we please
stay home and stare at the trees
crystal clear transmission
in January ‘71 at the audition

Maybe you don’t recall,
but Renaissance played at Carnegie Hall
maybe you don’t recall,
but Renaissance played at Carnegie Hall

Can’t have the heavy drinking, there’s bills to be paid
money to be made
and no, before you ask, it isn’t all about greed
but can’t do what you like if you can’t get what you need
find where you fit in, make some wishes
maybe bet a little ambitious

Maybe you don’t recall,
but Renaissance played at Carnegie Hall
maybe you don’t recall,
but Renaissance played at Carnegie Hall

I don’t know if any footage survives,
but I can picture Annie Haslam onstage
They played their most popular song
And then another one that was twenty-nine minutes long

Maybe you don’t recall,
but Renaissance played at Carnegie Hall
maybe you don’t recall,
but Renaissance played at Carnegie Hall”

The Mountain Goats – “Annie Haslam Imperial Phase”
from Days (2026)

Happy listening!

• Songlink: Renaissance – Live at Carnegie Hall or Sndlink: Renaissance – Live at Carnegie Hall[1]
• Discogs: Renaissance – Live at Carnegie Hall

1. Fedizen @[email protected] created this tool which is similar to Songlink, but it includes some streaming services that Songlink doesn’t (e.g., Bandcamp, when available) and drops some that might not be that common any more. Let me know if y’all have a preference between the two, I can either include both or switch to Sndlink completely for future spotlights! ↩︎