Camera Camera
| Camera Camera | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Renaissance | ||||
| Released | 1981 | |||
| Recorded | June 1981 | |||
| Studio | Herne Place Studios, Sunningdale, Berkshire, England | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, new wave | |||
| Length | 45:01 | |||
| Label |
Illegal (UK) I.R.S. (US) RCA (Italy) Line (Germany) | |||
| Producer | Renaissance | |||
| Renaissance chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Camera Camera | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
Camera Camera is the tenth studio album by the British progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1981.
Information about the album
After losing two of their five members and being dropped from their label, Renaissance signed on to Miles Copeland's I.R.S. Records. The departed members were replaced by keyboardist/singer Peter Gosling and drummer Peter Barron. Given that the new members were not pictured on the album at all, it's unclear just how official their membership was.
Between the previous Renaissance album and this one, Annie Haslam and Michael Dunford had worked with Gosling as a trio called Nevada, releasing two singles and recording several demos. Nevada's somewhat new wave sound strongly influenced Camera Camera. One of the Camera Camera songs, "Faeries", had previously been recorded (but not released) by Nevada.[2]
This album's attempt to blend Renaissance's signature sound with synthpop is largely considered unsuccessful, due at least in part to the prominence of harsh synthesiser sounds, but its songs are said to have worked very well in concert.[3]
The original 1981 UK release of Camera Camera did not include the single "Bonjour Swansong"; but the song has been included on all releases of the album since 1982.[4]
This was the last Renaissance studio album to include lyrics by the band's longtime lyricist Betty Thatcher. She wrote the words to "Bonjour Swansong" as "a private goodbye to the group."[5]
Track listing
| Side one | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Camera Camera" | Jon Camp, Michael Dunford | 6:01 |
| 2. | "Faeries (Living at the Bottom of the Garden)" | Dunford, Peter Gosling | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Remember" | Dunford, Betty Thatcher | 4:33 |
| 4. | "Bonjour Swansong" (not included in the British 1981 release) | Dunford, Thatcher | 3:32 |
| 5. | "Tyrant-Tula" | Camp, Dunford | 5:58 |
| Side two | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 6. | "Okichi-San" | Dunford, Thatcher | 6:00 |
| 7. | "Jigsaw" | Dunford, Thatcher | 5:00 |
| 8. | "Running Away from You" | Camp | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Ukraine Ways" | Camp, Dunford | 6:37 |
Personnel
Renaissance
- Annie Haslam - lead and backing vocals
- Michael Dunford - guitars, backing vocals
- Peter Gosling - keyboards, backing vocals
- Jon Camp - bass, backing vocals, guitars
- Peter Barron - drums, backing vocals, percussion
Production
- John Acock - engineer
References
- ↑ Mason, Stewart. "Camera Camera - Renaissance | AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ↑ Liner notes from the Nevada compilation Pictures in the Fire, released in 2000
- ↑ Liner notes from the Tales of 1001 Nights compilations
- ↑ Renaissance Discography
- ↑ Liner notes from the CD reissue of Camera Camera