Product Description

For a decade, Candice Night, Ritchie Blackmore, and their fellow band of minstrels have crafted an enchanting folk/rock sound with Renaissance overtones that has earned them the devotion of fans around the globe. Over the course of five high internationally charting studio albums, several live and compilation releases, numerous awards and many sold-out tours around the planet, they have truly perfected their signature blend of music. The band continues to tour around the globe and this brand new DVD, filmed at the famous Olympia in Paris, France is a celebration of the past 10 years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33753 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-11-06
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Color, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 128 minutes

Amazon.com
If you still can't deal with the fact that the dude who played the solos on "Smoke on the Water" and "Highway Star" is the same guy who now stands on stage wearing Robin Hood boots, plucking a lute, and cranking a hurdy-gurdy, it's time to get over it--the release of Paris Moon roughly coincides with the tenth anniversary of Blackmore's Night, making it apparent that former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore is intent on sticking with his goal of bringing music with a Renaissance flavor to a wider audience. He and his troupe of lords and ladies are doing a swell job of it, too. There's a fine line between credibility and risibility here. The two-hour concert's Ye Olde vibe, what with song titles like "The Village Lanterne" and band members sporting names like Bard David of Larchmont and Squire Malcolm of Lumley (to say nothing of the fellow in a rabbit suit who wanders onstage during "Minstrel Hall"), almost invites ridicule. But the Blackmore's Night sound, which evokes comparisons to the likes of world musician Loreena McKennitt and acoustic Jethro Tull (indeed, Ian Anderson made a guest appearance on their first album, and his "Rainbow Blues" is performed here) and ranges from the 12th Century ("Fires at Midnight") to Joan Baez ("Diamonds and Rust") and, yes, Deep Purple ("Soldier of Fortune"), is often powerful and evocative, especially when its disparate elements come together on "World of Stone" and several others. Candice Night, Blackmore's partner in music and life (she makes a wry reference to his three, count 'em, divorces), is a likeable frontwoman and a good if not especially distinctive lead vocalist, and the musicians are all first-rate--especially Blackmore, who brings out his Stratocaster for some heavy riffage on "Ariel," "Loreley," and "Saint Teresa" but otherwise confines himself to acoustic instruments. The audience helps, too, clapping and singing along and turning the occasion into a veritable Renaissance Faire. A brief (about nine minutes) documentary is the principal special feature; the package also includes an 11-track audio CD with songs from the concert and two bonus tracks. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

Meet Me in Paris......
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 & Dreams"!
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
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.