Da Capo

Da Capo Artist: Renaissance
Label: Repertoire
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Box set
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 2


UPC: 400991045712
EAN: 0400991045712
ASIN: B000000138


Release Date: 1995-09-21

Da Capo


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Progressive Rock Progressive Rock
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Tracks:

  1. Kings & Queens
  2. Island
  3. Love Goes On
  4. Love Is All
  5. Prologue
  6. Bound For Infinity
  7. Carpet Of The Sun
  8. Ashes Are Burning
  9. Black Flame
  10. Running Hard
  11. Mother Russia
  12. Africa

Tracks:

  1. Trip To The Fair
  2. Ocean Gypsy
  3. The Young Prince & Princess As Told By Scheherazade
  4. Midas Man
  5. Captive Heart
  6. Northern Lights
  7. Song For All Seasons
  8. Forever Changing
  9. Flood At Lyons
  10. Bonjour Swansong
  11. Ukraine Ways
  12. The Entertainer
  13. Writers Wronged

Similar Items:

  1. The Other Woman
  2. King Biscuit Flower Hour, Vol. 2
  3. Illusion
  4. Song for All Seasons
  5. Ashes Are Burning

Album Description

Reissued 1995 album. A magnificent 2CD set featuring the rich and highly melodic music of this unique British band. Some 25 tracks comprising both epic performances and skillfully crafted songs, trace the band's development from 1969 to 1982. Contains 2 previously unreleased tracks, including 8-page book.

Album Details

20 year retrospective featuring previously unreleased tracks.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars near perfect.......2004-03-17

I usually steer clear of compilation albums, especially when it comes to progressive bands, because they generally tend to disrupt the flow of the music that was intended on the original albums. But I was pleasantly suprised in the case of DaCapo.
Some people here disgree with the inclusion of tracks of the first two albums, which were by a different group, but this was a key reason for me buying this compilation rather than the Tales of 1001Nights compilation. I had the first album on record and remember being fond of it but not fond enough to buy the whole album again.
Anyway reasons to buy this album are: No.1, it's a great sampler for anyone not familiar with them; No. 2, many of the albums are so well reprented here that you won't feel the need to get them seperately (especially Turn of the Card); No. 3, the CD flows very well including the tracks from the the later albums which were patchy in quality.
Still, I think I will get Prologue again(I had the record). That's the main reason I only gave Da Capo 4 stars. They could have got rid of Africa or the tracks from the second album, 'Illusion' and put more Prologue tracks on, then I would have been 100% happy. But that's the way it goes with compilations, and this one is better than most.

4 out of 5 stars A Very good collection.......2001-09-01

I thought the 4 selections from the group's first line-up were OK, especially "Island," but, given that this band is remembered for its SECOND line-up, I didn't understand why they were included. Nevertheless, this is a solid compilation CD. Generally, there are 2 songs from each of the albums. I'm glad I got this double-CD.

4 out of 5 stars A good collection - but not the best.......2000-07-29

Renaissance were an unique group, and this is an excellent colection of their version of essentially accoustic (although often heavily orchestrated) progressive rock.

Still, if you're looking for a compilation, I suggest you at least have a look at Tales of 1001 Nights, Volumes One and Two (check the reviews here at Amazon). The two CD's collectively should be a bit cheaper than Da Capo, and the selection is better, focusing more on the best material the band produced. For example, some slightly weaker tracks which are featured here in the studio versions are included on 1001 Nights in stronger live versions, taken from the wonderful Live at Carnegie Hall. Later - artistically much less successful - albums such as Camera Camera are included in Da Capo, but justifiably excluded from 1001 Nights.

It depends what you what, I suppose: a clear-headed overview, covering more or less everything (including some weaker moments), or the best the band ever did.

3 out of 5 stars A good start -- but only a start.......2000-01-18

I give this album a low rating *only* because I disagree with some of the selections. The first few selections, from the pre-Annie Haslam days, are interesting only for historical perspective. The vocals are weak and the instrumental arrangements are not that interesting. The material picks up once Haslam's vocals appear and reaches its peak during the "Scheherezade" and "Novella" selections. The rest of the band were accomplished players in their own rights and really get to show their chops on these albums.

Things start to tail off with the selections from "Song for All Seasons," "Azure d' Or" and "Camera Camera." The reasons for this tailing off are well-laid-out in other reviews on this site.

Had I been programming this album, I'd have jettisoned the previously unreleased tracks, such as "Africa," and the pre-Haslam material and made room for the entire side two of "Scheherezade." I also would have shoehorned in "Day of the Dreamer" from "Song for All Seasons" and skipped "Northern Lights," which sounds like an escapee from an ABBA album (eyeeew!).

But such is always the case with "best-of" albums. I'll be adding "Scheherezade," "Novella" and "Song for All Seasons" to my collection.

In another life, so to speak, Annie Haslam could have been a Broadway star. Many of Renaissance's tunes, especially the later stuff, sound and feel like show tunes. Ms. Haslam has the voice and stage presence to pull it off. I'd even break down and see the "Phantom" if she were playing the female lead.

5 out of 5 stars

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  2. What Could Not Be Buried ~ Emily Sparks
  3. 36 Hits: 1985-1989 ~ Various Artists
  4. Monsters We Breed ~ The Line
  5. Long Strange Trip: Swingin' and Pickin' on the Grateful Dead ~ Various Artists
  6. Fever to Tell ~ Yeah Yeah Yeahs
  7. Satan's Teardrops/The Legendary Hucklebucks ~ Satan's Teardrops , and The Legendary Hucklebucks
  8. Alternative Stereo Sounds ~ Adventures in Stereo
  9. Beat, Beat, Beat, Vol. 4: 1-2-3-4! ~ Various Artists
  10. Gallery Girl ~ Elefant

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Mysterious Blues

Future Jazz ~ Howard Mandel

Live ~ Charlie Shavers with Budd Johnson

Irish Celtic Favorites ~ Various Artists

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Amor En Roma, Vol. 3 ~ Various Artists

25 Neue Ramastorfer ~ Die Feuchtgrubers

Golden Best ~ Finger 5