A Song for All Seasons

A Song for All Seasons
Cover design by Hipgnosis
Studio album by Renaissance
Released	March 1978[1]
Recorded	November 1977–January 1978, Advision, CTS and Trident Studios, London
Genre	Progressive rock, symphonic rock
Length	44:31
Label	Warner Bros. (UK) Sire (North America)
Producer	David Hentschel
Renaissance chronology
Novella (1977) A Song for All Seasons (1978) Azure d'Or (1979)
Singles from A Song for All Seasons
"Back Home Once Again" / "The Captive Heart" Released: 1977 (UK only) "Northern Lights" / "Opening Out" Released: 1978

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

A Song for All Seasons is the eighth studio album by the British progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1978. It marked the return of electric guitars to the band's music after several years of absence.^[3]

Overview

"Northern Lights" was a Top 10 hit on the U.K. charts and is the band's best selling single.^[4]

A shortened recording of "Back Home Once Again" was used as the theme song for the short-lived 1977 British TV series The Paper Lads.

"She Is Love," sung by Jon Camp, was meant to be sung by Annie Haslam, but the orchestral backing track turned out to have been recorded in the wrong key for her.^[5]

Drummer Terry Sullivan had his first songwriting credit with the band on the title track. He was responsible for the basic tune to the song's extended instrumental intro. This was based on a song he wrote on guitar in 1971.^[6]

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Opening Out"	Jon Camp, Michael Dunford	4:14
2.	"Day of the Dreamer"	Camp, Dunford	9:43
3.	"Closer than Yesterday"	Camp, Dunford	3:18
4.	"Kindness (At the End)"	Camp	4:51

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Back Home Once Again"	Camp, Dunford	3:15
6.	"She Is Love"	Dunford, Betty Thatcher	4:11
7.	"Northern Lights"	Dunford, Thatcher	4:06
8.	"A Song for All Seasons"	Camp, Dunford, Terence Sullivan, Thatcher, John Tout	10:53

Personnel

Renaissance

• Annie Haslam – lead vocals on tracks 1-3, 5, 7, 8
• Michael Dunford – 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars, electric guitar
• John Tout – keyboards
• Jon Camp – bass, bass pedals, electric guitar, lead vocals on tracks 4 and 6
• Terence Sullivan – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• Harry Rabinowitz - conductor, arrangements on track 6
• Louis Clark - orchestral arrangements

Production

• David Hentschel – producer, engineer
• Barry Kidd, Declan O'Doherty, Dick Plant, Steve Short – assistant engineers
• Hipgnosis – album cover design

Charts

Album Year Chart Position 1978 UK Albums Chart[4] 35 RPM100 Albums (Canada)[7] 45 Billboard 200 (USA)[8] 58

Singles Year Single Chart Position 1978 "Northern Lights" UK Singles Chart[4] 10

Certifications

Country	Organization	Year	Sales
UK	BPI	1979	Silver (+ 60,000)[9]

References

1. "1978 Albums". progressiverock.com. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
2. Eder, Bruce. "A Song for All Seasons – Renaissance review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
3. Liner notes from the Tales of 1001 Nights compilations
4. "Renaissance Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
5. "Jon Camp Interview 2012".
6. Discussion with Terry Sullivan on the (now retired) Northern Lights message board.
7. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 29, No. 12, June 17 1978". Library and Archives Canada. 17 June 1978. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
8. "A Song for All Seasons Billboard Albums". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
9. "Search for Artist Renaissance". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 September 2015.