Blackmore's Night - Shadow of the Moon
|
Our Price: $19.53 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $10.99 (click here) Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Shadow of the Moon
Free Music Review: Great Debut
Hit: 5 Stars
I've lost count of the number of people who I have introduced to Blackmore's Night. What I do remember is that in each case it was the title track of "Shadow of the Moon" that I used. There is something about it which almost immediately captures the ear of the listener and lets them know they are in for something special and different. Though certainly influenced by Celtic music, it is by no means fits into that category as it has a thoroughly modern feel to it. At the same time, the music reminds the listener of the influences from which it has been derived.
This debut album is a collection of pieces from 1997 which Ritchie Blackmore worked on with his wife Candice Night. Some of them are built on traditional pieces; others are modern versions of old pieces. A couple of them are covers from other groups. All of them fit together to form a most enjoyable album.
It opens with the title track, which as I have already mentioned is one which will immediately grab the listener's ear. This is followed by "The Clock Ticks On", which has a grand feel to it, and was a traditional composition by Tielman Susato from the 1500s. Next up is "Be Mine Tonight", a nice love song. This is followed by "Play Minstrel Play", another more haunting song in which Ian Anderson guests on flute. This is another piece put together on top of a traditional composition by Pierre Attaignant from the 1500s. "Ocean Gypsy" is next, and it is a cover from the progressive group Renaissance, and their album "Scheherazade and Other Stories" from 1975. It is another wonderful haunting piece which fits the album very well. This is followed by the instrumental piece "Minstrel Hall" by Ritchie Blackmore.
"Magical World" is another traditional piece which they have turned into their own song. The liner notes say it was composed by Wassail, but I am not sure who that is. On the other hand, the next piece, "Writing On The Wall", has Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as its composer credit. This is followed by "Renaissance Faire", which is another piece built on a traditional composition by Tielman Susato. This leads to the second of Ritchie Blackmore's instrumental pieces, "Memmingen". This is followed by "No Second Chance", which is an entirely original piece. This is followed by the third; my favorite; and for some the last of the Ritchie Blackmore instrumental pieces, "Mond Tanz".
Next up is "Spirit of the Sea", another enjoyable original piece from the group. Next is "Greensleves", the original lyrics with a Ritchie Blackmore arrangement which fits the rest of the album well. The track which closes the album is "Wish You Were Here", which was originally by Teijo Agélii-Leskelä. I have two copies of the CD, and each has a different bonus track. One has a different version of the instrumental "Minstrel Hall", and the other has "Possum's Last Stand" as its bonus track.
The group consists of Ritchie Blackmore (electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass, mandolin, drum, tambourine), Candice Night (lead and backing vocals), Pat Regan (keyboards) and The Minstrel Hall Consort; which consists of Gerald Flashman (recorders, trumpet, and French horns), Tom Brown (cello), and Lady Green (viola and violins). Along with Ian Anderson guest performing on "Play Minstrel Play" was Scott Hazel who did some backing vocals on the same track.
This is not just a good debut, it is a great one. If you don't enjoy this CD, you should avoid the rest of the group's catalogue as the group sticks to the same style, and for good reason. This is my favorite of their releases, but that does not mean that it is the only one you should listen to, as they all have memorable tracks and performances.
Free Music Review: A REAL SURPRISE FOR THE BEST
Hit: 5 Stars
I found this C.D. by accident and bought it immediately. I was caught by the spell since the first notes of "Shadow of the Moon". My personal favourites are the title song, "Clock ticks on"(I can hear this ten times in a row),"Be mine tonight" and "Mond Tanz"(another piece I can play ten times in a row)and "Renassaince Fair" , but all of them are wonderful. The only slightly lesser one is their cover to "Greensleeves" ; this truly classical English tune is so beautiful , yet I'm still looking for a good "genuine" performance (the best I've got is by Medieval-Renaissance expert Alfred Deller on Harmonia Mundi). This is light years from "Smoke on the Water" or even "Rainbow Eyes"..... and for the best. I always held Ritchie Blackmore in a very high regard, but I always wanted to hear him play acoustic. Now he's mostly into acoustic, and in my opinion he's doing the best music in his lifetime. Some consider this new project "cheesy" , but don't be fooled by the seemingly naive sound ; the music is actualy MUCH better than ANYTHING he did with Deep Purple or Rainbow (great as those were). "Clock ticks on" is built over a late-medieval theme and the horns, if they're not period instruments, sound very much like they are. Some of us have grown since our teenage years, and look for more relaxed music that is still music, and not just background, and it's great to find your hero of teenage years still leading you towards soundscapes of fantasy.
Since I bought this, I have eagerly sought each one of their following CD's.Like many other reviewers, every time I play this to another friend I get the same comment:"what kind of music is that".... or a plain and simple "woooow, what was that".
Try this..... most likely it will never leave your player.
I just ordered it again to replace the copy that was on my car player, since I had a crash and could not recover any of my CD's (guess what... the rest of the Blackmore's night catalog).
Free Music Review: Magical, heart capturing
Hit: 5 Stars
Blackmore's true mastery...
I am a big Blackmore fan since I was a child and of course was saddened to hear bout him leaving Purple. But I also know of all his ventures are so interesting and so it is like a sweetener to know that he would come up with something that I would fall in love with. So he did. I first saw this album in Bangkok in 1998 and could not believe this was Blackmore playing there. I bought the album and listened to it over and over for hours and it captured my soul. This guy can do anything he wants to. More over he did this Renaissance music (or at least the Blackmore version of it) because he has a true passion for it and it reflects in the music. The transformation of 1500-1600 eras to a contemporary studio with his Fender Strat playing on some songs is brilliant! This is how you can fall in love with an ancient music because a master, a virtuoso on his own right, makes it palatable for the audience.
Also on this Album, a special guest contributes to the Play Minstrel Play number, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson with his magical flute.
The album was produced by Pat Regan which did a great job and he came back later to produce some more for Blackmore. I am sure you will love this and other albums as well.
Needles to say I bought all of Blackmore's Night venture's albums that followed and they just got better and better. You can listen to very unique instrumentals (through which Blackmore's genius comes alive) and savor the other very well orchestrated and others that are musically arranged songs. But I have to say that I still miss the great Blackmore of the Purple and Rainbow days too...
Free Music Review: Music for listening to under a full moon
Hit: 5 Stars
It took a few months to find this one a few years ago, but it was worth it. I consider this the best of the two Blackmore's Night albums i've heard (this and Violet Moon), maybe because of the obvious initial enthusiasm everyone involved has for this project. Anyone seeing Ritchie Blackmore's name and expecting something along the lines of "smoke on the water...", should be warned this is much mellower. Obviously inspired by traditional Rennaisance music with a little bit of flamenco/gypsy influences thrown in, while staying very close to a traditional pop song structure, this is an album that can be listened to from beginning to end without skipping, a rarity in today's single obsessed albums. Highlights for me are "Be Mine Tonight", (I am terribly sentimental), the title track, Ian Anderson's terrific flute solo on Play Minstrel Play, and the gorgeous cover of Rennaisance's "Ocean Gypsy" which I hadn't heard previously (I have an excuse, I was only 22 then). This album combines virtuistic guitar and Candace Night's lovely voice in an album that is never less than uplifting. Only a few excessively obvious references to the RenFair scene keep this album from total perfection.Only next question...when is Blackmore's Night coming to Northeast PA (they'd be a perfect fit for Musikfest...hint..)
Free Music Review: Wonderful music....five stars PLUS !
Hit: 5 Stars
I have only heard two of Blackmore's Night cd's so far including "Fires At Midnight"... since recently discovering them...and I too think this is the best ! This is a great one to turn out the lights...light some candles and enjoy !We have some of Ritchie Blackmore's best guitar work here...including beautiful acoustic guitar pieces like "Memmingen"...."Mond Tannz"... "Minstrel Ball"...and "Possum's Last Dance" ! Candice Night continues to keep me mesmerized with her "haunting" voice...obviously fitting in perfectly with this style of music ! Her "sound" especially stands out on the beautiful and dreamy "Spirit Of The Sea"... an AWESOME version of the Renaissance classic "Ocean Gypsy"...and "No Second Chance" . WOW...I listened to this cd for the first time and immediately replayed it ! EVERY song is great...but some additional standouts are "Greensleeves"...and "Play Mistrel Play"...featuring special guest...Jethro Tull leader Ian Anderson on flute ! The use of keyboards on this release is icing on the cake...giving it again...that "haunting" early Rainbow feel...and I believe fans of the Ronnie James Dio era of the band will especially enjoy "Shadows Of The Moon" !
Order this one NOW !