01	Love Goes On						02:51
	02	Golden Thread						08:15
	03	Love is All						03:40
	04	Mr. Pine			Additional Personnel on cut: Neil Korner - bass M. Dunford, guitar T. Slade - drums T. Crowe - vocals			07:00
	05	Face of Yesterday						06:06
	06	Past Orbits of Dust			Additional Personnel on Cut: Don Shin - electric piano			14:39

Keith Relf - vocals, guitar, harmonica
Jim McCarty - percussion, vocals
John Hawken - piano, harpsichord
Louis Cennamo - bass guitar
Jane Relf - vocals, percussion

with
Niel Korner - bass
M. Dunford - guitar
T. Slade - drums
T. Crowe - vocals
Don Shin - acoustic piano

Recorded at Olympic Studios and Island Studios
Produced by Keith Relf
Line Records

Joe McGlinchey:
The second and final album by the pre-Annie Haslam line-up of Renaissance continues the winning blend of folk and psychedelia that marked their self-titled debut, but is generally the quieter and more unassuming album. Often, it reminds me of an early Moody Blues work, except with female vocals and extended, intricate classical sections that the Moodies couldn't handle. This is also more uneven than the debut album. Apparently, Illusion was held-over in its release in the U.K., perhaps because it was more of a transitional album. Michael Dunford, later the main composer and guitarist of Renaissance, first appears here, on the song "Mr. Pine" (a portion of which would later become the middle section of "Running Hard"). But anyway, the music. A lot of the songs on Illusion are deceptively infectious and actually quite enjoyable, if you give them a chance: "Love Goes On," the breezy chorus melody of "Love is All," the rapturous contrapuntal baroque lines in "Face of Yesterday," even the solemn incantation that forms the basis of "Golden Thread." All this of course assumes that you are someone who doesn't get immediately annoyed by any semblance of "twee" ultra-innocence like that which pervades, but pervades sincerely, here (if so, why may I ask are you bothering to read reviews about Renaissance?). After making this album, this line-up disbanded until the late 70s, when they reformed sans Keith Relf, who sadly died in 1976 before they could re-group. But by that time, the Haslam line-up was clearly the one that Renaissance would be known by, leaving this original line-up no choice but to find an alternative band name. Their choice? Illusion. But that's another story for another time...