DVD: BLACKMORE’S NIGHT – A Knight In York

Shane | 24 October 2012 | Reply

Label: EMI
Released: July 2012
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
6/10

Ex-Deep Purple & Rainbow guitar hero Ritchie Blackmore famously turned his back on hard rock some years ago, forming Blackmore’s Night with then girlfriend (now wife and mother to their infant children, both of who make an on stage appearance in this video) vocalist Candice Night.

Popular legend will have you believe that the Blackmore’s band of merry minstrel dance around the maypole in medieval garb, strumming mandolins & lutes, and singing traditional Anglo Saxon peasant ditties, but the truth is more complex than that.

So – medieval garb? More a modern “Renaissance Fair” romantic reinterpretation, than authentic woollen tunics!

Mandolins and lutes? These traditional instruments make an appearance, but fans of Blackmore’s electric guitar mastery may find much to enjoy here, with some lush solos throughout the set, which rolls more than naysayers would have us believe.

As for the songs themselves, there are several traditional numbers (The Peasant’s Promise, Dance Of The Darkness, Dandelion Wine) which have been reinterpreted, rearranged and/or had additional music and lyrics written, but more so there are original Blackmore/Night compositions (Locked Within The Crystal Ball, Toast To Tomorrow, All The Fun Of The Fayre) which attempt to evoke the spirit of the period they are aiming for. There’s also a cover of an old Bee Gees tune (First Of May)!

The crowd on this night – September 2011, Blackmore’s first show in his home country in four years – lap up every lilting refrain and every plucked note, and regardless of where you sit on the subject of Blackmore’s turning his back on rock, there is no denying he seems happy, retains his enormous talent for the guitar and instruments of it’s ilk, and has found another adoring audience.

As the DVD blurb says – “we suggest you grab yourself a glass of mead, light the candles, sit down, relax and immerse yourself in A Knight In York.”