The second
Renaissance
album is the least-known in the group's entire output, having originally failed to get released anywhere except Germany. Although it is a much less bold, more smoothly commercial album,
Illusion
was also the work of at least three distinctly different lineups representing the group,
Jim McCarty
dropping out from playing after an illness, and
Keith Relf
and
Louis Cennamo
exiting the performing lineup soon after, while
Jane Relf
played some gigs with
John Hawken
acting as leader of a new ensemble. It was around this time that the words of lyricist
Betty Thatcher
started turning up in the group's work and on this album, and guitarist
Michael Dunford
started writing as well. The results here aren't quite as hard rocking as the previous album -- acoustic guitars supplant electric and
's vocals are hooked around a mix of
art rock
art pop
melodies, without any trace of the
psychedelic
or
freakbeat
echoes of the previous album's work. One song,
"Mr. Pine,"
contains an instrumental bridge that
Dunford
later folded into
"Running Hard"
in a more developed guise. The lighter textures anticipate the sound of the later lineup of the group, while some of the
pop
-oriented material harkens back to what
Relf
McCarty
had in mind for a sound in 1969. ~ Bruce Eder