Under A Violet Moon

After a superb debut, it is natural to expect a bit of a decline in the follow-up album, and to my ear there is a bit of one, but not a huge decline. It is very much like the first album, with the modern take on medieval and Celtic themes. This album was released in 1999 and contains 16 pieces, most of which are written by Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night, but they do again take some traditional works are arrange them to fit their style.

As with their debut album, this one opens with the title track. "Under a Violet Moon" is an enjoyable piece, though not quite as addicting as "Shadow of the Moon" was on the previous album. This is followed by "Castles and Dreams" which has a more medieval sound than the opening piece. This is followed by "Past Time With Good Company" which is credited to Henry VIII and has an even more traditional sound, though still certainly a modern rendition. This is followed by "Morning Star" which is one of my favorite pieces on the album and is one of the two pieces which features Miri Ben-Ari's violin. "Avalon" returns to more of the feel of "Castles and Dreams", and is followed by the first of the three instrumental pieces on this album, "Possum Goes to Prague".

"Wind in the Willows" is another great piece, and the only one which has a male vocalist as John Ford guests and shares the vocal duties with Candice. This is followed by "Gone With the Wind" which is another great piece based on the Russian song "Polyushko Pole". Next is "Beyond the Sunset", which is the second instrumental piece and my favorite of the three with some wonderful guitar work by Ritchie Blackmore. This is followed by "March the Heroes Home", which has a lot of supporting guests on it, but falls short of the best pieces on the album for me. "Spanish Nights (I Remember it Well)" is next, and for me this is the best piece on the album. Once again, they draw on Miri Ben-Ari's violin, as well as contributions from other guests, and this one really shines.

"Catherine Howard's Fate" has the misfortune of being placed after "Spanish Nights", and ends up being somewhat unmemorable as a result. "Fools Gold" suffers a similar fate, though it does prove to be a bit more interesting. "Durch Den Wald Zum Bach Haus" is the last of the instrumental pieces. "Now and Then" helps to bring the quality level of the album up again as it is a nice softer piece and is the only one written entirely by Candice Night. This is followed by "Self Portrait" which as a piece which Ritchie Blackmore wrote with Ronnie James Dio and appeared on their "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow" album.

As with their first album, this is one that people will likely enjoy, if they like the Celtic/modern mix of the group, but there are significant weaknesses in this album which are much greater than those in their first album. As a result, I can only rate this one 4-stars, even though some of the pieces on this album are as good as anything they have ever done.

Wow! So we have This medieval reniasacne prog rock thing led by the guitar master Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple and this wonderful female vocalist I have never heard of before, Candice Night. A lot of their songs are either influenced or are covers of old reneissance classics. Ritchie does a good job with acoustic guitar and Miss Night does a good job looking beautfiul and singing just as well! Since I'm sort of obsessed with that period histroically it is nice to find a nice rock type band influenced by it!

If you want more, I later discovered Aina: The Days of Rising Doom: the Metal Opera in which Candice Night does some vocal work. I would also check out Fires at Midnight and Past Times with Good Company. Very good stuff.

There are many out there who have expected Ritchie Blackmore's material with Blackmore's Night to be something along the lines of Rainbow or Deep purple, and have been sort of turned off by the whole idea that he is now in a band so different from his past work. But, this is a new band for him. And with a new band comes experimenting with new material, and a whole new group of musicians. Its a new experience, and a chance to express so many other feelings through music. Personally I am a big fan of Blackmore's Night. I own all of their albums, "Under a violet moon" being my all-time favorite. Their music is mystical and capitvating, and it blends the perfect amount of rock with soul soothing melodies. I found their remake of "Self Portrait" to have an amazing touch, and gives a little something extra to the original version. Their live performances are great, they hold very true to what you hear on the albums. I highly recommend this album, and the others, to anyone who likes something just a little bit different. After all, the whole purpose of a new band is to try something new, isn't it? Definitely give it a chance.