Blackmore's Night - Secret Voyage
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CD Details
Artist: Blackmore's NightEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2008-07-15
Music Label: Steamhammer / SPV
Soundtracks:
- God Save The Keg
- Locked Within The Crystal Ball
- Gilded Cage
- Toast To Tomorrow
- Prince Waldeck's Galliard
- Rainbow Eyes
- The Circle
- Sister Gypsy
- Can't Help Falling In Love
- Peasant's Promise
- Far Far Away
- Empty Words
Music reviews of Secret Voyage
Music Review: This Moment Is Ours,,,We Are One With The Stars...
Rating: 4 Stars
This album is evidence that Ritchie Blackmore is like a fine wine. He simply gets better with age. His guitar playing with Blackmore's Night is more consistent and creative than with his 2 previous bands and it wasn't bad with them either. Blackmore's electric guitar solos are tastier, more focused and played with more feeling than ever and it is obvious that he really enjoys what he is doing. Just listen to the end of God Save The Keg, the soloing on Locked Within the Crystal Ball and the soloing at the end of The Circle, not to mention Rainbow Eyes. But it is not just his soloing that impresses. His abilities as a composer and arranger have evolved to the point where he can take a traditional song, put it in the Blackmorizing Machine and out comes a modernized version of the song that is far more interesting and developed than the original. And he seems to keep pushing himself to another level on each album, at least with certain songs. The best songs include:
God Save the Keg: Mentally brings the mind to the pomp, circumstance and regalia of the royal procession as it winds its way through the forests and flower-covered meadows of Europe on a sunny summer day in the days of olde. Lush orchestration of harpsichord, clarinet, violins, violas play a catchy medieval melody that will swim around in your head for hours. This fades to a church organ and finally what sounds like monks chanting in Latin. This leads to...
Locked Within the Crystal Ball: This is a mammoth progressive rock opus for the ages. This is one of those majical songs where all of BN's talents are fully realized: The production, the songwriting, the arrangement, the lyrics, the singing, the performance all combine to create a song which truly transcends space and time. The electric guitar soloing is just gorgeous. This is BN's equivalent to Rainbow's Stargazer, that's how good this song is. In fact if this song was put in a time machine and sung by Ronnie James Dio and Rainbow in the mid 1970s, I am sure it would be hailed as one of Rainbow's greatest songs. Blackmore's Night has so many great songs in its repertoire that it would be difficult to say for sure that this is the best song they have ever done, but if not it certainly would come close.
Gilded Cage: One word to describe this song: DREAMY. Proving that Blackmore's Night can create songs which are soft and mellow without being sappy, this song brings to mind mental images of sailing down the Danube on a hazy summer day, glass of wine in hand. When the violin comes in it creates a melancholy, aching, yearning feel that will just tug at your heart strings. Transports the listener to a dreamlike state.
Toast to Tomorrow: If we must have another beer pub drinking song, this is the way to go. The infectious, rousing Russian folk melody is far superior to the slow oompah polka of Old Mill Inn from the previous album which was virtually unlistenable.
Prince Waldeck's Galliard: Another of those short lovely acoustic instrumentals that we have come to expect and love about a Blackmore's Night CD, it sets a wonderful medieval mood, Stunningly beautifully performed. Blackmore sounds really comfortable on the acoustic instrument here.
The Circle: Really catchy, hook-laden melody that will instantly stick in your head and stay there. Has a weird 1960s hippy-trippy vibe bridge in the middle, then reverts to the original melody. Check out the tasty electric guitar soloing at the end as the song evolves into a church chorus finale.
Peasant's Promise: "In the Shade of the Willow Tree": This is the dark horse song of the album! Starts out sounding like one of Blackmore's trademark acoustic instrumentals with a lone mandolin playing. If the song had continued as an acoustic instrumental it would have been perfectly fine. But alas, Mr. Blackmore has a surprise in store for us! Candice starts singing over the lone mandolin and then renaissance drums come in. Finally the song settles into a catchy gypsy melody of recorder and hurdy gurdy. Very upbeat. I like the way Candice sings in a higher range toward the end of the song. Again a song you will be humming to youself throught the day.
The rest of the songs: Despite what others may say, Rainbow Eyes and Can't Help Falling in Love are both good, albeit not great songs. The only complaint I have is that there is some kind of cheesy pulsating synthesizer sound running throughout these songs (the same pulsating synthesizer sound which weakened 3 or 4 songs on the previous album The Village Lantern). While these songs aren't ruined by this pulsing synth sound, they would sound better without it. Get rid of the pulsating synth and just replace it with a strong bass and rock-and-roll drum kit and you will have much stronger songs. Sister Gypsy and Empty Words I find too soft and sappy for my taste and rather nondescript, although my opinion may change on repeated listenings. Far Far Away is a complete disaster; by far the worst song on the album. This song has all the worst that BN has to offer: a bland, soft, sappy treatment, cheesy lyrics and that annoying pulsing synthesizer sound again. But it gets worse. Toward the end of the song Candice's voice morphs into synthetic electronic notes! I don't know what they were trying to do here, but whatever it was, it did not work. Lawrence Welk meets Enya! Ugh!
Overall, another fine effort from Blackmore and his band of minstrels. Like most BN's albums, it contains several spectaular songs, a few good ones and a few weaker ones. Locked Within the Crystal Ball is a monster of a song and may even win over a few disgruntled Rainbow fans. If Blackmore could create an entire album of the quality of Crystal Ball...WOW! You would really have something. But I digress. Go out and buy this now, for one thing is sure: Blackmore's Night is not capable of making a bad album, Blackmore's Night is here to stay, and most of their music is an art form as it far surpasses anything out there that anyone else is doing these days.
Description of Secret Voyage
Secret Voyage is another kaleidoscopic musical journey through time and space, incorporating and rearranging traditional melodies from all over Europe, blending the "old" and contemporary. The brilliant guitar stylings of Ritchie Blackmore, the enchanting vocals and lyrics of singer/songwriter Candice Night and the saturation of authentic Renaissance instruments woven throughout the melodies, create a unique style of music they call Renaissance/Folk/Rock. Secret Voyage consists of twelve new tracks, recorded by Candice Night, Ritchie Blackmore and their Band Of Minstrels. This musical journey is inspired by nature and incorporates acoustic and electric guitars, strings, renaissance instruments and Candice Night s ethereal voice and mystical lyrics.Hard Rock & Metal CDs
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