IN THE BEGINNING

Even if you are a vinyl fanatic, there is not much reason to actively seek this one out, unless you find the cover art to be agreeably sultry. It's basically the first two LPs by the Renaissance Mach 2, repackaged into a double LP. The sound quality is not great, and the song "At the Harbour" is relieved of both its approach and its departure, rendering it a simple folk song instead of the classical piece it should be. If you do come across it cheaply and have no prior Renaissance exposure, you could give it a whirl, and for that I give it 3 stars, but otherwise, you can get both on CD, or even just "Ashes are Burning" to start with.