I’m one of those guys who is gonna take Ritchie Blackmore anyway I can
get him. From his days in the big bad Deep Purple, up through Rainbow (their
Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll album is a fave of mine)
and through to his latest band Blackmore’s Night, I have listened to Mr.
Blackmore’s playing with unwavering admiration. I’m not the guy’s
biggest fan, but I do know that whatever he is into the result is going to be
interesting, at the very least. When Ritchie formed Blackmore’s Night
with Candice Night, the upper guitar-God had some of his harder rocking fans
shaking their heads in disbelief. Featuring a seven piece band of medieval instrumentalists,
plus the vocals of Miss Night, Blackmore’s Night is what Ritchie calls
a “renaissance rock band”. They have had quite the success in Europe
and Asia, most notably Germany and Japan, releasing albums and touring with
their intimate and unique shows. Performing live sets more akin to traveling
minstrels around the renaissance fare maypole (the band actually does play these
types of gigs!) what one experiences from a BN show is a lot of mandolins, acoustic
guitars, lilting harmonies, lutes and straw, lots of straw. It’s about
as far removed from a rock show as you can get.
The band’s latest CD, Winter Carols, is their first
ever Christmas release and these ‘covers’ of traditional holiday
music suits Blackmore’s Night well. As Ritchie states in the promo materials:
“Most of these Christmas Carols are from the 1400s, 1500s, 1600s. I am
naturally attracted to these melodies” and you certainly can’t damn
the guy for his commitment. This 12-song CD is as good a holiday release as
I have ever heard, the arrangements of these old classics (and some so old I
have never heard of them) are solid and well played. But what we’re really
hearing on Winter Carols is Ritchie and Candice (who is Ritchie’s
romantic partner as well as musical) a whole bunch of strings and some horns,
and not really the band (with one notable exception).
As we should suspect, when Ritchie plays, he plays well. The instruments he
plays tend to be more acoustic. On songs like the original “Winter (Basse
Dance),” “Ma-O-Tzur,” and a particularly amazing rendition
of “Good King Wenceslas,” one can hear how well Blackmore has kept
up his chops. There is also the rather ‘modern’ “Wish You
Were Here,” featuring what sounds more like a full rock and roll band
arrangement. On this song, Ritchie breaks out with some slide and electric guitar
lead work at the end of the song. A little taste is a dangerous thing though,
as it made me yearn for the Blackmore of old!
Overall, I guess I feel the way many of Ritchie’s old-time fans do —
I want to hear him “rock out” a bit. But again I’m up against
a case of what this CD is as opposed to what it could be or what I want it to
be. Winter Carols may be a bit heavy on the strings in the
overall production and I’m not so sure Candice’s voice is best served
on these numbers, but if this is what we are getting from Ritchie Blackmore
these days, this is what we have to take from Ritchie Blackmore and be happy
with it. I would have liked a little more band playing and maybe even a few
more obscure ‘carols’ then what is represented here, but over all
Blackmore’s Night’s Winter Carols is a solid holiday
release.
~ Have Hope
