Customer Reviews

Ghost of a Rose (Spec)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ghost of a Rose is the fourth album released under Blackmore's Night, and it seems apparent that Ritchie and Candace have now created their own genre apart from pop. The music contained reminds me of 16th century England with a blend of folk,rock and a hint of Gypsy intermingled.
This album, though similar to the others, definitely shows a maturity in style and performance. It possibly could be their best effort to date. Simply put, it pleases from the first to the last track. I am looking with aniticipation towards their next venture, and can say with certainty that I will buy it with confidence. There is something here for almost any taste.

Well what can I say about this album, it's fabulous and I've never ever in my life listened to any thing like this. I have all blackmore's night album and this one is far more beautiful that any other album. Actually I think it's the best album in 2003 and maybe in the decade. The CD is full of great songs but my favorites are "Way to Mandalay", "Ivory Tower","Ghost of a Rose" and of course the perfect one "Diamonds and Rust".I've bought this CD today and I've been listening to it for more than 8 hours and I just can't stop playing it.
I do recommend this for all Blackmore's night and for any one who is interested in knowing their music (medievil/folk).I do recommend Shadow of the Moon and fires at midnight as well.
Great one you gotta have it in your collection.

As songwriters and arrangers, Ritchie B. and Candice Night started out strongly on their first release in 1997, and still consistently turn out interesting and clever lyrics and melodies (some adapted from pieces that are hundreds of years old). But I had the misfortune of hearing this disc AFTER seeing their incredible live DVD (see my review) which was released 10/11/05. The performances on that DVD of some of the tunes on this CD are so spectacular that those same songs sometimes sound lifeless and more like demos here. The production is rather cold and clinical, and lends no 'warmth' to the voices or the wonderful instruments that are used. Again, I'm sure that part of this is a bias on my part, attributable to the fact that I'm more familiar with the live versions. But the fact remains that their second studio release, "Under A Violet Moon", is easily their most well-produced.

The best of the originals are "Queen for A Day" and the absolutely awesome title track. Also, this release includes two covers (of songs originally by Joan Baez and Jethro Tull, respectively).

If you like this great band, you should probably get this and all their studio discs. BUT if you want to experience a really entertaining showcase by this unique act, go straight to the 'Castles and Dreams' DVD--you will not be sorry.
Thanks for reading, Ant

NOTE: You MUST listen to this entire album 3 or 4 times before forming your opinion, the reason being that most of the songs are subtley catchy, they are not hit-you-over-the-head catchy, so it takes 3 or 4 listens before the catchy-but-subtle melodies stick in your head. This is also one of those albums where on repeated listenings new nuances emerge which you didn't notice on previous listenings. With that caveat here is my review...With "Fires at Midnight" Blackmore had raised the bar so high I was afraid he wouldn't be able to top that great effort. Were my fears realized? "Ghost of A Rose" is in many ways Blackmore's Night's most mature effort to date; in fact, with "Ghost" Blackmore's Night has established itself as one of the premiere folk-world-progressive-rock outfits of this or any other generation. Does that answer the question? Words cannot describe how much I love this CD. The entire group is in a real comfortable groove here. Candace Night's crystal-clear singing is as beautiful as ever, and her lyric writing continues to improve and mature still further and has become much more consistent. The backing musicians are world-class. The production is sparkling. And soft, sappy pop? Forget about it. Songs which might have been performed as soft sappy pop on previous albums instead here come across as elegant, romantic folk ballads of subtle beauty. Gone are the inconsistencies which plagued the first 2 albums and while "Fires at Midnight" was a very good CD overall, there were still 3 or 4 songs on it which took repeated numerous listenings before I warmed up to them. Not so with "Ghost." From the opening note to the final note you will be CONSISTENTLY mesmerized and left begging for more. Every song is a finely crafted, timeless work of art which must be heard to be believed. There is simply not a boring or weak moment on the entire CD. Every song is fantastic, so I feel compelled to give a brief comment about each and every one. The sing-songish '3 Black Crows' has a wonderful, child-like, fairy-tale-ish quality (note I said child-LIKE, not child-ISH) and the instruments sound very ancient. This tune would fit equally well on the "Shadow of the Moon" CD and Roger Glover's "Butterfly Ball" album. 'Mr. Peagram's Morris & Sword' has a melody that one could easily imagine coming from a wind-up music box. 'Nur Eine Minute' takes us straight to the Middle Ages with its haunting, ancient melody. 'Lorely', with its very catchy, Middle-Eastern melody brings to mind sailing the seas of Morrocco or Tunisia. 'Way to Mandalay' starts out slow then builds into a powerful progressive rocker propelled by some stunningly gorgeous electric guitar playing from the man who plays like no other. 'Cartouche' has a strong gypsy feel. 'Rainbow Blues' is Blackmore's Night's first straight-ahead rocker, ironic in that it was borrowed from a FOLK-rock group. It features solos in the classic Blackmore-Deep-Purple style. 'Dandelion Wine' and 'Where Are We Going From Here' have that sweet melancholy that is becominng a Blackmore's Night's trademark with vocals sung with lots of feeling. 'Diamonds and Rust' features achingly beautiful vocals from Candace and dreamy slide guitar from Blackmore. "Queen for a Day Part I': I know I'm repeating myself but again great vocals from Candace , a delicate, catchy melody, and lyrics which will touch the depths of your inner soul. 'Queen for a Day Part II features nimble fretwork from Ritchie including an unusual jazzy guitar solo in the middle (where did THAT come from?) 'One For All' lyrically has a brash cockiness to it and could easily have been a Ronnie-James-Dio-penned Rainbow song. One of the best songs on the album (although the rest aren't far behind) it features an intro of bluesy melodic electric guitar played with lots of feeling and throughout the song we are treated to great blues-rock electric guitar playing SIMULTANEOUSLY with ancient, medieval-sounding instruments. This is a whole new genre of music, folks: medieval-folk-blues-rock? Blackmore makes the ancient and the modern fit together seamlessly here, not that he hasn't done it before. 'Ivory Tower' is folksy prog with what sound like monks chanting in the background. Finally, I cannot say enough about the title track. It is a magical, powerful pop-ballad that is vaguely reminiscent of 'Eleanor Rigby' with powerful violins and violas blasting out of the speakers. Yet, it is a much more complex and intricate song than 'Eleanor Rigby' with a lot of intricate interplay among the acoustic guitar and the strings with some distorted electric guitar chords added toward the end. This is s true timeless classic; one of the best songs in the entire Blackmore's Night catalog. Finally, I want to say one of the keys to Blackmore's success with this project has been that while each album he has put out has been based on Medieval and Renaissance-period music, each album also has a distinctly different quality which distinguishes it from the others so that the music never gets repetitive, stale, or boring. "Shadow of the Moon" was essentially a traditional folk album. "Under a Violet Moon" was soft pop with Medieval and Renaissance influences. "Fires at Midnight" was the "plugged-in" Blackmore's Night with powerful percussion, more electric guitars, and more of an overall "rock" feel. "Ghost", meanwhile, has taken the best elements of the past 3 albums and developed and refined them while eliminating the inconsistencies and the occasional sappiness. The result is a Middle European-Middle Eastern blend which will mentally transport you to 16th century Prague and Budapest, take you on a trip sailing the Danube in centuries gone by, and bring to mind images of Morrocco. Highly recommended for open-minded listeners who appreciate high quality music, I will go out on a limb and say this is the best release of the year. No matter that the year isn't over yet; I can't imagine anything coming out that could top this.

This cd is excellent and has become one of my favorite Blackmore's Night Cds and I have all of them. This cd is Modern Medieval music with a touch of rock,instead of Rock with a touch of Medieval which some rock artist tried to do but ultimately failed for fear of rejection from their fans. Ritchie Blackmore has taken rock music to a land where no other rock artist would dare tread. And he has done it very well and has earned my applause repeatedly. Ghost Of A Rose is simply brilliant and original. so what if they did their own versions of other songs, after all this is done in the rock world all too often as well, so why criticize him for it?
I love the addition of the buzzing Kazoo sounds on this cd, it gives the music and even more authentic feel of the medieval ages, and it is done very tastefully. There is not a sour song on the entire cd. Though i love all the songs on the cd, my favorites are Mr Peagram's Morris and Sword, Nur Eine Minute, Ghost Of A Rose, Queen For A Day Pt 1and2, Cartouche, 3 Black Crows and Way to Mandalay. The bonus video track is awesome as well. The visuals are a long awaited welcome. We want more Ritchie and Candice, How about a live DVD for our collections. I highly recommend this cd as well as all the rest of their cd's to anyone who likes Medieval/Renaissance type music.

What shall we call it? How about Dark Age music? No, It isn't dark at all! How about Medieval music? that's closer but not close enough. How about Renaissance music? No, thats to classy sounding. How about Minstrel music? That's very close, wait, I got it (Robin and his) 'Merry Men Music', thats fits great, and beautiful Cadence Night could be the Maid Marion.

Who is Blackmore's Night

Many of you already know and love these ultra talented people known as Blackmore's Night. 'Blackmore' is Ritchie Blackmore, the heralded guitar player and composer whom you may remember from Deep Purple or Blackmore's Rainbow and 'Night' is Ritchie's equally talented fiancee, (they may be married by now, I don't know) Candice Night and boy is she H_O_T! I could fall in love with this girl. If I wasn't already in love, sorry honey.

Now Blackmore, who was born and raised in jolly ole England, though a highly successful rock musician, apparently had alway been interested in the music of his ancestors. The catalyst that convinced Blackmore to change his musical preference is two-fold.

Firstly, Blackmore accidently met the lovely Miss Night in 1989(lucky guy) and after finding out they shared an interest in Medieval folk music among other things, they became an item. Secondly, reception to his last two albums were disappointing, thus leading Blackmore to start tinkering with his "Merry Men" music. Candice fit right in contributing lyrics and as the lead singer.

Blackmore's Night finally released their first album Shadow of the Moon in 1998. They have since released four more albums including one double disc live album, Past Times with Good Company. Ghost of a Rose is the most recent album, released just last month.

If you've happened to have read any of my previous reviews, then you may know that I'm partial to the Ladies, including singers. I have written reviews on groups that have heavenly and powerful voices, like Sharon den Adel, Vibeke Stene and Annie Haslam, from Within Temptation, Tristania and Renaissance, respectively and Candice's voice is not like theirs. Candice's voice is mellow and charming. It fits their type of music perfectly. I like Sharon den Adel's voice for Within Temptation's music and I like Candice's voice just fine for the "Merry Men" music

In all honesty, although many of the songs are wonderful, it's not their most consistent and by extension, not their best album. It is definitely, still a five star album though

Similar Groups or Artists:

Hagalaz Runedance, Loreena McKennit, Enya, Rhea's Obsession

Brilliant. This is Blackmore at his best. His most inspired work to date. "Cartouche", "Loreley" and "All for One" are among his classics. So are "Queen for a Day", "Dandelion Wine", "Way to Mandalay", "3 Black Crows" and the title track. Masterpieces all. One day, this CD (along with the DVD) will be looked back upon as the crowning achievement in the career of Blackmore's Night.

My only negative comment would be to leave off the cheap covers of Joan Baez and Jethro Tull. They pale in comparison to the originals. Particularly on "Rainbow Blues". On the original, Ian sings like his life depends on it. Here, the vocals fall somewhere under the rainbow.

I was concerned that future music would become old and uninspiring. This is not the case. Blackmore's Night keeps getting better. Looking forward to the next CD.

I've been sitting here all morning listening to this album, knowing that I need to write a review for it, but having difficulty doing so. The reason for this as I have narrowed it down; is because I am not only speachless, but dumbfounded. This is an amazing album.
In my first listening, I was not so sure that this album matched up to their previous ones. As I started to become dissilusioned with the album, I sat back from what I was doing, and just listened; and that is what made the difference. As of the time I am typing this review, I have had it in my cd player going on six hours now.
If anyone who reads this is contemplating purchasing this album, I do suggest that you purchase 'Fires at Midnight' before listening to this album. I feel that this will promote a greater appreciation of the musical development. Far be it for me to say that one should not get this album, but if you get the other ones first, you will appreciate this one so much more.
So to sum it up, Blackmore's Night has done it yet again. Let the music live on.

I said in my review to "Fires at Midnight" that I consider both albums to be the best they have made so far. The similarity has been noticed by several reviewers; for some it is a weakness, some endorse enthusiastically. I follow the last trend.I have stopped long ago to always search for something "original", and the whole output by Blackmore's Night is an example of why. Once you find, either as a listener or a creative musician , your way to something well-done and enjoyable, simply continue and follow the paths tried and true.In fairness, this is what Ritchie Blackmore has always done, however he has decided to trun back to acoustic instruments.Ritchie Blackmore,long ago considered one of the best guitar players ever, is nevertheless one of the most traditional musicians ; not at all a revolutionary. He has always followed strictly J.S. Bach , Vivaldi, Paganini (technically speaking), and traditional European music, though most of his life he clothed it with hard riffs played loudly. When he made Blackmore's Night , along with his complement , Candace, he simply switched back to the same music closer to its original shape. By "Fires at Midnight" they had found a good formula for the music and message they wanted to deliver, so they simply followed along the same path. It is possible even that the songs in both albums may have been created close in time.Galician bagpiper wonderboy Carlos Nunez (if you haven't heard him .....start now)has said, "the successful experiment is the one that is firmply rooted in tradition", and the whole output of Blackmore's Night is an example of this.
Now the songs: the album opens with "Way to Mandalay", one of the best songs in Ritchie's lifetime, naturaly with gret lyrics by Candace.Haunting, hypnotic...and has a very good electric riff that fits perfectly the subject of the song."3 Black Crows" is a folksy song with lyrics funny at first, but that should linger in your memory so you may develop a simpler view of life.I went recently to Santiago de Compostela, and just before you reach the Cathedral there's a stone tunnel, and street musicians play there for nickels.This is the kind of music you hear there. When I play this at home or in my car they always ask me to play it again."Diamonds and Rust" is a successful cover, but although this is a great song that has been consistently well served by performers, I still think the best cover of this song is that by Judas Priest.Candace, however, finds her way through this battlehorse and gives us her interpretation convincingly in its straight-forwardness. "Cartouche" is another of their best songs.A fiery gipsy piece. "Queen for a day" follows the same musical trend, but the lyrics are a "fairy-tale" story that wouldn't sound out of place in an old Walt Disney movie."Ivory tower" again may be taken as a "fairy tale" song. Some may find it tiring ; I don't complain over beauty."Ghost of a Rose" is a beautiful love song, like Ritchie and Candace have made it a custom to treat us with. "Loreley" is an interesting song entirely on acoustic, traditional instruments , that tells one of several versions of a medieval German tale (the Loreley cliff actually exists in the Rive Rhine, and it's still a dangerous point along the river route). A good song to sing and dance along."Where are we going from here" is suitable for a cold winter night, or for those times in life when you seem to go nowhere. "Rainbow Blues" is a cover from an old Jethro Tull song, but as much as Ian Anderson is an excellent musician, who , like Ritchie Blackmore , combines strict Bach with some Bluesy flavour,this cover is in my opinion much better than the original. Another proof that Candace may build her own interpretation of a given song and share it more than convincingly.Some listeners by now feel there's just no variety, but that's just because an excelent song has been followed by another.....and another,and another. This is by no means a bad thing."All for one" is a great sing along with powerful beat, good Ritchie Blackmore riffs (suited for Candace's voice).....and "blowing" bagpipes to round up an already moving song. The album closes softly, like a gathering of old friends, with a song about friends long missed , joyfully met, and sorrily fared well in hope for a future "wieder-sehen". "Dandelion Wine" is a song you may play when you meet a life-long friend, and old love, or when you wish they all were here.All-accoustic, simple but effective instrumentation consisting of guitar, pipe (I can't tell if it's metal or reed)and tambourine.
As all other Blackmore's Night albums, this is not to be missed. And one you will always carry next to you.