Customer Reviews

Blackmore's Night -- Castles & Dreams

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

...and travel back in time. The renaissance to be exact. With this DVD concert, Blackmore's Night will take you on a very magical journey into a land of Castles and Dreams. Quality wise, this is as good as it gets. Awesome video and audio, and a two-hour courtyard stroll through bonus material where the band often breaks into song in restaurants, on trains, and in castle halls.

Extras aside, I would buy this DVD for the concert alone. Blackmore's Night, stage and musicians decked out in full renaissance, easily drew me into their world of bards and minstrels. I couldn't help it, they had me dancing and clapping along in my own living room.

It's always nice to see artists having so much fun performing their craft. Watching Castles & Dreams, one can only come to one conclusion; Blackmore's Night really enjoys playing their music. Even the ever-stoic Ritchie Blackmore can be seen laughing and teasing his bandmates (in between constant fiddling with his equipment as the show goes on). Up front, Candice Night is absolutely captivating. If you're not in love with her yet (be you gay, straight, male or female), you will be after watching this concert.

Blackmore's Night is a refreshing band in my opinion, writing songs that simply get back to basics. It's all about the melody here, a unique combination of medieval folk music and rock-n-roll. I didn't know it until I bought Castles & Dreams, but Blackmore's Night is a very improvisational band. While playing their many entrancing songs, they'll often break off into an instrumental jam session or spin off on some medley combining BN material and classical pieces, along with snippets of Blackmore's previous bands, Deep Purple and Rainbow. Ritchie plays a myriad of ancient string instruments on stage, including several songs where he straps on his signature Fender Strat (complete with age-old scratches, nicks and cracks) for a very entertaining blast from the past.

The sound on this DVD is superb and the band sounds much heavier live than they do on their studio albums. This should please Deep Purple and Rainbow fans like myself. However, the melody and the hypnotising beauty of this music is not lost for those who like Blackmore's Night for their softer side.

I recommend this for ALL Blackmore's Night fans, and if you've yet to hear them, this DVD would be a great starting point (especially considering the price tag isn't that much more than a regular CD). If you don't check this out, it will be your loss as a music fan.

I cannot fault any of the music or musicianship. Everyone is superb and all have a great time sharing their music with the audience. When the Geyers join in at the end of "The Clock Ticks On" it is truly goose-bump time. My only nit-picking complaints have to do with the the production. First, Ritchie is on the right side of the stage (audience perspective), Candice is center, the drummer behind her, and everyone else is cramped together on stage left. That makes it really difficult to get good camera shots of the rest of the band. We hardly see more than a few moments of the Sisters of the Moon, and Tudor Rose gets no close-up shots even during her amazing solos. Gripe number two is the frequent switching from camera to camera with some scenes lasting barely a second, and again the Sisters get little screen time even during their solos at the front of the stage. Gripe three are the compression artifacts which are most obvious during red-lit scenes and some pixelization during fast moving scenes. The extras on disc one should have been put on disc 2 to give the concert more "room". Like a previous reviewer, I prefer the production quality of the DVD sampler that comes with the Romantic Collection.

These gripes aside, Castles & Dreams still gets five stars because it is just so enjoyable to hear and see. Highly recommended.

This concert concept is fantastic. Ritchie Blackmore and his beautiful wife Candice Night, and various other band members, performing live on the hindside of a castle in Germany with the audience filling the courtyard. Most of the audience is dressed in classic Renaissance attire. A beautiful touch for this unique show.

I rented this DVD on a whim and both a friend of mine, and I, were blown away by this concert. The 5.1 sound quality is fabulous. Watching the various guitars and instruments being played by Ritchie Blackmore and watching his beautiful wife Candice singing all the songs and interacting so well with the audience is such a treat. It was like going back in time to the days of the old world with castles, maidens, and the overall Rainaissance Faire. I wish I were there.

I've listened to some songs from Blackmore's Night, but it's the live performance that really captured my heart. This is a double DVD. The concert performance is over two hours, and the second DVD is a bunch of various videos, cameos, and various episodes of following Ritchie, Candice and the band popping in little shops and venues doing raw performances to entertain unsuspecting patrons that just happened to be there. This gives even more to their charm because it is their interaction with people that make you just love this couple all the more.

Ritchie, never mind the Deep Purple/Rainbow fans who criticize your change in your musical career. I admire you for being brave enough to follow your dream. And Candice, you are absolutely beautiful, and you have a beautiful voice. And I can see that you also have a beautiful heart. Good luck to you both.

It would be great if Blackmore's Night and the Strawbs would tour together. I think it would be a great show!

"Blackmore's Night -- Castles & Dreams" is an amazingly well-produced look into a truly unique musical act. Mr. Blackmore is known to legions of Rock fans as the gifted guitarist from several incarnations of the now-legendary Deep Purple, as well as the almost equally well-known Rainbow. In recent years Ritchie has donned tunic, hose, feathered cap, and suede boots to join his beautiful and talented partner, Candice Night, along with a hardy band of like-minded musicians, to make lovely Medieval- and Renaissance-inspired music with "Blackmore's Night".

"Castles & Dreams" is a two-DVD set that follows the band on one of its German Castle Tours, with high-quality video and sound footage of their enchanting performances. The second disc features behind-the-scenes looks at the band members, music videos, a number of previously-aired television productions featuring BN, and an educational overview of the frankly staggering amount of work that goes into concert production, especially when done within the walls of picturesque German castles.

If you've never seen Ritchie, Candice, and friends making their on-stage magic, I highly recommend this one-of-a-kind look at the innovative and fascinating musical phenomenon that is Blackmore's Night.

You get excellent audio.
You get excellent video.
You get an excellent performance by all. As any Blackmore fan knows, Blackmore strives for perfection in all his endeavors and this latest project delivers just what you expect, (Excellence!).

A feature that I like is that you can elect to have the lyrics displayed while the songs are being sung. It works quite well.

This two dvd project is loaded with studio videos and documentaries along with a live concert at a castle in Germany. Almost anything you can think of is packed into these disks.

Blackmore fans know that getting to see Blackmore's Night live in the States is a rarity, so this dvd is a good substitute while we "Yankees" wait anxiously for the real thing to show up at an more accessible venue.

Bottom line, if you love Blackmore's Night, you WILL own the Castles and Dreams dvd and you'll love it.

Firstly let me say how fantastic it is to see a great musician following his passion and straying away from what people expect him to perform. One of the pioneers of hard rock has come out and performed music which was obviously going to spark some critisism from harcore purple and rainbow fans, but went with what he felt. In my opinion, a move which has resulted in the creeation of some of the greatest music I have ever heard.

Now onto the DVD at hand. From start to finish the band perform a mix of there new and old, fast and slow, soft and dynamic, instrumental and haunting vocal performances which keep you wanting more and more. Every song is brilliant and performed brilliantly live. THe band looks like they are just having a party and having the time of there lives. Of course blackmores night have so many great songs that they can't do them all and there are some that I wish they would have done but of course as said some have to be left out.

Video: The video quality is excellent showing a perfect mix of the band, ritchies guitar work, the crowd and the beautiful castle they play in.

Sound: Recorded in dts is also brilliant you can pump this one at no risk to your speakers and the mix is again perfect on everything and plays its part in showing the dynamic performances. The only downfall is ritchies electric guitar when it is sparingly used is a little soft and drowned at, but detracts nothing from the performance.

Set list: Fantastic, mixes the songs from there release and tempo perfectly to keep it different all the time. As mentioned there are plenty you will want to see that aren't on here but with such a selection you can;t please everyone.

Extras: As good as any music dvd ever released, documentary, plenty of videos and bonus tracks as well as bios, a complete disc just for extras definantly been treated well in this department.

Overall: If you are a blackmores night fan or and fan of medieval folk no question get this NOW!! If you are a blackmore fan from the purple days make sure you realise this is nothing like his previous music though in my opinion better.

I just received the DVD yesterday, and was Immediately Blown Away from the first song.I have been a fan of Blackmore and his works since I was around 9 or 10, the first tune I ever learned to play was (like many..) 'Smoke on the water' on my Dad's old acoustic guitar, and I've been playing and mimicking Ritchie's songs since..(I'm now 43) In a Nut Shell: The Band is Tight and yet Loose, They FLOW Well together, accenting each other..The Settings where they play are breathtaking, Candice has a Wonderful, Sincere, Warm voice and a Great Presence, Ritchie Is in TOP Form, and appears to be the Happiest I have ever seen him be-EVER..(I've seen him with Purple LIVE, and every type of visual media available), I'm Really happy for Him & Candice, and Them,He's been an Inspiration to Countless guitarists, and will Always remain Timeless...This DVD is so Good, I almost didn't want to share about it, but that is Not what Great Music is about..It's a Gift, that needs to be Shared, so I'll 'Pass this on'..just buy it!, and I'm Sure it will be a Treasured Favorite to your Music collection..Peace-Val

I am impressed with the creativity, with the passion, and the musical ability of Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night and the supportive musicians' ability to surf in togetherness. I watched two nights in a row with such pleasure, and no time in my life I have ever desired to watch a DVD a second time that soon. Ritchie showed me that rock music though it may appear dark and cool, in fact it can be well optimistic, and cheerful, and happy and joyful. Candice is the center of the show and has to carry the whole show on herself, because Ritchie likes to focus on his playing his instrument. And Candice does this job well. She wrote all the lyrics, and they two complement one another perfectly. As Ritchie leads the music, Candice cheers our hearts with her wonderful voice and smile and her style. It is a small stage in a castle and many in the audience is dressed up in renaissance style, making the whole show a unique gathering. It is entertaining and fun, but it is much more than that. It is a thoughtful and tasteful display of art after much hard work. This show is not for everyone though. Not everyone who likes rock can appreciate it. I don't recommend it if only metallic sound satisfies your soul. But, anyone else who can appreciate both rock and classical, blues and renaissance, a combination of art and fun, then this can be a very entertaining and yet culturally enriching and satisfying DVD to watch. I just hope that they make another concert DVD which is mostly made of the songs they did not play here. Nothing like this was ever made. Thank you to everyone who took part in this project.

This is the best live show I ever watched on a dvd. The extras are as good as the live show. A must have for any Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore's Night fan. I don't know how this dvd could ever be beaten by anyone.

Just bought this DVD about two weeks ago but I only had a chance to really watch it last night. What an excellent concert and whole lot of wonderful extra features! This double DVD set is worth every cent I paid for it. The music is timeless, Candice Night to me is a true beauty (both in appearance and voice) full of grace and elegance. And Ritchie's guitar playing is DIVINE!! Being a Blackmore's fan since Deep Purple and Rainbow, I can say his guitar techniques are very unique, a sweet blend of rock and classical guitar. I cannot understand why some people who claimed to be Blackmore' fans did not love this show. What's wrong with Blackmore playing Renaissance music? Those who love his Purple/Rainbow era and dislike his Blackmore' Night project know nothing about this man,absolutely nothing!