Blackmore's Night
Beyond The Sunset: The Romantic Collection

December 2004
Released: 2004, SPV / Steamhammer / Playground Music
Rating: 1.0/5
Reviewer: Anders Sandvall

Ritchie Blackmore is a true rock legend and a ground breaking guitar player with acts like Deep Purple and Rainbow, so I don’t think that any further introduction of this guitar hero is needed. Blackmore’s Night have released four albums and Blackmore’s partner in crime this time is his wife Candice Night. I’ve never been a big fan of this man and I haven’t heard much of Blackmore’s night. The bio I was given says that this band does a unique mix of rock, folk and, believe it or not, medieval music. It claims that Blackmore’s Night have created a brand new genre that have given them success in both Scandinavia and the rest of Europe.



Apparently the bands four albums include a lot of beautiful love songs which they have gathered on this new album. Fourteen songs are featured here, made up mostly of tracks from previous albums. There is one brand new original track called “Once In A Million Years”, a remix of the track “All Because Of You” and a re-recording of “Ghost Of Rose”. All three tracks must be put there to make the album more appealing for the fans to buy.



Blackmore seems to have left his electric guitar at home because he only plays acoustic on the album, with electric guitar used only occasionally. The biggest part of the soundscape belongs to his wife. The songs are pure ballads influenced by medieval music. If I got it right it’s Blackmore and Night have written the music and lyrics on the fourteen tracks, Pat Regan did the production. The album production sounds like the theme music to a Disney movie, a musical or something like that.



This boring album is just a yawn and on top of that it’s slow too. The fact that Mr. Blackmore is a legend doesn’t excuse this musical fiasco. This album can only be recommended to hardcore fans and not for anyone else. Not one of the fourteen tracks sticks to your brain. These songs are only good for one thing – to sleep to.



The first edition of the album features a bonus DVD with five live songs taken from a show in Solingen, Germany earlier this year. The tracks are a preview of the Blackmore’s Night DVD that will be released later this year.



I couldn’t tell you the albbum line-up because there was none in the bio that I was sent.