Renaissance's debut album to be reissued in autumn 2022

Renaissance band shot from 1969 with Jane Relf

(Image credit: Press)

Renaissance's self-titled debut is to be remastered, expanded and reissued on CD Digipak via Repertoire on October 28. Originally released in 1969 on Island, the line-up included ex-Yardbirds Keith Relf and Jim McCarty, as well as Relf's sister Jane on lead vocals and percussion. It was the first of only two albums recorded with the original line-up who left over the course of 1970 and 1971.

Renaissance introduced the band's classical-infused progressive rock to wider audiences and includes the single Island, which was released in the following year. This modern reissue is packaged in the original US Elektra album sleeve and includes two bonus tracks – The Sea and the single edit of Island – as well as new sleeve notes from original bassist Louis Cennamo.

The album is part of an ongoing reissues campaign, which also saw an expanded edition of Scheherazade & Other Stories, with current vocalist Annie Haslam, released via Esoteric in November 2021.

Listen to the original version of Kings And Queens below.

Renaissance tracklisting

1 Kings And Queens
2 Innocence
3 Island
4 Wanderer
5 Bullet
Bonus tracks
6 The Sea
7 Island (single version)

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.