Blackmore's Night: Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

Posted 12/05/2012 at 12:24pm | by Will Wallner

Ritchie Blackmore

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I decided to write a blog post dedicated to Ritchie Blackmore.

Everyone knows who is. He's the guy who wrote probably the best-known guitar riff of all time.

So what's he doing now? You probably know he has a project with his wife, Candice Night, appropriately titled Blackmore's Night. I'd like to dispel some misconceptions about this extremely creative project.

My target audience includes people from the so-called "metal community" who seem to judge this project with extreme bias. I hope after reading this that young metal guitarists and fans in general might broaden their musical tastes and develop beyond the strict confines of "metal."

I recently saw a review for Blackmore's Night's latest release, A Knight in York, and was surprised at the user comments posted in reply to the review. Many said something like this: "I wish Blackmore would pick up his Strat and play electric again."

I should point out this was a metal news website, and I have seen many similar comments posted on rock/metal websites all over the Internet. It's sad to say, but this proves people will pass judgement without ever actually listening to the music. If those people had bothered to listen, they would hear that Blackmore actually plays a lot of electric guitar in Blackmore's Night and actually has recorded some of his best solos on Blackmore's Night albums.

On a side note, it would be interesting to know what his current electric setup is. I don't believe he uses Marshalls, but he still has the tone of a guitar god! To get you started here are three songs I suggest you listen to that have some amazing guitar work from Blackmore.

"Locked Within The Crystal Ball" (Secret Voyage): This is a very catchy song with strong melodies. Its almost a rock song, and Blackmore's solos throughout could have been recorded when he was in 20s and proves he's lost none of his fire.

"Street of Dreams" (The Village Lantern): This is a cover of the Rainbow classic and has some very tasty guitar solos, particularly in the outro solo.

"Fires at Midnight" (Fires At Midnight): Like all Blackmore's Night songs, the vocal melody is strong and always the focus of the composition. The song builds toward what is, in my opinion, one of the best guitar solos recorded in the last 20 years.

Listen to these songs and see if you can develop an appreciation for the music. Notice how each song is built around a strong melody. Surprisingly this is something that seems to have been lost within modern metal bands whose songs seem to be built around production techniques.

Very few musicians have had a career as long as Blackmore, and many fewer have managed to maintain their musical integrity without becoming a nostalgia act. He continues to create new original music and keeps growing as a musician. If you look at his peers, he almost stands alone in this respect. If you ask anyone, no matter what age, to hum a piece of classical music, the majority will sing the opening from Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Hundreds of years from now, if you ask someone to sing a rock song they will sing the intro to "Smoke On The Water."

Many guitar players are considered legends, but few will be remembered hundreds of years from now, and that's something very important to consider. Most of us would rather not think about it, but we will all die eventually, and with that in mind, you realize that what's important is the legacy you leave behind. That's why I believe Blackmore will go down in history as the greatest rock guitarist of all time.

Next week, I will talk about the gradual loss of blues influence within modern heavy metal guitar players. Cheers!

Will Wallner is a guitarist from England now living in Los Angeles. He is the lead guitarist for White Wizzard (Earache Records) and in 2012 toured Japan, America and Canada. He recently signed a solo deal with Polish record label Metal Mind Productions for the release of his debut album, which features some of the most influential musicians from hard rock/heavy metal. Follow Will on Facebook and Twitter.

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BNFan

January 19, 2013 at 10:35pm

I love Blackmore's Night so dang much I can't see straight. They have some of the most beautiful, creative and inspiring music. It's a shame anyone would deny themselves listening to something so fun and new just because it doesn't involve headbanging and Blackmore wears garb. Listening to just one genre of music is so boring and unhealthy. Branch out! You'll find out something new about yourself!

I just wish that BN visited the states more often with tours. I've been a fan for years but I've yet to see them live. I so long to see them live but it looks like I will have to travel to friggin Europe to do so!

WWallner

January 19, 2013 at 8:41pm

Ritchie Blackmores Official Facebook just posted this - excellent.

mklotz

December 10, 2012 at 6:32pm

I like it always have. Some folks have to let go and try something new. Great guitar isnt always metal.

RatBatBlu

December 05, 2012 at 5:30pm

I've been a fan of Blackmore's Night since the first album came out and a fan of Ritchie's since '79. I absolutely love this band and saw them in Cleveland, Ohio in October, '99. Met Ritchie for the third time after that show and he was such an incredibly great guy as he was the other times I'd met him.

Ritchie talked about doing a project like this to Kerrang! back in '87, before he ever knew Candice and if you listen to songs like Stargazer, A Light In The Black, Catch The Rainbow, Gates of Babylon and Rainbow Eyes (which Blackmore's Night has redone along with Sixteenth Century Greensleeves and Deep Purple's Soldier of Fortune) then you can plainly hear the influence was always there, just a little louder than it is now!

As for amps, he has a signature head made by Engl, though with BN he uses an Engl combo live as well as on the albums.

For those who'd rather hear him play with Deep Purple and Rainbow, well you have a vast back catalog to choose from but they should really sit down a give BN a chance.

BCarr5150

December 05, 2012 at 5:21pm

With tastes in classical as well as metal, I always wanted to check out Blackmore's Night, but hadn't until a few weeks ago when I grabbed the Winter Carols CD. Really cool, beautiful music. Love your video posts - didn't know they re-recorded Street of Dreams, one of my favorite songs. Sadly, with internet comments, you might be as likely to get comments on the attractiveness of Candice than on the fantastic music.

progfan

December 05, 2012 at 4:56pm

Thank you for posting these. I'm a big 70's hard rock fan, and I'm into medieval history, so it's not a stretch for me to dig this, but I never got around to checking it out. True, I like Rainbow better than Blackmore's Night, but I like Led Zeppelin better than Rainbow, doesn't meant I can't like them both. A lot of metal fans get so wrapped up in their music being harder, heavier, and faster, and dismiss anything that isn't "metal". If they simply didn't like songs that weren't metal, it would be one thing. But a lot of them say you're a p***y if you listen to anything BUT metal. I never understood that.

guitarmorseknopfler

December 05, 2012 at 4:20pm

The music is quite good, but personally i still prefer his work with Deep Purple. that said, i am a glad he still manages to keep his career going with new music, while his departure from deep purple allowed steve morse to get some of the spotlight, finally giving him some well deserved fame for his guitar skills.

WWallner

December 05, 2012 at 3:59pm

Kmoed: Thank you for your great comment! I'm glad to hear you listen to BN. I really want to see them live but i'm in Los Angeles and they rarely tour close to me. I think I will plan a trip to Germany the next time they play there. Cheers

kmoed

December 05, 2012 at 2:55pm

Great Article!!
I refused to listen to Blackmore's Night for many years since their inception for the same closed minded reasons as others. Being a huge Blackmore fan I finally relented and picked up Secret Voyage. It is an album that sits in my top 10 now, and the rest of the catalog is fantastic as well. There is plenty electric work in their material from Blackmore, that stands up to everything he has done in the past.If your a fan of Blackmore you are doing youself a disservice by not picking these up, Is it Deep Purple or Rainbow? No, It is something new that's really, really good, YES!

Blackmore's Night: Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

Blackmore's Night: Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

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BNFan

WWallner

mklotz

RatBatBlu

BCarr5150

progfan

guitarmorseknopfler

WWallner

kmoed

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