The Village Lanterne

Blackmore's Night

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 4, 2006)
• Original Release Date: April 4, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Steamhammer Us
• ASIN: B000EMG954
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,768 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. 25 Years

2. Village Lanterne

3. I Guess It Doesn't Matter

4. The Messenger

5. World Of Stone

6. Faerie Queen

7. St. Teresa

8. Village Dance

9. Mond Tanz / Child In Time

10. Streets Of London

11. Just Call My Name

12. Olde Mill Inn

13. Windmills

14. Street Of Dreams

15. Call It Love (bonus performed by Candice Night)

16. Street Of Dreams (bonus featuring Joe Lynn Turner)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Individuality and true musical greatness are marked by an artist who follows his own intuition, without being influenced by other people’s expectations; Ritchie Blackmore’s integrity may occasionally seem strange, if not indeed doubtful to many a Deep Purple and Rainbow fan but it shows that he is one of the best and most exceptional contemporary musicians in every respect. With his band, Blackmore´s Night, featuring his partner, the vocalist Candice Night, Blackmore has certainly not broken with his previous creative forms of expression. Quite the opposite: the songs on his current album, The Village Lanterne, document unmistakably that there’s still the rock musician inside him. But Blackmore has not remained static in his development, he has allowed his penchant for medieval music, which already shone through on many of his hard rock compositions, to culminate in his very own, unique style of music. On The Village Lanterne, Blackmore´s Night combine great vocal melodies, seemingly archaic instrumentations and virtuoso guitar parts with lyrics that allow the listener to dive deep into a mysterious, romantic world. In the process, Blackmore continues to develop his ability as a composer and instrumentalist without ever denying his former artistic identity. Mond Tanz/Child In Time is the resurrection of one of Deep Purple’s greatest hits in a new guise, and Street Of Dreams is a haunting new edition of the Rainbow classic. Both songs represent the close artistic links to Blackmore’s work in the Seventies and Eighties. At the same time, Just Call My Name, St. Teresa or I Guess It Doesn’t Matter show that his rock musician’s heart remains ever-present in his new compositions. On the title track and on Faerie Queen, Candice Night seems to blend together with Blackmore’s acoustic guitar, while 25 Years displays oriental influences. Then there are wonderful moments, such as the folkloric instrumental numbers The Messenger, Village Dance! and the beguiling World Of Stone, Olde Mill Inn and Windmills. The album is rounded off by a new version of Ralph McTell’s Streets Of London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another essential Blackmore's Night album, April 4, 2006

By	Murat Batmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Blackmore's Night return with a brand new album titled The Village Lanterne, in some ways their most realized effort. After several releases and years of touring together, Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night seem to have a more clear idea of what they want to do with their music, and where to take it. Especially Candice Night has grown and improved immensely both as a lyricist and singer. Her voice is more mature now, with a distinct sense of confidence and passion. She sings with sheer emotion and conviction through the whole album, proving she's a key element in the unique sound of Blackmore's Night. As for Ritchie Blackmore, no words would do justice to describe his talents and songwriting skills, let alone his distinctive tone and phrasing he puts behind his compositions.

For those of you not familiar with Blackmore's Night (however unlikely that may be), they play an impressive style of Renaissance era music, combining it with elements of new age, folk, rock, and blues, among others. Though heavily acoustic guitar driven, their songs blend a rich array of mandolins, violins, cellos, tambourines, drums, trumpets, bagpipes, and keyboards. Still retaining the classic Blackmore's Night sound, The Village Lanterne is arguably their most modern-sounding release to date. This seems to be because of the recording techniques they employed in the studio, rendering some of the pieces noticeably more contemporary than their earlier work. They are not omnipresent, however. It's more like the band and producer Pat Regan decided to incorporate some new textures and a heavier focus on atmospherics on some tracks. Songs like "Olde Village Lanterne" and "I Guess It Doesn't Matter Anymore" are both marked with effective rhythmic patterns, particularly in the way the drums and percussion are played. Aside from that though, the songs are your typical Blackmore's Night numbers, highlighted by Night's convincing voice and Blackmore's crystal-clean acoustic guitar, both worth dying for. The symphonic backdrop on "The Olde Village Lanterne" lends it an ethereal new age vibe (thanks to its creative arrangement) while Blackmore fuses wonderful blues licks with 16th century folk melodies on its successor.

As with previous albums, there are mini instrumentals present on The Village Lanterne as well. "The Messenger" merges Blackmore's love for new age and acoustic guitars, utilising subtle keys and orchestral motifs; while "Village Dance" is a more laidback yet more direct acoustic number. Much like these two tracks, "Mond Tanz" (Moon Dance) is the first instrumental part of the band's "Child in Time" rework on track nine. The instrumental piece starts out as a happy, upbeat cut, secretly slipping into the classic Deep Purple anthem, where Candice Night's harmony vocals are so beautiful you may want to freeze. Blackmore throws out full-on blues-inflected riffs before the band goes back to the playfulness of "Mond Tanz" to wrap the piece up. Another "cover" song on the album is the special bonus track "Street of Dreams", found only on the Japanese import of the album. This one features Blackmore's counterpart Joe Lynn Turner, who exchanges verses with Candice Night. The two singers duet, harmonise, and swap choruses, while Blackmore plays an enchanting lead solo with a medieval touch.

Candice Night's vocals on the emotional "Once In A Garden" recall her pure yet powerful performance on the debut album Shadow of the Moon, still a personal favourite of mine. The chanting-like male back vocals and Celtic bagpipe melodies on "World of Stone" and the almost-live performed "Olde Mill Inn", or the hard-rocking "St. Teresa" all help diversify the album, with impressive results.

The Japanese version of the CD contains the aforementioned essential bonus track with Joe Lynn Turner, two booklets (the black and white one being in Japanese) and a neat packaging with a nice sticker. Though Shadow of the Moon and Fires At Midnight will remain on top of many fans's lists, I believe The Village Lanterne will make a great addition to the Blackmore's Night discography.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ritchie and Candice Weave the Magic Yet Again, April 5, 2006

By	Monkdude (Hampton, Virginia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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I have been a fan of Blackmore's Night for awhile now, and I own all the group's albums and the DVD released last year. I really enjoyed Village Lanterne for the same reasons I liked everything else they have done. If you already like the band, you will not be disappointed in the least with the songs found on this disc. The music is beautiful, melodic, and will sweep your mind off to enchanted worlds.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime Serenade!, May 11, 2006

By	John A Lee III "jal3" (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I've loved this duo ever since I first learned of them. Ritchie Blackmore is a virtuosos with the guitar. He can play rock but he plays this stuff even better. "This Stuff" has a definite renaissance flair to it but it sometimes turns to rock as well. It is all excellent, unexpected and well done. I would buy just for the instrumentals...but there is more.

Candice Night is the other half of this duo. She is a delight to the eyes but that is not the reason for any man over 18 to buy an album. She is also a gifted singer with skill and a method of delivery that fits this style to a tee. She has some instrumental skills as well on period wind instruments. For her voice alone, also, this would be great recording.

Fortunately, they work together and the result is sublime. It is beauty. It is among my favorites.