''Renéessance'' (subtitled ''An Acoustic Journey, the Best of Renée Geyer'') is the fourteenth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Australian

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and R&B singer

Renée Geyer Renée Rebecca Geyer (born 11 September 1953) is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with "It's a Man's Man's Worl ...

. The album contains newly recorded acoustic versions of songs Geyer has previously recorded in addition to some new material. The album was released in May 2009. Upon release, Geyer said “I’ve avoided doing this album for a long time for the simple reason that I’ve already done these songs. I finally said yes ’cause we agreed to do it live at my keyboard player’s house: just set up like an acoustic gig and play. People tend to like the intimacy of that. It has a certain energy and I think it works.”; adding, “A lot of these songs were not necessarily that easy to put into an acoustic form, some of them are there because I do them every night and I love them forever, some are on there because they’re important songs in my career. I’m just hoping I did justice to them all.” Geyer toured the album throughout Australia in June and July 2009.

Reception

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

said " Renee Geyer had started out a sensual blues belter. Now she has evolved into a bona fide music icon – someone to look up to for never having let go of her dreams. This consummate entertainer with a proud body of work still transfixes a room with the power of her song."

Track listing

# " Dedicated to the One I Love" ( Lowman Pauling, Ralph Bass) – 3:54 # "

Heading in the Right Direction "Heading in the Right Direction" is an Australian song written by Garry Paige and Mark Punch. It was first recorded by the Johnny Rocco Band in 1975 and made famous by the Renée Geyer Band later that year. Geyer's version was released in December ...

" (Garry Paige, Mark Punch) – 3:48 # " Say I Love You" (

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound; his music has blended elements of pop, British rock, soul, funk, reggae, electronic music, Afr ...

) – 3:55 # " Stares and Whispers" (Frank Wilson, John Footman, Terri McFaddin) – 3:20 # "It Only Happens (When I Look at You)" (Kenneth Gold, Michael Denne) – 4:24 # " It's Too Late" (

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

, Toni Stern,

Eddie Cornelius Eddie Lee Cornelius Jr. is a gospel singer, songwriter, speaker and author. He was a songwriter and lead singer for Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, The Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, a 1970s soul R&B act. He wrote their biggest hits "Too Late ...

) – 5:06 # "

(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" is a song written by Stax Records songwriters Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, and Raymond Jackson. Originally written for The Emotions, it has been performed by many singers, most notably by Lut ...

" ( Homer Banks, Carl Hampton, Raymond Jackson) – 4:30 # "Standing on Shaky Ground" (Alphonso Boyd, Edward Hazel, Jeffrey Bowen) – 3:37 # "Difficult Woman" ( Paul Kelly) – 3:53 # "Baby I've Been Missing You" ( Chuck Jackson, Marvin Yancy) – 3:50 # "

It's A Man's Man's Man's World "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" is a song written by James Brown and Betty Jean Newsome. Brown recorded it on February 16, 1966, in a New York City studio and released it as a single later that year. It reached No. 1 on the '' Billboard'' R&B ...

" (Betty Newsmen,

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

) – 4:3- # "Sitting in Limbo" (Plummer Bright,

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

) – 5:58

Personnel

* Jeff Burstin – acoustic guitar * Bruce Haymes – piano, Hammond organ, percussion * Renée Geyer – vocals

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums Renée Geyer albums Liberation Records albums Blues albums by Australian artists Jazz albums by Australian artists