![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse3.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/airey.jpg)
Direct from a renaissance fayre
Blackmore’s Night has a promo video for the title track of their upcoming album Nature’s Light:
Couple of observations, if we may…
First, the track sounds eerily similar to another track from one of their earlier albums.
Second, with each release there’s less Blackmore and more Night in Blackmore’s Night.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
The more they insist on Blackmore’s Night, the more I miss Blackmore’s heyday.
February 19th, 2021 at 18:27At 3:15 starts some guitarplaying almost half a minute…
February 19th, 2021 at 19:08Just perfect for the Disney channel!. One suspects RB is preparing his missus to carry on with the show long after he shuffles off his mortal coil. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s all good & wholesome family fare.
February 19th, 2021 at 22:18The rock oeuvre that RB leaves us with, spanning from 1968 to 1997 is more than enough to keep this pilgrim smiling. 🤗.
The old soft shoe he has had fun with since, has given us something different to say the least!. RB deserves his happiness. 💜 🍻
Methinks this:
https://youtu.be/o7jM0JKthwo
Or this:
https://youtu.be/8nra4bjhjIk
Or this:
February 20th, 2021 at 00:49https://youtu.be/OFlLUUOflpY
I’ve been unfair to Enya all these years, compared to this she was cutting edge. And her videos were high art.
Ritchie has come full circle.
https://youtu.be/IECo3FAGQBw
February 20th, 2021 at 02:40A pretty melodic tune and well-costumed/act video.
February 20th, 2021 at 04:43What cheerful entertainment music Mrs Night brings us. For every new album there is less of Blackmore. Is he even on this? Sad.
February 20th, 2021 at 07:23Trust me when I say that our beloved John Lord and RJD are enjoying a cold beer in heaven and laughing their heads off looking down.
February 20th, 2021 at 08:03for me ritchie blackmore’s career began in 1968 and ended in 1997 after there was a very rare moment of electric happiness with blackmore’snight …. his return to electric guitar in 2016 was much too late because he cannot no longer play correctly! it is high time to stop ….
February 20th, 2021 at 09:27I like it. My late beautiful Wife really liked this band! Some of the songs do sound the same from album to album but that’s OK. I’ll get this one and hope there are a few really good tracks on it.
February 20th, 2021 at 12:05On one hand, I’m glad to see Ritchie doing what he seems to enjoy now and after what I felt was a sad attempt at playing rock a couple of years ago…It is probably better he stick to this RenFairre stuff…
I know people like this stuff and he has an audience.
But only my deep reverence for RB keeps me from a 2 paragraph post mocking this nonsense. Suffice it to say I shan’t be partaking of this…
February 20th, 2021 at 12:16Not my cup of tea, but hey, if this is what Ritchie wanna do in his old age thats fine with me..He´s got nothing to prove to anyone.
February 20th, 2021 at 12:44The promo video helps to enjoy this music! I find myself wondering what it would have been like living in this era? Looks like when they party it was surely interesting, music, drinking, jousting, competitive skill games and not to mention the subtle hints of romance. It was obviously a simpler time! Maybe RB feels that connection and is living it through Blackmores Night! Anyway back to the music…not much different than previous BN but, I don’t dislike this at all! cheers🍻
February 20th, 2021 at 12:52@#3 well said!
I can’t believe the cheesy key change towards the end – that is so German Schlagermusik (hey, let’s tweak the chorus!). To my memory, there is not a single Deep Purple or even Rainbow track that resorted to this bricklayer’s compositional trick from the drawers of poor taste.
But then I find Mittelalter Märkte/renaissance fairs horrible too. There … I said it. Hang, draw and quarter me or whatever measures to ensure social cohesion were popular at the time.
February 20th, 2021 at 13:13Over the years I’ve seen Blackmore in concerts (Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmmore’s Night) and I listened a lot to all the albums. I felt sorry for him watching him struggeling playing the guitar with the new Rainbow. It’s probably his arthritis that’s causing him a lot of pain and trouble.
February 20th, 2021 at 18:22Having said that, I believe that Blackmore’s Night is more and more the backing band of Candice. If he is pleased with that, who am I to criticise. While I’m writng this email I listen to Black Night from Stockholm 1970. Great solo and brilliant Gillan.
At no. 8 I would like to say when do you learn that Jon is spelled without the H
his happiness does not care about the sadness of others
February 20th, 2021 at 22:16stoffer @ 13- apart from lack of sanitation, poor hygiene, disease, pestilence & not being able to trust anyone, it may have been ok for a few souls back then. Me thinks Blackmore’s missus would NOT have enjoyed that era at all. And many others also, present company included. Cheers
February 20th, 2021 at 22:33Uwe @ 14 – mission accomplished, hung, drawn, & quartered & your head is on a spike. Just not sure where to put it, he he he! Cheers
Oh sure, those carefree castles und jousting days were great – if you were part of the nobility or clergy and not one of the illiterate, malnourished and subjugated have-nots. It must have been as lovely as the old Antebellum South – if you were white and drinking cool lemonade on your mansion porch, not black and slaving in the fields picking cotton.
No knight ever set his foot on North American soil, the concept of holding renaissance fairs there is about as credible as setting up a few Native American tipis in Germany and waiting for the next bison herd to arrive.
February 21st, 2021 at 02:02This is really awful. I have enjoyed bits of Blackmores Night over the years and was actually watching a Night in York concert last night and its the same tour I saw that year at Buxton Opera House.
Now that was really good and I am primarily a Rainbow and DP fan, but after trying to not like BN, I gave in 12 years ago and found the era of that band that worked, but this new material is shockingly bad.
I also watched an Over The Rainbow Concert from 2009 in Amsterdam and that was pretty good actually, all members did a great job, JLT struggled on the Bonnet tunes high notes, but otherwise did well and Jurgen was really impressive, best of all was Bobby on the drums and the whole band had so much more energy, bite and tempo than the recent Rainbow line up.
I am a huge fan, but I hope there are no more Rainbow Shows and I really hope those that enjoy what RB is doing on this new release are happy, but for me the pot of gold has gone and the colours of the new Rainbow are dull and fading for new hope, but he is 75 now and his past legacy will always be strong and special.
DP are writing and recording much, much better music, just a shame Gillan has no voice left to sing live, as the rest of the band are shit hot still!!
February 21st, 2021 at 09:37Garbage!! unfortunately every song sounds the same as any other from any of his albums as Blackmores Night. The first album “Shadow of the Moon” was very good but the rest ??? MEH! Ritchie has sold his soul ! Steve Morse a much better guitar player then and now at any rate!
February 21st, 2021 at 09:48MacGregor @17… yea I get it, unfortunately could be any number of major cities in the US right now 🙁 ..cheers
February 21st, 2021 at 12:08So Uwe, what goes well with cheese?… the answer is wine!.
February 21st, 2021 at 14:03Anyway, don’t y’all think that your lord RB has already contributed a huge sackful to the rock fraternity over the decades?.
Was not the miracles of all those Deep Purple & Rainbow albums enough for you?.
To criticize him so harshly now for his elderly frolics… FOR SHAME! I cry out!
No use in flogging a dead horse. You’ll miss him when he’s gone on ahead… His time is growing short… Let him enjoy what he has left, doing what he loves to do, with all the people that he loves around him.
Oh… & God bless the keg!. 🍻
For the record:
1. Ritchie is one of the most important and underrated rock guitarists ever. He has also written or co-written some memorable songs. Great thanks for that, he has his legacy.
2. No one is expecting him to play today with the dexterity and energy of a 30-year-old, I actually prefer him playing those slow, elongated notes, which – not for technical reasons, but to reinvent himself – he started doing late Mk II/Mk III; it is in fact what I like about Mk III and I prefer what he did on Hold On to his signature neo-classical runs on Highway Star/Burn.
Ritchie is often best when he is a little out of his depth/comfort zone.
3. Being old doesn’t have to make you undemanding. If Ritchie played gypsy jazz à la Django Reinhardt, blues (he can be a wonderful blues guitarist), new age music or even medieval music that doesn’t in its banality pander to the Disney Channel crowd, you’d never hear a word from me. I don’t need to hear him regurgitate DP und Rainbow glory days, I JUST WISH HE DID SOMETHING, A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G DESERVING HIS TALENT TODAY !!!
4. Not all BN albums are rubbish. I personally believe they peaked with Ghost Of A Rose, but since then its been awfully downhill with each und every album.
5. I’m neither in the Ritchie nor in the Ian Gillan camp. They can both me moody pains in the proverbial body region. And no doubt, Ian doesn’t have the range he used to have. But he’s not turned his nowadays more limited singing into something more banal, in fact he’s done the contrary. Less athletic vocal histrionics, but more brain and idiosyncratic style behind it. Don’t mention “brain” and BN’s output of the last 15 years or so in one sentence unless you also use “devoid of any”. Ian did Clear Air Turbulence, Ritchie has found his Robin Hood outfit …
February 21st, 2021 at 19:51And here we go ….again!. The last time I looked, how many of the “original” rockers are still producing any music? I think Mr. Clapton released a Christmas disc 2 or 3 years ago but appears to have retired. Pete Townsend – not sure what he`s been doing except repeatedly “last time” touring the remnants of The Who. Iommi?..Black Sabbath – thats a crap shoot these days.
February 22nd, 2021 at 12:20So here we have a 76 year old music legend who has in the past 25 years consistently released new music ( yeee-eees, some of which is very familiar and repetitive) and continues to tour to the enjoyment of those who venture out to see him/them, and all “you ” can do is complain that it`s not the Blackmore of DP. Well, if you don`t like what he`s playing/writing, don`t listen. Don`t go to shows. I hate to break it to everyone who doesn`t like his choice of music; he doesn`t care! He is enjoying the twilight of his career. And if that keeps him in the studio, more power to him. He IS still playing guitar!
Uwe, a commentary where “devoid of any” springs to mind with your lack of respect and total and utter determination to ensure your opinion is dominant. Solipsism
If you cannot enjoy Ritchie’s current path then say nothing rather than bleat on like some spoilt venomous child. He does what is deserving of himself in his 6th decade of music.
February 22nd, 2021 at 21:25I’m a big Angus Young fan, and a medium sized Mick Mars fan, but they record the same album every time with different lyrics. If you want to hear iterations of Ted The Mechanic for the rest of your life have at it.
Thats one of the reasons Blackmore has a such an interesting career, you had Deep Purple, Rainbow, and then Blackmore’s Night – common musical threads woven throughout, but a very wide variety of quality music.
For all the heavy metal basement dweebs on here complaining about the lack of heavy riffs in Blackmore’s Night, let’s see your guitar covers of Possums Last Dance, Under a Violet Moon and Dance of The Darkness, played with even a fraction of the musicality with which Ritchie plays them.
February 23rd, 2021 at 03:07@23 Uwe, wow… I really struck a nerve there. The cut runs deep! Your response has the feel of an application/response to the court.
Well, after some thought, I remembered the following little gem… (of course wise King Otto is just a substitution for RB 😁).
https://youtu.be/q_4Ny8aLTS0
Here’s another where the drummer actually sounds quite good compared to the invited big name vocalist. 🤪
https://youtu.be/DmCSwCUtbfY
You always have my full respect Uwe, but hey, I can’t take the entertainment industry to seriously. It’s all for the imagination!.
February 23rd, 2021 at 03:20Be happy, because it’s no good feeling crappy. 🎉🎊🎈🎆
@23/Uwe:
Well said. Very well indeed.
February 23rd, 2021 at 08:54@23: Yes, Uwe, very well said indeed. You just said what I always want to say when these discussions appear. I never can be bothered though. 🙂
February 23rd, 2021 at 08:56Why would I have to say nothing, Honourable Robin of Loxley?
I own about 800-1.000 CDs from which Ritchie earned royalties – that is not including the bootlegs (he doesn’t earn from those!) or the vinyl, DVDs, Blu-rays.
Nor the about 30 gigs I’ve seen him at, the majority – alas! – by now ones where people in the first row insist on wearing what they consider to be medieval garb (which to someone like me who has been to Judas Priest gigs in his office suit because I couldn’t make it otherwise is kinda painful to watch, hey, I don’t wear kabuki make-up to Kiss concerts either).
I have also dutifully ordered his new product; as long as he does anything on those BN CDs, I will remain if not a fan at least a consumer.
Which makes me a shareholder of sorts in Blackmore Inc. He might not need the money, but Autumn and Rory live in a country where higher education is unfortunately not free for them. So I’m good for the family too. As Little Ian once put it so succinctly (go check the inner gatefold sleeve of your Who Do We Think We Are copy): “I bought it, so Í’ll bloody well boot it!” : – )
Ritchie is in the public domain, anything he does related to music is up to scrutiny and may be praised or damned.
And I haven’t even mentioned the BN gig in Fulda yet where he had his minions demand that an unsuspecting fan in a DP T-Shirt take that off and wear a BN one instead (which he would have graciously received for free) or be ousted from the gig. I was standing right beside the guy and could not believe my ears.
February 24th, 2021 at 01:26@25 and @30. Of course is Uwe in his right to speak freely about BN/Blackmore. We like to think that we are living in a free world. If that’s entirely the case is another subject. I have been to many Blackmore’s Night concerts and yes in medieval garb. Thanks to this outfit I had several times direct contact with Ritchie. Most memorable was Abenberg 2004. After a fanclub concert I had the privilage sitting next to him around a campfire. We talked a little. On the first video Christmas Eve (on the dvd Castle and Dreams), which was filmed in Abenberg, you can see me sitting behind Ritchie and Candice. At that night he was very kind to his fans. At other concerts he hand me over a beer. He even once invited me on stage (with others) and we danced. But I also remember a concert where a Ritchie look a like from Brazil was standing in the audience and Ritchie gave him the evil-eye. It was frightning. The story of the fan with the DP shirts sounds very much the moody Ritchie. I guess he didn’t play any DP songs that night!
February 24th, 2021 at 16:37I’ve been to excellent BN gigs myself, the one where he was drunk, but inspired and played and played and played, swapping instruments with Normandy Bob and forcing him to sing rock standards und even play lead guitar (which he capably did) rank among the best Blackmore gigs I’ve been at ever. Candice stood by the side of the stage and looked outright bewildered, but phoned in her trademark smile to at one point deadpan: “Welcome to our rock show!” When she wasn’t sweeping a broom to clean the stage while Blackers was endlessly soloing in alcoholic bliss. (If there is one thing I respect/like about BN, then it is the palpable affection the two main protagonists have for each other.)
But that was more than 10 years ago, no such highlight since then.
But all you since BN fans: I’m happy for you if you still like what you hear. BN is as legitimate a part of the Purple family as Come Taste the Band for me, I take a catholic view. And I will continue to go to BN gigs even if I sometimes wince. And I do like hearing that Royal Guardsmen track at the end! “Eins-zwei-drei-vier …” – it appeals to my genetically embedded hang to goose-step, jawohl.
https://youtu.be/x7mOxdEDNn8
Ritchie’s occasional mean streak towards people who can’t really defend themselves against him, is another matter. I find that unfortunate, but have come to terms with it. Just like Roger Waters, Bob Dylan or Miles Davis, he can be incredibly callous sometimes.
February 25th, 2021 at 15:56@ 19
“Over The Rainbow Concert from 2009 in Amsterdam and that was pretty good actually, all members did a great job”
Wow, I must have missed out something.
As far as I can remember OTR did gig in Uden and Vosselaer.
What location was that?
February 25th, 2021 at 17:14LOL, I posted the wrong link @32, Placebo in a Purple forum? That must have been disconcerting for some of you.
Ok, here is the correct BN-related link, happy Floridians rather than Weltschmerz Brits:
https://youtu.be/Oxzg_iM-T4E
February 25th, 2021 at 18:39@19 & 33, let me guess: travelled from ?… to accommodation in Amsterdam … then got a ride to Uden for the concert & afterwards returned to his lodgings in the city. That works for me!. The human mind is a tricky thing…
February 26th, 2021 at 01:21Now behave & no more arguments, or you’ll both be sent to your rooms! 👨👦👦
I häff ze vvvays tö keep zem silent …
February 26th, 2021 at 13:36Dutch viewers will agree with me: this is 100% Efteling.
February 26th, 2021 at 16:24Well our man seems very happy these days, even preferring a pandemic to Deep Purple and that’s after considering that there were a lot more nasty diseases around in Renaissance times. He got Rainbow back for the pension pot – and would that the rest of us had an income stream like that when absolutely needed. Bless him, he’s given a lot, mucked lots of people about and played mind games long after he’s been the only one to find them amusing. But boy could he play guitar.
February 26th, 2021 at 22:38Here you go Rock Voorne at 33
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTs2MdQatiU
Over the Rainbow gig in Amsterdam 🙂
February 27th, 2021 at 09:22