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Investing outside the mainstream
A piece promoting Blackmore’s Night latest album has appeared in Forbes, of all places, based on an interview with m’lord and m’lady:
Ritchie, I read that you were given your first guitar at 11 and the first lessons you took were actually classical guitar lessons. At what point did you actually start to embrace that sound and would that formative experience kind of loom large later as you and Candice started exchanging the ideas that would come to define Blackmore’s Night?
RITCHIE BLACKMORE: My friend brought a guitar to school when I was 11 and I just loved the instrument. I pestered my mom and dad to get me one: a cheap acoustic.
My father insisted I take lessons as he thought it was just another phase I was going through and that I would lose interest after two weeks. The teacher that was teaching me to play lived the equivalent of seven miles away. So I would ride my bicycle, holding my guitar, to his place for lessons. In the winter when there was snow on the ground, I would often fall off the bike into the snow with my guitar.
I wasn’t playing strict classical lessons. It was more standard songs with a lilt towards classical. I took some classical guitar lessons from Jimmy Sullivan who became a very good friend of mine and who was, incidentally, an amazing guitar player. But I realized the discipline of playing classical guitar was more or less out of reach for me. And I wanted to sound like Buddy Holly anyway.
However, much later, around 1972, I was listening to David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London playing Danserye by composer Tielman Susato – a 16th century composer. I would just play that day and night for years. I never really thought I would be playing that type of music. I just loved listening to it. In 1986, I met a medieval group in Germany who were playing in a castle. I realized, hearing them play, that I had to get more into Renaissance and medieval music. So I started fiddling on the guitar playing various pieces that sounded like Renaissance music, which was actually, again, by Susato. Then I met Candice. Her voice was perfect for the music of that period and we started Blackmore’s Night.
I had been playing hard rock since I was 15 or 16. So, by 1990, I was ready for a change of pace. I was tired of playing riffs and heavy music. I still like to blast out on the [Fender Stratocaster guitar] from time to time. But it’s obviously a completely different way of playing the guitar. The Renaissance music is more finger style whereas the strat is more bending and playing blues notes – distortion is very important.
Read more in Forbes.
The aforementioned 12 dances from Danserye (a book of dance music published by Tielman Susato in 1551), as arranged by David Munrow and performed by The Early Music Consort of London:
Here is another promo piece for the album, based on what looks like an EPK:
Album preview:
Thanks to Yvonne and BraveWords for the info for the info.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Huzzah!. 🎼🎵🎶🏆🥇🏹🎯 💜🍻
March 10th, 2021 at 23:04Lord Richmore, you hopeless, shameless Blackmore floozy! ; – )
But your heartfelt enthusiasm is infectious, danke!!!
March 11th, 2021 at 12:28Love is all ❤👏💋😍😜🤷♂️👏Love is all you need!👏😍👏😜🤷♂️🎶.
March 11th, 2021 at 13:14Cheers Uwe, your the best! 🍻
Yep, it really is about getting into the spirit of the thing. Sweets maybe full of sugar… but by God they’re delicious!. Why, I’ll bet even RB likes to eat candy sometimes… (Groan! 🧁🍭🍬😜).
Honestly, life’s to short to feel bad, so grab hold of these cheesy, happy musical moments with both hands & love ’em for all they’re worth. It’s all in the mind y’know.
I still love this old song to bits!. It’s a wonderful old Russian tune presented in a more contemporary & novel way.
March 11th, 2021 at 18:08https://youtu.be/AOLoAJv9VVo
Ok, by popular demand then …
https://youtu.be/tg4xIhmn7wM
March 11th, 2021 at 20:04The Mediabook version is actually quite enjoyable! Of course there’s like about ten or eleven tunes recycled but to be fair I can’t get enough of ‘A Darker Shade of Black’ and ‘Der Letzte Mausketeer’. Candice sings as always like perfect on the other tunes. There’s a total of eight new tunes.
March 13th, 2021 at 12:55I have it, hurray! From the bowels of the Amazon delta it hath been washed up on my shores today. The two CD “media book” version. I am asking my wife for a pair of her tights – I just enjoy Ritchie’s music more that way, it’s like eating sushi with chop sticks, a more authentic experience – as I write. Also warming up for those irresistible 3/4 rhythms that will no doubt hold me in their sway again & again & again & again (oh man, how I miss Rick Parfitt!).
Watch this space as the compelling renaissance charms engulf me, I will be your harbinger …
My wife gave me that slightly wary look and asked: “That probably means we’ll have to see them again this year, right?” And I said “the dark pestilence of the pandemic allowing, my fair maiden, the dark pestilence and nature’s gracious light allowing …”.
March 13th, 2021 at 13:35So I’ve heard it. It’s much better than feared. Actually the best BN output for a long time, I scurry to make amends!
– Nature’s Light is really the only song that sounds like a Disney theme park ditty.
– The instrumental ‘Darker Shade of Black’ is brilliant and more an homage to Jon Lord than the previous ‘Carry On Jon’.
– ‘Der letzte Musketier’ – spelled correctly for the official release – is unbelievably a blues number, not dissimilar to what you might find on a Snowy White album as an(other) instrumental.
– ‘Second Element’ – originally penned for Sarah Brightman by her German producer team – is pleasingly somber and sparse.
With the exception of Nature’s Light (the song), the whole album is not over-arranged, less cheesy keyboard sounds and electronic drums. Lots of Ritchie’s intricate tapestry there. Candice sings well, her voice is much fuller nowadays.
So if you have been disappointed in the past, but think that you might want to give another BN release a chance, try this. As my wife put it so succinctly: “Oh, has Candice allowed him to play more guitar this time?!”
And if you’re a BN fan, make sure your tights are waterproof when you give this a spin. You will be in feverish ecstasy.
March 14th, 2021 at 18:27I wonder if any of you might be interested enough to click on the following link, & then afterwards offer up some thoughts on what you’ve discovered there…
March 15th, 2021 at 01:25🌄💃🕺
https://youtu.be/Ha-81IsRgKo
NATURE’S LIGHT is very relaxing to listen to – still love Ritchie’s jokes as he did the same version of DARKER SHADE on this album as it was on the last ALL OUR YESTERDAYS – or his Jingle Bells split in in SILENT NIGHT last christmas – MUSKETIER is so powerful and the never ending Strat-Solo in SECOND ELEMENT brought me to tears – this is the sound of his guitar I love for nearly 50 years and the respect for his decision to make medieval music…..have seen about ten concerts of BN the last 20 years and had the luck to shake his hand in Rottenburg 2012 and see his daughter Autumn sing GHOST OF JON in Munich 2017 – as well as two Rainbow concerts in Germany where he plays definitely concentrated and right like a feather in the wind – btw love the comments Mr. Richmore and Mr. U-Horn but now its time for BÖC – ‘THE ALCHEMIST” 😉 😉 😉
March 15th, 2021 at 10:54@10 The Hawk, you’ve said it all!. There’s some really good tunes on Nature’s Light.
However, with the new BÖC album… try this one, it’s a doozy!:
March 15th, 2021 at 13:29https://youtu.be/vWbFFUlCnlc 🤘🏻
👽👾🐇🔭
There is never an hour in the day when BÖC doesn’t work. Recently, this grabbed my attention when I saw Unhinged with Russell Crowe (an impressive film, but disturbingly tense and violent), it played towards the end with the closing credits to great effect:
https://youtu.be/3_qE6RrkgJA
March 15th, 2021 at 14:40