Rock music also had its Prince of Darkness. As Miles Davis is to jazz, Ritchie Blackmore personified the long noir shadows of metallic rock. Most intriguing, though, is that after his head banging days, he completely changed gears, teamed up with his celestially voiced wife Candice Night, and produced music that mixed Rennaisance, Baroque and a dash of folk a la Pentangle. This two disc set is a rich anthology of the past 20 years, and the music is both gloriously melodic and exciting.
Because you are dealing with Ritchie Blackmore, not only do you get a list of all of the songs, both in studio and concert, but a list of his guitars, strings and amps. As for the music, the sounds are thrilling and dramatic as Blackmore goes mostly acoustic on pieces like “Shadow of the Moon,” “Renaissance,” “Play Minstrel Play” and “Village Lanterne.” Most intriguing is a collection of solo guitar pieces such as “Durch Den Wald Zum Bach Harus” and “Nur Eine Minute” which on first listen may seem out of character for Blackmore, but if you listen to his early material, classical themes were never far away. A bonus video rounds out the delightful collection, and I’m guaranteed that this disc will pleasantly surprise any rock guitar fan on a Blindfold Test. Check it out!