Paris Moon (CD/DVD) Iowa City IA

Paris Moon (CD/DVD)

Blackmore's Night

Minstrell Hall Music, 2007

REVIEW BY: David Bowling

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 02/07/2008

Blackmore’s Night was an under the radar group until last summer when I received free tickets for one of their concerts in North Carolina. At the end of their three hour performance, I was a fan, and began assembling their back catalogue.

Ritchie Blackmore, hard rock guitarist of Deep Purple and Rainbow fame, and singer Candace Night, of blonde hair fame and possessor of one the purest voices in music, have combined in Blackmore’s Night to create a unique rock-renaissance sound – think of a rock band playing before Elizabeth I. The sound can be quirky and offbeat on occasion but can also be beautiful and stunning as well as interesting most of the time.

Paris Moon is a DVD + CD set. The DVD is the heart of the set as it presents a Blackmore’s Night concert recorded at the Olympia Theatre in Paris. This is an entire concert and not a piecemeal, spliced approach that you get from too many artists’ concert releases. As such, this disc gives the viewer and listening an accurate picture of what the group is all about.

Is the DVD as good as seeing them live? No. There is nothing like a live performance for almost any group, but this is still a better live release than most. Paris Moon comes with good packaging, clear sound and production, plus an informative booklet.