Ritchie Blackmore

From the legendary hands of Ritchie Blackmore, the man that brought the world its most famous and often-played riff (that being Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water"), comes another musical journey through European history. The songwriting duo of Blackmore and vocalist Candice Night offer their seventh album of Renaissance-inspired rock meets new age pop, Secret Voyage. Utilizing a wide array of instrumentation such as guitars, strings, mandolin, Swedish fiddle and hurdy gurdy, Blackmore's Night borrow from traditional, medieval folk arrangements to create a batch of songs that comes across as enchanting at times, and a bit cheesy at others.

The climactic "God Save The Keg" could easily be the score to any film featuring a knight in shining armor, while standouts like "Locked Within The Crystal Ball" and the Russian-born "Toast To Tomorrow" could serve as dance floor hits at your local Renaissance fair. The album's most traditional English folk music moments come from "Sister Gypsy" and "Empty Words;" both of which simultaneously show off Black's diva-like voice and Blackmore's multi-instrumental skills. Revisiting Ritchie's Rainbow years, Secret Voyage includes a folked-out revision of "Rainbow Eyes," as well as a rather unnecessary take on "Can't Help Falling In Love," as made famous by Elvis Presley.

Were one to judge this disc by the amount of talent and knowledge that went into crafting its songs, Secret Voyage would be a contender for album of the year. It would stand as no easy feat to take centuries old melodies and translate them into more contemporary arrangements. The end result of Blackmore and Night’s work is an impressive one indeed, just not one that would carry over to a mainstream audience. Fans who have picked up on the act over its 11-year history will surely love Secret Voyage for the mesmerizing soundscape that it is. Anyone else will probably be left scratching their heads.

–Ryan Ogle
09.01.08