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Baron Dave Romm
Blackmore's Night III
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Blackmore's Night was founded in the mid-1990s when Ritchie Blackmore, the founding guitarist with the 60s-90s rock group Deep Purple, discovered a mutual interest in Renaissance Music with Candice Night. I reviewed their first three albums two weeks ago: Blackmore's Night I. Last week I reviewed three other CDs (plus their EP): Blackmore's Night II. This week, I'll review their double CDs. To my knowledge, this is all the extant recording.
The Blackmore's Night merchandise page, is up and has been expanded to include books, beer steins, DVDs and more. The CD page has the albums for sale, plus several songs available for sampling, and I'll continue to reference the other commercial pages for individual albums.
Past Times With Good Company
After 40 years of studio albums, the temptation to release concert CDs and DVDs must have tugged on Ritchie Blackmore's tresses like a sirocco. (Okay, I'm waxing lyrical.) Nonetheless, recordings of live albums are always tricky. Live performances and studio music are two entirely different art forms. Past Times With Good Company has the fine craftsmanship of Blackmore's Night plus some uncomfortable spots where the audience or the engineer don't quite enhance. Still, for the most part, this double album succeeds.
The packaging is very nice. While I don't have the leather bound Limited Edition, the CD from the link has two bonus tracks. The concert, from 2002 in Goningen Holland, was sounds like a lot of fun. I'm guessing that they included most, if not all, of the concert: Not counting the extra tracks, it's more than an hour and a half of music. As usual, the accompanying lyric booklet is nicely done.
Capturing the energy created by the audience is a delicate balance. On one hand, you want the band to feed off the energy. On the other hand, you don't want the audience noise to get in the way of the recording. And that's presuming that the audience is a positive influence. It takes a while for the Holland crowd to quite warm up; it takes a while for the band to completely get in the groove. Still, Ritchie Blackmore and the musicians are as good as ever, and Candice Night's vocalization packs more emotion than in the studio.
Even without Ian Anderson from their first album, Play Minstrel Play is a fine dance tune. Even without King Henry the VIII, Past Time With Good Company shines in places. Fires At Midnight (the title track of their previous album), a magical song about watching the sparks of flame rise into the night sky, does a live show right: A long instrumental break. The audience get to sing the line Under A Violet Moon, a good RenFest dance song. (In my plays, I like to write a part for the audience, and you need more than one line to really get their blood going.) Ritchie reaches back to Deep Purple for Soldier of Fortune to end the set.
The audience is more into it by the second set, which opens with the hard rock 16th Century Greensleeves and the gentle instrumental Beyond the Sunset before leaping into a good version of Morning Star. At last, a rendition that's not merely good to experience firsthand, but is as good or better than the studio recording. They continue playing to the crowd with a nice version of Renaissance Faire, from their first album, and a great instrumental, Durch den Wald zim Bachhaus, and end with the upbeat rock song Writing On The Wall. The appreciative audience spends the last minute or so applauding; I usually cut that intros and outros for the air (or fade out), but they're part of the live experience.
Two bonus tracks from a concert in Germany bring the second CD to nearly an hour: A good acoustic performance of Fires At Midnight with a long instrumental break, and a pounding version of Mid Winter's Night. The bonus tracks are different in other limited/foreign releases, so if you're a completist you have your work cut out.
Like much Blackmore's Night, Past Times With Good Company gets better after multiple listenings. If you like concert recordings, this is a good one. If you're not familiar with the group, this is probably not the first recording you should hear. Recommended, with qualification.
Beyond The Sunset
Beyond The Sunset: The Romantic Collecton is quite the package, at least in the Special Edition. The crystal case has two disks: One CD for audio and one DVD for video. Tucked in the box is an EP with three Christmas carols, released later as part of Winter Songs (reviewed last week). What a deal!
Some songs were introduced in previous albums. Some get completely new arrangements. All the songs are more, er, romantic. Lush, orchestral, harmonic. Softer, less Renaissance but far above Easy Listening. I'm not going to comment again on individual songs
I'm not quite sure how to recommend Beyond The Sunset. Blackmore's Night goes Baroque while maintaining a Romantic outlook. This is a CD you can listen to in the background while coding web sites or in bed with a lover. It's a step away from their Celtic Renaissance Festival early work yet never strays from their love of an idealized Renaissance. Candice Night has never been better: Soaring, beautiful, vocals and harmonic backing choir, expressing her emotions in song. Ritchie Blackmore has never been better: Lush wall-of-sound arrangements with distinctive instrumentation making virtuoso performance sound easy.
Perhaps I'm just a romantic softie (pass the tissues), but after one listening Beyond The Sunset is currently my second favorite Blackmore's Night CD, after their first release, Shadow of the Moon. A superb melding of emotion and craftsmanship. At this point, if you want to hear Blackmore's Night, start with their first CD and move forward chronologically or start with this CD and go backward through their oeuvre. In any event, and just in time for Valentine's Day, highly recommended.
But wait, there's more!
The RenFest in Schloss-Burg Solingen, Germany must be fun in the authentic setting. Blackmore's Night uses the castle and keep for the video of a 2002 concert. The camerawork is gorgeous, though the lighting is for the live audience. The band uses the castle to effect, and the standing audience is having a great time. Everyone's in costume, and many of the instruments are period. The DVD, at 22:30, is a merely a bonus to the CD, but a major plus to the package.
Hint: Play All. The DVD chapters don't quite divide where I would, so just play the whole thing through.
But wait, there's more!
Also in the package is a three-song EP with an original Blackmore's Night Christmas carol plus two traditional ones. As a sampler for Winter Carols, the EP will tell you if you'll like the full release. As a bonus to Beyond The Sunset, Christmas Songs makes an attractive package more desirable.
Beyond The Sunset: The Romantic Collection more than lives up to its name. Included in the Special Edition are extras that make it a must for any long-time fan of Blackmore's Night, and make the collection a good introduction for new listeners. Over and above the CD, the boxed set is highly recommended.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
--////
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Costume Design - "Pan's Labyrinth"
Sound - "Casino Royale"
Visual Effects - "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Makeup and Hair - "Pan's Labyrinth"
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Short Animation - "Guy 101," Ian Gouldstone
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Academy Fellowship - Anne V. Coates
Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema - Nick Daubeny
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