Renaissance

You probably thought the Village People packed it in after disco was declared dead. Not quite -- producer Jaques Morali had one more try at it, updating the Village People into some kind of nightmarish techno-pop band for this unfortunate 1981 release, Renaissance.

Like Boy George run amok, the once dignified Village People dress up like you've never seen them before. Look carefully: those men in the ridiculous outfits were once the Cop, the Indian, and the construction Worker we all came to know and love.

Despite their producer's efforts to remake the Village People, some of the tracks on this release retain that classic Village People pop sound. Still others attempt to mix in the new sounds of the 80's with the old sounds of 70's disco -- a combination that doesn't always work as well as planned.

Dona (laneir@hotmail.com) says:
I know the guys personally and I never knew about this album. Gosh they look different! Their website is www.officialvillagepeople.com

(05-19-2006)

Siegfried Christoph (Christop@uwp.edu) says:
The Village People are my favorites. They really Rock and Roll. Whatever happened to them? If anyone can connect me to a real fan site email me to let me know how to connect. Thanks Siegfried (04-29-2006)

tony orono (megamass02@hotmail.com) says:
cometieron el error de KISS al cambiar su imagen/estilo ,pero los dos primeros tracks son muy buenos (03-11-2006)

Village Person says:
You know, I used to own this album and I loved it. Of course, I was only 10, so I had an excuse... (03-09-2006)

keith (keithcrue@aol.com) says:
I think victor willis was amazing. If anyone has any old pics of him or anything, please e mail me. (01-20-2006)

DJDennyRay says:
"Food Fight" also sounds very much like early "Wierd Al" Yankovic...More to the point, "Happy Birthday".

So lets review.....Ramones, Devo and "Wierd Al" played by the Village Idiots..er..People.

I have to admit, I'm having a hard time getting that keyboard riff out of my head. (12-11-2005)

Roberto D'Armini (r.darmini@tiscali.it) says:
Maybe you don't know that this record was appreciated a lot in Italy (my country, that is). Especially two singles: 5 O' CLOCK IN THE MORNING and DO YOU WANNA SPEND THE NIGHT. Hatefully, insted, the way the tried to pretend the married the "straight" way... (11-15-2005)

Pardon Me While I Rock You says:
What's with the overabundance of facial moles? (03-27-2005)

Big Cowboy Fan says:
If you wanna get the BIG lowdown on the ORIGINAL Village People Cowboy, RANDY JONES, visit his Official Website
www.RandyJonesWorld.com (02-11-2005)

Bob A'Booey says:
Victor Willis, original lead singer of the Village People, used to be married to Phylicia Ayers-Allin (Claire Huxtable). That emaciated him enough to turn him homo and that is how he got to be with the Village People. (01-09-2005)

Shrek4Leather says:
What happened to the leather guy? I hear he died about 8-9 years ago? Anyone know how/where? (01-05-2005)

jerry says:
renaissance is good, fun, pop-disco-80s-wanna-be-new-wave - its actually cool. yes, it was a flop. yes, the costumes were a stretch - that's what makes it so cool - it's cheesy, its the village people man!! come on! and 'jungle city' and 'diet' are really cool, hey all the songs are great - it was a confident album and WAY better songwriting compared to 'cant stop the music' (their prior album) maybe this thing was ahead of it's time. I bet, if they'd dropped the VP name and called the group 'Renaissance' youd've thought they were cool. Don't be afraid to come out and say you like it! (01-03-2005)

Y.M.C....AURGHHHH!!!!! (jerkee@hotmail.com) says:
Sad to say, I have his album. I bought it when it was released....for 99 cents. An instant 'cut out" bin record. Note they on another record label-RCA. If the cover was with them in nice suits over looking their [old or new] costumes being burned in a pubic waste basket, it might have gotten notice [naahh, it sucked and swallowed]. They actually had a guest performance on "The Tomarrow show" with host Tom Snyder [NBC] to ram the LP painfully in our 2 holes-our ears! They performed tracks from this LP. Complete with bad costumes (did David Bowie give these outfiits to charity?), make up and quirky robot routines.
Although they wanted 4 singles from the LP, they squeezed out [into the toilet] two. "Five O' Clock in the morning" was the first single. It only did good in Australia. Too much Fosters lager,and you won't remember what you just heard or seen on the LP cover.
They even did 2 music videos for the LP. The first single's video had them in their garb in the dark morning, walkin' around what looks like the 'lower meat district ' in Manhattan. Kinda creepy considering this was after disco and the mystery of Aids/Hiv was being called GRID. The second single and video was " Do you wanna spend the night" which has them in some fake mid-evil concept having dinner with a women for each of them. Ewwwwwww.....yuck. The song "Food Fight',WTF is with that?
The 2 songs that should have been rock remixes were
"Jungle City" and "Action Man" which actually was the only decent two although they both clock less than 3 minutes. It should at least be re-recorded by someone else with better fashion sense.
Also note none of the vocals were by Victor Willis ( the original cop who left early 1979 who put out a solo flop single at the time). Replacement Ray Simpson (yes, Valerie Simpson of 'Ashord and Simpson' 's brother) gave a vocal style that was really meant for pop. Just not on this album. Also note the original cowboy (Randy Jones) left in late 1980 to release a super flop EP before this was forced to our ears.
In mid-1995 "Five O'clock.." was remixed and released as in import single from Italy. Updated dance sound and time stretching Ray's vocal track couldn't save it. The " jazz house mix dub' on the single is the only version worth club play since they took all the vocal out except bits and pieces of Ray.'
Verdict? 'Renaissance' can only be played on various slow speeds with various drugs and various items to impale. At least this is what the DJ from a NY/NJ freeform radio station told me.....

(12-24-2004)

Vince Ream says:
Nope. Not who you are. And not where you live. (11-24-2004)

Doreen says:
OK OK !!! I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE, I AM REALLY DESMOND from South London, England...Doreen is my Mother, we never buried her, she still sits in the upstairs window, I know it's a bit Norman Bates, but hey, I was just keeping her memory alive. Thanks to 'Renaissance' we can now put her to rest and I can now assume my real identity, thanks to Vince, none of this would have been possible....love you Vince!! (11-18-2004)

Vince says:
Now fan of frank, are you jealous? I know you have a crush on me. But I don't like men. Which means I also don't like Doreen. (11-16-2004)

Mad Dr. Matt (magob@aol.com) says:
Your Comments here... (11-16-2004)

Fan of Frank Larosa says:
Thinks Vince and Doreen hooked up? how was it guys? (11-16-2004)

Vince Ream says:
What's a "bioligy boy"? (11-15-2004)

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