Blackmore's Night new album review.

[Wyvern]

For TSO and Burkhard

When Ritchie fold out of Deep Purple and after he put out a new Rainbow life seems alright but suddenly the guy grown weary of metal it seems and took a high risk going into uncharted teritory. He took most probably a hidden path since his early musician days and decided to venture into Blackmorés Night. Basically a duet project with his girlfriend (fiancee, companion,?) Candice Night, a most beautiful lady with an astounding voice. The music as you may know is basically rooted in medieval tunes blended with folk-rock.

At that time I gave the project an album at the most, boy I was wrong! After 4 studio labums, one live, a DVD and several tours on a specialized circuit the band is coming for the fifth studio slab.

If you like the band then you'll get exactly what you are waiting for (a lot of predictable like AC/DC or Motorhead), at the same time this is exactly what the band has done in the previous four albums so don't expect nothing innovative either.

The main difference is the opener, usually BN opens with a rocker not this time. The first two songs '25 Years'and 'Olde Village Lanterne' are soft ones typical of the band while the rocker appears in the third place I Guess It Doesn't Matter Anymore (which is also my fave).
Follows an instrumental 'The Messenger' and a couple of softies 'Wolrd Of Stone'and 'Faerie Queen' (only the later kicks off at 3:16 on a faster dancing mood with a great acoustic guitar). Next comes the other rocker 'St. Teresa' that also hits me hard and worth the price of the CD for sure.

One more instrumental 'Village Dance' shows before the controversy 'Mond Tanz/Child In Time'. Let me take some time to disgress over this one:

1. I like 'Mond Tanz' (from "Shadow Of The Moon") and I love 'Child In Time' (from "In Rock")
2. Being CIT a great tune and being Candice a great singer the version comes out really nice. Of course having the original guitar player helps a lot.
3. But I don't see the need for this mix. 'Mond Tanz' is used as an intro (instead of the old keyboard one) and as an outro instead of the old Gillan screams. If he want to remix CIT there was no need to use MT, if he eanted to do another version of MT he didn't need CIT in my opinion.
4. The album already has another cover (Rainbow) so why also to cover Deep Purple? Lots of nostalgia?
5. DP has many other songs more suitable (IMO) to arrange for BN purposes if that comes to be the scenario.

After this version comes 'Streets Of London' a softie and 'Just Call My Name (I'll be there)' a semi-rocker. 'Olde Mill Inn' is a tavern/live kind of tune, while 'Windmills' is another softie. And this take us to 'Street Of Dreams' for another disgress:

1. SOD is one of the most gayish Rainbow songs. As much as I like the tune and the album undoubtedly the Joe Lynn Turner era is definitively "pastel pink".
2. Candice gave it a much more ballsy approach and in a way I dig this song more with a female than with a male.
3. Not much arrangement on this one unlike 'Self Portrait' (from "Under A Violet Moon" ) the Rainbow-Dio era cover. SOD progress mostly like the original minus less (or none) keyboard presence.
4. I can think on better Rainbow songs to cover by BN too.

The last one is 'Ones In A Garden' a final softie to bid farewell the album. Afterwards a bonus track which is 'Street Of Dream' duet by Candice Night and JLT, Turner sounds better nowdays but again the song is like the original and the cover so this is an exercise in waste IMO. I always wondered if Ritchie and Joe were lovers or something and hearing to this one brings the doubt on again (wonder if is a menage-a-trois )

Jokes and disgression apart the album does work for the band and any fan will feel pleased with it I guess.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

Well, BN seldom, if ever, wanders too far out of their genre. So I'm not surprised that his album is more of the same. In fact, when I feel like playing some BN I just reach for a cd and put it in, paying no attention to which album I've selected. It doesn't matter because they are all pretty much the same in sound and style. Each albums contains some true songwriting gems, and then the album is filled in with just really good songs. That's fine with me because I absolutely adore their music. When I'm in a mellow mood, BN is one of the first bands I turn to. Doesn't matter which album.

I will be snagging me a copy of this, no doubt. Thanks for the play-by-play Wyv!