Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Blackmore's Night
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2013
Runtime: 55:02
Rating: 3.5/5
Candice Night is an incredible woman. How does she manage to turn the legendary »man in black«, and in his day a true »badass egomaniac«, into a friendly, obedient puppy? Here all the rules of common sense and logic just throw in the towel. The odds of the great Richie strumming an A minor and trading it off with G major through (heads up!!!) a cover of the Uriah Heep classic Lady in Black were practically zero. But apparently miracles do happen. And they happen right on the new Blackmore’s Night album, called »Dancer and the Moon«. Getting to see Richie Blackmore play Uriah Heep, the kind of music British journalists in the seventies dubbed »Deep Purple for beggars«, is a priceless experience. Especially when he slips in a little piece of the famous »Blackmorelogy« – that teasing, uniquely wailing Stratocaster sound in solo flourishes that recall his rock-pioneering days. Blackmore is, and will remain, one of the most important figures in guitar playing, someone who had a groundbreaking influence on generations and legions of musicians after him. Richie’s enormous ego can bow down. Only Candice knows the right moves for that.
Over the years Blackmore’s Night have collected a heap of accolades. They’re regular guests on all sorts of TV and radio shows, their songs form the backbone of the soundtrack to the German film »Magical Story of the Rings: Die Nibelunger the Ring of the Nibelungs«, every album so far has managed to leap onto the European or American version of Billboard’s »New Age« chart of best-selling albums, and the list of the duo’s blessed achievements by no means ends there. They’ve clearly found the key to the universal appeal of a musical vocabulary. And that’s exactly what remains on the new album too: everything Blackmore’s Night already told us on their earlier studio records.
A Renaissance-frilled blending of traditional folk elements from the Celtic paradigm with the melodies and troubadour court rhythms of the Middle Ages. Once again Blackmore has threaded his exceptional talent for the delicate plasma of neo-classicism in guitar playing into arrangements built on »folk/medieval« foundations. The opener »I Think It’s Going to Rain Today«, a cover of Randy Newman, flags that right away, with added orchestral arrangements lifting the song’s awakening, contemplative atmosphere.
Then there are moments like Somewhere Over the Sea (The Moon is Shining), where Candice’s feeling, dainty and gentle voice comes to the fore, bathing in the embrace of subtly added acoustic accompaniment. Through that tangle, toward the end, the famous Stratocaster sound of the man in black sneaks into the song, evoking the sentiment of the legendary Rainbow. A single-line motif that also draws on the main theme of The Temple Of The King by the aforementioned Rainbow… And lo and behold, Blackmore’s Night actually put a cover of that very Rainbow classic, in a medieval version, on their new album. That feeling is underlined toward the end by the »rockier« song, by Blackmore’s Night standards, The Moon Is Shining (Somewhere Over The Sea), where the arrangement and lead melodies, combined with the one-of-a-kind, instantly recognizable tricks of the man in black on guitar, move astonishingly close to the work of early Rainbow.
The songs are a colorful mix on the album. There are pure acoustic instrumentals made for royal parties of the Middle Ages, like Galiard or Minstrels In The Hall. Then there are songs with a very similar design, except that the lead instrumental melody is replaced by Candice’s vocals (The Spinner’s Tale, The Last Leaf). After that come two songs that borrow Russian folk melodies for their main motifs (the album’s title track and Troika). On Troika I’d advise Candice not to work Russian expressions into the verses, because »American-style« sung Russian grates on the ear. The album closes with the imposing instrumental Carry On… Jon. In it Richie Blackmore reminds us with his exceptional softness, with a touch so distinctive it’s impossible to miss or mistake for any other guitarist’s, that he remains a grandmaster of his craft.
With the new album Blackmore’s Night stay in their predictably recognizable musical groove. This is their home turf, and it’s where most people like them best. »Dancer And The Moon« brings nothing unheard, unknown or untested. Blackmore’s Night are lucky enough to have carved out a special place on the scene amid a flood of bands trying their hand at a similar genre. They maintain a recognizable sound and expressive character and don’t budge from it by an inch. Since this is a combination of great musical talents, there’s no way to fault the quality of the new release. The only complaint is the occasional excessive self-repetition, which of course comes with the basic sentence of the narrow expressive range that traditional Celtic folk melodies and troubadour strumming hand you. Either way, Blackmore’s Night fans will be more than happy with what »Dancer and the Moon« has to offer.
Lineup
Ritchie Blackmore- guitar, Nickelharpe, Mandola, Hurdy Gurdy, Tambourine
Candice Night- vocals, backing vocals, Renaissance and medieval pipes
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Bard David Of Larchmont – keyboards, backing vocals
Lady Kelly Dewinter – backing vocals, horn
Earl Grey Of Chimay – bass guitar, guitar
The Scarlet Fiddler – violin
Troubador Of Aberdeen- percussion
Production
Richie Blackmore
Tracklist
1. I Think It’s Going To Rain Today
2. Troika
3. The Last Leaf
4. Lady In Black
5. Minstrels In The Hall
6. Temple Of The King
7. Dancer And The Moon
8. Galliard
9. The Ashgrove
10. Somewhere Over the Sea (The Moon is Shining)
11. The Moon is Shining (Somewhere Over the Sea)
12. The Spinner’s Tale
13. Carry On… Jon
