I’m sure you veteran AOR / Melodic Rock fan remember Canadians RENEGADE. The group released two delicious albums in this genre, and finally made available “The Story Of My Life“, previously unreleased recordings.
Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, RENEGADE existed since the early Eighties through various incarnations. Founder and chief songwriter Jim Buckshon went on to play in MATREX (another great, pretty unknown Canadian band) then RENEGADE disbanded.
However the group returned in the mid-’80s again with Buckshon at the helm. Between 1985 / 87 RENEGADE toured the Pacific Northwest area, meanwhile recording several songs in between at various studios. But the band had no luck with the tapes.
Why RENEGADE were not signed by a major label is beyond me, as their sound and style is pure AOR / Melodic Rock in the vein of Honeymoon Suite, Haywire, Worrall, etc.
Ironically, some of RENEGADE’s musicians now own a recording & publishing agency, and all their material was finally released through their own label ‘Renegade Productions’. “Back From The Dead” recorded 88/89 appeared in 2001, while “On The Edge” [recorded 1985-1987], finally released in 2004.
Now 2017 RENEGADE are releasing “The Story Of My Life”. This record started off as a collection of unfinished demos, lost for awhile and rediscovered last year.
Rather than recording it as a brand new album, the band realized these original recordings had a certain freshness and innocence and the decision was made to just continue on. The result is what you have here.
The RENEGADE lineup from the ‘Back From The Dead’ album was reassembled to finish this record.
These songs are more earthy Melodic Rock than the previously known material, however you can hear the same feel as on the ’80s sessions. There’s lots of guitars, keyboards and harmonies, a driving rhythm section and a little Americana / US classic rock feel an a couple of tracks. The second half are the sessions of ‘Back From The Dead’ recorded 88/89, with synths all over.
While these are pre-production demos you can’t deny the Eighties magic all over this material, something really hard to re-capture these days.
01 – It Wasn’t Meant to Be
02 – Don’t Want to Think About It Anymore
03 – The Story of My Life
04 – Jay
05 – Window Shopping (For a Lover)
06 – It Wasn’t Meant to Be (Reprise)
07 – Standing Out int the Rain
08 – The Best of Me
09 – Sign of the Times
10 – Prisoner of Your Heart
11 – Big City Nights
12 – After the Smoke Clears
13 – Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
14 – Betrayal
Marti Sippola – vocals
Jim Buckshon – bass, guitar, keys, drums
Geraldo Dominelli – guitars, keys, vocals
Paul Minshall – backing vocals
Keith Scott – guest guitar
RENEGADE – Back From The Dead +The Story Of My Life 2017
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