Renaissance: Ashes Are Burning, Remastered & Expanded Edition CD

NEW REMASTERED & EXPANDED EDITION OF THE CLASSIC 1973 ALBUM BY RENAISSANCE

FEATURING THREE PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED LIVE BONUS TRACKS RECORDED FOR BBC RADIO IN 1974

FULLY RESTORED ARTWORK AND LINER NOTES WITH EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of a newly re- mastered and expanded edition of the classic 1973 album by Renaissance, “Ashes Are Burning”. Formed in 1969 by former Yardbirds members Jim McCarty and Keith Relf, by the 1971 Renaissance had undergone a series of line-up changes and had evolved into a completely different band from the one that had recorded the albums “Renaissance” and “Illusion”. By June 1972 Renaissance had signed to EMI’s Sovereign label and had settled into a line-up featuring the highly gifted vocalist Annie Haslam, John Tout (keyboards, vocals), Jon Camp (bass, vocals), Terry Sullivan (drums, percussion) and Rob Hendry (guitar, mandolin, vocals) who recorded the album “Prologue”, featuring material written by Michael Dunford (a member of the group who had decided to eschew performing with the band to concentrate on song writing) and lyricist Betty Thatcher.

By April 1973 Rob Hendry had departed the band and Michael Dunford rejoined on acoustic guitar in a guest capacity to record the album that would break Renaissance to a wider audience, (particularly in the USA), “Ashes Are Burning”. Featuring such classic material as ‘Can You Understand’, ‘Carpet Of The Sun’, ‘At The Harbour’ and the epic title track (featuring Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash on electric guitar). Released in October 1973, “Ashes Are Burning” would establish Renaissance as one of the finest symphonic progressive rock acts.

This Esoteric Recordings edition has been re-mastered from the original Sovereign Records master tapes and adds a previously unreleased thirty minute live performance for BBC Radio One’s In Concert programme in 1974 (recently discovered in the archives).

The booklet features a new essay and exclusive interviews with Annie Haslam and Terry Sullivan and fully restores the original album artwork.

1. CAN YOU UNDERSTAND
2. LET IT GROW
3. ON THE FRONTIER
4. CARPET OF THE SUN
5. AT THE HARBOUR
6. ASHES ARE BURNING
BONUS TRACKS (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
7. CAN YOU UNDERSTAND (LIVE -BBC RADIO “IN CONCERT” 1974)
8. LET IT GROW (LIVE -BBC RADIO “IN CONCERT” 1974)
9. ASHES ARE BURNING (LIVE - BBC RADIO “IN CONCERT” 1974)