![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse10.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/airey3.jpg)
Let’s talk about situation in North Vietnam
Blackmore’s interview from the Arte TV show “Tracks” has been rebroadcasted on the French version of the channel and here you can actually hear what he’s saying as the interview itself is without the voiceover translation.
Part 1:
Part 2:
And for all those of you who missed him on the CNN’s Richard Quest show back in September, it’s on the YouTube now as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdHLekh0OZQ
Once we’re on this topic, here’s a peek inside Blackmore’s music room and his guitar collection. It is from a VHS video that accompanied the Shadow Of The Moon album back in 1997.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Thanks to Daniel Bengtsson for the info.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
YES and one more YES – he was and still is the one and only guitar player in my life. No one gets even close to him.
December 18th, 2007 at 07:43Couldn’t agree more. Ritchie also is my favourite guitarist and musician.
December 18th, 2007 at 08:21Bo, I think you’re just blind fan of Ritchie. You’re a blind man :))
December 18th, 2007 at 08:49sorry but if you can’t see real greatest guitarists and if you listen to only this pop-folk-guitarist, too bad for you.
George!
Ritchie is the best hard rock guitarist on the planet…in the galaxy…even in the universe! EVER!! Name just one guitarist that has come up with so much great music and riffs!?! There’s no one over him or besides him when it comes to being original.
Don’t confuse “tecknical skills” with the term “great musician”!
December 18th, 2007 at 10:20Great interview…Ritchie is very candid these days. i remember when he was younger he was a lot more tricky to interview! It would be interesting to know which modern day guitarists he admires…Whoever thay are, i bet they were at least a little influenced by him!
December 18th, 2007 at 11:46He’s a guitarist not a god
December 18th, 2007 at 12:38Not a god that’s for sure, but exceptional musician, guitarist, songwriter &
personality as well :)!
He’s ‘launched’ two legendary bands also…how many people can say the same!!
Only interesting people like RB are discussed so often, and cause
some controversy….not a bad thing at all, I think Ritchie wouldn’t have
it any other way!
Off to work now, Merry Christmas everybody, relax and have some fun.
December 18th, 2007 at 14:13Blackmore’s nigt? oh yes but I prefer drinking chamomile…goodnight people
8-/
December 18th, 2007 at 15:34George,
I’m guessing from your repeated posts about Ritchie that you’ve never taken the time to fully listen to any Blackmore’s Night CDs. If you had, you’d realize that although Ritchie’s style of music has changed, his talent, passion and creativity have not. There are solos on every BN album that are every bit as good as those he created while a member of Deep Purple and Rainbow.
December 18th, 2007 at 18:01SvadaPrat, you are absolutely right, for me too, RB is THE GREATEST hard-rock guitarist. I always say: RB WAS #1 in his genre, but NOW RB is #156488641133881 in his current genre. He’s hard rock legend, he has created Highway Star’s solo, he has created monsters like DP and Rainbow and now he turned into some kind of pop-folk “guitarist”, with ridiculous “uniform” on stage. NOBODY would listen RB, if he hasn’t created Highway Star. Some people like Blackmore’s Night because it’s Ritchie Blackmore’s project.
Just imagine that you haven’t listened DP, Rainbow. So, imagine that you haven’t listened to Ritchie’s previous music material, imagine that you don’t know how great Ritchie was in hard rock. Did you imagine? now, answer me sincerely: d’you really need to waste time listening one from the million pop-folk group? what RB does nowadays, it’s useless at all. NOBODY needs his pop-folk, because in this genre he’s N 847641351542. In hard rock he WAS N1.
So, when musician is useless, that means, he’s died as musician. I DO NOT LISTEN TO DIED MUSIC!!!
December 18th, 2007 at 18:06As is evident in the first video, the assertion that Blackmore’s “uniform” is “ridiculous” is moot in that Blackmore has been dressing up, playing a part, from the very beginning. Even in Purple, he had a “uniform” (all black with the stovepipe or pilgrim hat with a stringed shirt that had a tendancy to show his chest) and admittedly, some people found that ridiculous as well. That’s show business.
The Blackmore’s Night persona is an extention of Ritchie’s personality. He admitted to feeling more at home with it. His house is decorated in the old style, complete with suits of armor. Therefore, there is nothing phony about the way he dresses on stage.
The same could be said for the style of music he now plays. The musical style of Blackmore’s Night is not a surprise. Blackmore had been talking about it for years; classical, folk and Renaissance passages permeate Purple and especially Rainbow music; he’d even taken up the cello; and at one point he said words to the effect that it’s too bad you can’t make a living playing lutes. Now, he found a way to do that. Good for him.
This form of music no less legitimate than what he had been doing. In some ways, it is superior and more technically challenging. It’s easy to hide behind sustain and feedback. But it’s not for everyone. Some Blackmore’s Night fans don’t care for Purple or Rainbow. However, for some of us–many of us–the current project is just as important as anything he’s done.
And yes, I would have picked up on it. As a guitarist, I would have noticed it even if Blackmore’s name had not been attached to it.
Regarding the Richard Quest interview, the key comment was the one alluding to the mayhem of rock music and Ritchie’s envy of the musician in a more quiet venue. In rock, Blackmore could do anything and it was okay–no matter how it sounded. In Blackmore’s Night, the music counts more than the show. Hit a bum note and it’s noticed. In rock, break a string and throw the guitar against the wall and no one is the wiser.
Finally, there is one aspect of Ritchie’s career choice that had gone unnoticed in the blogs: His relationship with Candice Night. I’ve noticed in many interviews the look she gives Ritchie. I know that look. My wife does the same thing.
There is no question this woman is absolutely enamored with Blackmore. His past relationships failed because of his lifestyle. Now, he shares his life with someone who shares his passion as well. They are on the road together. They perform together. They write together. It’s a perfect partnership. You want him to give that up?
No one would like to see a hard rock album from Blackmore more than I. He is the one who inspired me to pick up a guitar in the first place. But to insist on a return to rock–to berate the man for not doing it–and to expect him to give up a much more comfortable and happy way of life–is simply selfish.
December 18th, 2007 at 23:21Hindsight being 20/20, you could’ve seen RB’s renaisannace music coming to fruition by listening to the intro to “Anya” from Battle Rages On. When I heard that acoustic intro, it caught me off guard; it was so un-Purple at the time. But it helped make that song; a perfect lead-in.
I’d like to hear him do an album with Ian Anderson & Martin Barre from Jethro Tull, an renaisannce based band if there ever was one. They’ve (BN) already collaborated with him (Anderson) on a song or two and also covered a Tull song on one of their BN albums.
December 19th, 2007 at 00:44My ex-wives gave me the same look…………….ha ha
December 19th, 2007 at 08:35I had the pleasure to see Blackmore’s Night this past fall. Ritchie has not changed at all. He STILL rocks, even playing his new music. Ritchie has decided he likes this music better. His heart and soul is in every note. Not so with his later DP days. He is happy now, just like the boys in DP are now. I hope he tours the US again because it’s a show NOT to miss.
December 21st, 2007 at 02:13Rikk, I just watched the “Paris Moon” DVD. This is FAR superior to any of the videos thus far.
Ritchie continues to display many of the same elements that made him a superstar in the first place. What struck me was the power of the sound, the clarity, and many of the same old little habits!
I know many people do not like Blackmore’s Night and don’t want to start that same old debate; however, if after listening to “Ariel” and the extended “Fires at Midnight” on this DVD you still think Blackmore is nothing more than leotards and funky hats… You couldn’t be more wrong.
At first I wondered why they released a new DVD so soon after “Castles and Dreams”. Now I know why. By far the best live performance I’ve heard from Blackmore’s Night.
December 21st, 2007 at 02:45Ritchie war und ist der BESTE!Mehr gibts dazu nicht zu sagen!
December 21st, 2007 at 09:21blackmore is the best there is ….. best there was … and the best there ever will be . he still rocks every night on stage and anyone who was with me that night in charlotte will agree im tired of george and all these people bad mouthing the MAN IN BLACK … he’s the best face it you idiots ..i love steve … i love iommi ..i love page .. i like clapton .. but compared to ritchie … they are NOTHING any way if you dont want the truth stick your finger in your rear uhh i mean ear ! any fule kno that
December 21st, 2007 at 19:31u need to just need to do us all a favor george and take a walk of a cliff.. you are dead as a fan and you are deaf to great music
love and light – patrick 😉
December 21st, 2007 at 19:37Fijne dagen mensen!!!!!!!!!!
Everybody…………
Wish you WISDOM…………..
Do I need to say more?
XXX
December 21st, 2007 at 21:22nobody can play guitar like Ritchie,but the same thing is trying to compare to T.Iommi..there is no possbility..anyway my opinon is that the BNight’s music is very very boring and that Blackmore is wasted for this kind of music,I love rock,his rock and nothing more…”I’LL BEMISTREATEEEEED…”
December 23rd, 2007 at 12:52To Purplepriest
Happy holydays too!!!
For we could not find you on youtube, nice to find you back here!
True hearty wishes for a super 2008!
P.S.To George and Andrea
December 25th, 2007 at 19:34About B.N. You found the wisdom already, we agree with you!
2008 as Purple as possible!!! (:
Look at it like this. Deep Purple and Rainbow were Ritchie’s “day jobs”. He earns loads of money so he can then do what he really likes to do. Recognise that? How many of us put up with our “day jobs” because it supplies the cash to run our hobbies and pastimes that help to keep us sane(ish).
Ritchie is not technically perfect in Purple or Rainbow. You can hear bum notes buried in the noise. I wonder how many of us in our day jobs say “That will do” and then spend ages during free time during weekends over several months making something perfect for our own pleasure. He is human, (not some kind of rock god), like the rest of us.
December 30th, 2007 at 22:33There’s something I’d like to see all the Big Wigs at thehighwaystar put together using their connections. A Ritchie Blackmore Instrumentals Compilation CD or double CD set. It’d have all the best instrumental tunes going back to stuff like Satan’s Holiday, through And The Address, Coronarius Redig, Weiss Heim, Son Of Alerik, up to and including the new stuff like Possum’s Last Dance, and Queen for a Day Part II. Please call all those Purple Connected guys in England and make it happen – Thanks, Mark
December 31st, 2007 at 06:17He put a “thing” on his guitar and nobody knew what it was for, he just did it to annoy people…lol Thats my Ritchie!!!
January 13th, 2014 at 17:28