Blackmore's Night

From classic rocker to classical minstrel? Talk about your Renaissance man! Quite a retrenching for the guitarist that many feel to be a true rock legend. Seemingly all-consumed by his wife, Candice Night, and her talents as a singer and songwriter (once a back-up singer for Rainbow), Blackmore shifted gears from rock to the music derived from medieval times, forming Blackmore’s Night in 1990. Long a Tull supporter and fan of the mixture of English folk to rock, Blackmore added elements of world music, 16th Century Renaissance, new age and prog rock to the sound. Enter Night’s clear, somewhat ethereal voice and exotic looks and a new career is born. Primarily accompanying his wife on acoustic guitar, Blackmore and Night inject the sound of mandolins, keyboards, pennywhistles, violins, hurdy-gurdies and, on occasion, Ritchie still lets loose on his Stratocaster. Although this may all sound like a potential dog’s breakfast, the effect is quite remarkable. Case in point, Night’s rendition of Joan Baez’s "Diamonds And Rust” updates this classic quite respectably while "Rainbow Blues” demonstrates a different potential as Ritchie unleashes a little of his electric side against the sugary-sweet, Enya-like vocals of his fair maiden. An interesting diversion that almost works for fans of Minstrel In The Gallery.