Blackmore´s Night

 

Shadow of the moon - excelente begining, tracing the lines for the group and their future work. 4/5 (in Blackmore's Night terms, of course)

 

Under a violet moon - more electric than the first one. Forget the usual silly lyrics. Don't understand the bad impression some of you have about this album, that is their best. Listen to Spanish Nights and the guitar soklo in Gone wit the wind. A forgettable Candice ballad is the weak point of this album - 4,5/5

 

Fires at midnight - a lot of electric guitars, but the tunes star to repeat themselves a lot. More forgettable ballads. 3/5

 

Past times with good company - a great deception. Boring in most parts, this double album doesn't reflect the real energy of this band playing live. Only the cover of Sixteen Century Greensleeves saves the album. 2,5/5

 

Ghost of a rose - I expect for the worst after the previous albums, but this one is far better than Fires at midnight. Diverse moods (not the "more of the same" thing that bores me in their playing in the live album) and a good cover of Tull's rainbow Blues. 3,5/5

 

Castles and Dreams DVD - absolutely necessary even for the casual listener. This is a huge improvement after the disapointment of Past times... It's a complete show, full of energy, dynamic and a band very excited with their playing. Ritchie still captures the atention for him, even when he's playing an almost audible acoustic guitar (that lies under the keyboard and violin sounds in many songs). Candice talks a lot, what it's boring, but you'll survive. Only flaw: an unecessary Black Might at the end of the show. Why not one or two rainbow tunse? And Candice's Soldier of fortune is too weak. But it's a wondeful show with a bonus DVD full of information. 4,5/5

 

I hope this comments can help you.