Search - Blackmore's Night - Paris Moon (DVD/CD) on DVD

Meet Me in Paris......

John J. Toutant | Southern New Jersey, USA | 11/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Once upon a crisp winter's eve, I stood outside a brightly lit theater in New Jersey, dressed in my finest medieval garb. A local approached me, and asked me what band was playing that night. "Blackmore's Night", I replied. The quizzical look on the person's face indicated to me that she was not familiar with the band. So I added, "If rock and roll was played 500 years ago, it would sound like their music... you could call it Renaissance Rock." With a look of understanding, the person smiled, and went on down the street.

Blackmore's Night has been the purveyor of "Renaissance Rock" for ten years now, and shows no signs of slowing down. From America, to Japan, the UK, Germany, and Eastern Europe, Ritchie Blackmore, Candice Night, and their fellow minstrels have been filling the night air with lovely music, new and old, original and borrowed, for their appreciative fans, and for all others, too. It is difficult to convey to the uninitiated what feelings a Blackmore's Night concert imparts to dyed-in-the-wool fans such as myself.... the soaring vocals, the exquisite guitar mastery, the love and passion that is infused into each note, all lending to camaraderie, good cheer, good humor, and an all-around joie de vivre that is poured out like sparkling wine at each BN show.

Paris Moon is no exception to BN's earlier labors of love. This DVD and CD combination was recorded in Paris, France, in late 2006. BN's earlier two-DVD release, Castles and Dreams, gave an inside glance at their enchanting castle concerts in Germany, with imposing walls and natural twilight furnishing the backdrop to their magical performance. I submit to you that Paris Moon is the "flip side" of Castles and Dreams. Shot in a lovely theater, Paris Moon's 20 DVD tracks are a musical tour de force... the spectacular cinematography, lighting, and sound recording blew me away; they make me long for the wide-screen TV and surround-sound home theater that my wife says I can't have.

With selections from CD's old and new, Paris Moon is sure to please long-time fans of BN, and is bound to create some new fans, too. The songs that especially touched me were World of Stone (with Joan of Arc as subject matter, how can you go wrong?), Diamonds and Rust (a cover of Joan Baez; Candice Night has made this song her own!), and Renaissance Faire (as an unrepentant Ren Faire enthusiast, what would you expect?). And for the Deep Purple and Rainbow fans among us, yes, Ritchie's Stratocaster was spotted on this DVD! He used it to especially good effect on Ariel, Loreley, and the intro to Saint Theresa. Ritchie also demonstrated his mastery of an odd-looking, odd-sounding, non-Fender instrument, known as a hurdy-gurdy, on the BN standard The Clock Ticks On.

This DVD also offers an insightful documentary of BN's Paris show, and an enchanting photo gallery of the tour set to Candice Night's rendition of Streets of London in flawless French. These were pleasant bonuses, not unlike a rich chocolate dessert after a fine gourmet dinner!

The CD with this set most certainly did not disappoint. It reprises nine of the songs from the DVD, and throws in two bonus tracks, The Village Lantern and All Because of You. I think the band gave us the CD, to dissuade their fans from trying to watch the DVD while driving down the road.

BN fans, buy this set to round out your collection. Everyone else, buy this set to start your BN collection. Or, come over to my place... as long as you bring some chocolate!


"

In some respects---heresy, I know---BETTER than "Castles & D

Vince Palamara | South Park/Bethel Park, PA | 11/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don't get me wrong: I love "Castles & Dreams" and all things Blackmore, as well, but, dare I say it, I find this DVD a tad BETTER than the last Blackmore's Night DVD. Why? I think the main performance is more inspired and VIRTUOSO in its depth: longer solos and more keyboard interplay. Unlike the band Kansas, not having the violin does *not* detract from this band in the least. In actual fact,Ritchie's amazing guitar---and the other musicians, too---shine even more without the addition of a violin player. Particular standouts are "World Of Stone", "Fires at Midnight", "Ariel", and even "Home Again", a track I felt was cute but kind of lame on the studio version.
I must admit that, when I first saw the track listing and so on, without having viewed the DVD yet, I thought Ritchie and Co. were merely "biding time" until another substantive release was forthcoming (and, yes, I also felt, again without having seen the DVD yet, that "Castles & Dreams" HAD to be the better of the two, was more definitive, and, frankly, "why bother"?). I was wrong. Get this asap!"

Something unforgettable

Ivan Canals Arranz | Spain | 11/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had the chance of going to that concert last year and was something unforgettable. Everyone was really excited and all of us enjoyed the lovely songs of Blackmore's Night. Their medieval melodies took us to another dimension and we fell in love with the lovely voice of Candice Night and the sounds played by Ritchie Blackmore. In this pack you will get the whole concert in a DVD and also a cd with some live tracks to catch the magic of the concert. You won't get disappointed."

Castles and Dreams, Definitely

John T. Ciappetta | 11/27/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"First, let me say, "I believe that Blackmore's Night is head and shoulders above 'any' musical recording artist of the past ten years!" I wish they would stick with renaissance flavoured music and leave the hard rock to a minimum! Granted, Ritchie Blackmore is a genius at his craft. The whole band is terrific, (Bard David, Squire Malcolm, Sir Robert! All the best at their art!) including the loveable 'Sisters of the Moon', and Candice is the best lead vocal in a generation! Perhaps had I not enjoyed "Castles and Dreams" over and over again before watching this performance then maybe I would have liked this concert better. But I am not a Blackmore's Night fan because of "Soldier of Fortune" for example. I am a fan because of songs like "Queen For A Day" and "Mid Winter's Night", etc.. That's what I and my wife truly love about this band!"