The Other Woman

The other woman in question here is Stephanie Adlington, who joins original guitarist/songwriter Michael Dunford in a bizarre period of "dueling Renaissances." While Renaissance's most famous vocalist was off creating Annie Haslam's Renaissance, Dunford opted to move forward with another gifted female vocalist and continue along the direction he felt the prog rock-cum-new wave band should be moving. How much of a duel were Dunford and Haslam's projects? Enough so that they even shared a song — the beautifully haunting "Love Lies, Love Dies" (which also shows up on Haslam's Renaissance's Blessing in Disguise in a much more refined form). Even the memorial on the cover seems to suggest an end to Dunford and Haslam's musical marriage. And while Adlington is indeed a fine vocalist, The Other Woman showcases just how strong a part of Renaissance Haslam truly was. Even though this is a fine collection of new songs by Dunford and Betty Newsinger (nee Thatcher), they lack that extra oomph that Haslam always had up her sleeve with her multi-octave range. It's certainly a pleasant album. But when put it side by side with Blessing in Disguise, it unfortunately pales by comparison. Dunford would try one more time with Adlington, remaking Renaissance hits (the forgettable Ocean Gypsy album), but it would take until the turn of the century for Renaissance proper to reunite and Haslam to take the place of "the other woman" and return to her rightful spot as Renaissance's one true vocalist. For the hardcore collector.