SHADOW OF THE MOON

After reading about Blackmore's Night in PA and finally seeing (in library as always...) the lovely art work and beauty of Mrs. Candice I expected a real discovery of folk prog. In deed it could have been a great act, a sort of Amazing Blondel with a lady singer; acoustic, beautiful, uncommercial folk-based music with perhaps some Gryphonesque ancient touch or other delicacies known from English folk prog... But it's SO much 'ready-chewed' 'easy- listening' product in the same way as things like "Gregorian" CD's or Era or Adiemus in its worst. Safety over true artistic vision. About an hour and 15 tracks of 'nice' music, but most of the folkish feel is buried under the super market production style and too many songs are basically just boring naive songs that sound quite the same from start to end.

Could that horrible disco-like track that starts ridiculously with a Tchaikovsky tune be there only to remind how much more awful the whole album could have been? Two things are the main reason I don't appreciate this album much: monotonous tambourine and synth background. They make it sound fake and calculated, done for masses of uneducated ears. Renaissance track 'Ocean Gypsy' and one with Ian Anderson on flute are among the better ones, a couple of instrumentals too. I'm often easily lured by romantic attitude and escapism from modern times (Ritchie and Candice dressed up like bards etc), but this music only mocks what it could have been. I'm sure in time I'll care even less of it, so 2* are enough.