Here’s a little album review I wrote for “
Prog Archives.com“, for the album “Past times with good company” by Richie Blackmore’s (former Deep Purple, Rainbow, …) band Blackmore’s Night. I thought it would be nice to copy it here – so here you go.

Have you ever fallen in love with someone’s voice?

I know I have… I remember that years ago, when my wife was still my girlfriend, I would just sit still and listen to her singing in another room. The joy and happiness from that voice did miracles to even the worst of moods.Listening to Candice Night singing Home Again on this album has the same effect. What voice this is – crystal clear, great range and you can hear how much she enjoys singing to the crowd. It really made me feel like ‘coming home’ the first time I heard it – watering eyes…

I’m not an export on folk, nor on renaissance or medieval music, but I do like tracks like Ayreon’s Ye Court Yard Minstrel Boy on The Final Experiment. I have to reconsider though, because that’s nothing compared to 83 minutes of great music on this album. Folk, mixed with classic and rock (driving beats combined with acoustic snares, brilliant!) – well, it works for me.

I’m not going to go into a track by track discussion here, but the following needs to be mentioned. Songs like Shadow Of The Moon, Under a Violet Moon and Renaissance Fair have a great modern sound to them, and really make you feel like going to a big banquet and enjoy yourself. Candice’ voice, mixed with the beat and the string melodies work mix perfectly. Home Again I already mentioned, nothing to add there.

When the electric guitar kicked in for 16th Century Greensleeves the first time I played the album, I was disappointed – why ruin the atmosphere with an electric guitar. Yet, after mere seconds that feeling was gone – the guitar lead at the start somehow fits in with the rest of the album, and Candice’ voice (again, sorry…) makes you forget about Ronnie James what was his last name again? I can’t explain why, but this album brings ‘old’ music, yet in a way it rocks – and it’s going to be on my list of favourites for quite a while I expect.