UNDER A VIOLET MOON

While it's all very pleasant, much of "In a Violet Moon" sounds like rote medieval music, and lacks any sort of edge that you might expect in medieval folk. It is just TOO mellow! Nonetheless, the singing and playing is of high quality throughout, and several tracks do distinguish themselves. "Morning Star" adds an Eastern European flavour; "Possum Goes to Prague" is a minute-long testament to Blackmore's prowess on acoustic instrumentation; "Wind in the Willows" contains a beautiful melody and features ex-Strawb John Ford on vocals; "Gone with the Wind" shows that Blackmore can still play lead guitar; "Spanish Nights" is a fast paced Spanish guitar driven piece with a catchy chorus; and "Self Portrait" is a more "down" song than most, but still featuring stellar instrumentation.

While it is hard to rate "Under a Violet Moon" less than 3 stars for all the quality within, given the "ancient by numbers" approach of much of the album, it is also hard to give more than 3 stars even when looking at it through violet coloured glasses.