Blackmore’s Night’s second DVD release filmed in Paris last year, documents the band on the tail end of the 2006 Village Lanterne tour.

Unlike the previous DVD release, this is not a package with endless hours of footage from various shows and apart from one short and relatively disappointing documentary the rest of the DVD is merely one well shot and recorded performance.

It also happens to be a very good performance, and after only a couple of viewings, is somewhat devoid of the overdubs and sanitised production that ‘Castles And Dreams’ suffered from. It is a very accurate representation of a Blackmore’s Night show- one in which Blackmore is on good form, as indeed are the rest of the band.

Many of the recent shows have seen Blackmore taking more of a back seat and while this gig doesn’t see him dominate the stage in the way that he once did, there are more moments of magic in this performance than the average BN gig from the past 2- 3 years. 

As has become a familiar pattern at recent shows its the expected songs of Ariel (performed on the Strat), and Fires At Midnight that are without doubt the pick of the bunch. But there are other fabulous moments, particularly when Ritchie spontaneously slips into an enticing version of ‘Blues.’ At the same time listening to it does make it all the more frustrating that he has never committed to making the blues album that at various intervals in his career he regularly suggested he would. 

The concert was also one of the last shows to feature bassist Bob Curiano, who has been with the band since 2000. That might explain the lengthy bass solo during the instrumental “Bachhaus.” If this was the first bit of the DVD you saw, you could be forgiven for thinking this was some prog rock outfit, and during the solo Curiano even sneaks in the riff to Kashmir. 

With several songs played on electric guitar, plus the inclusion of numbers such as Purple’s ‘Soldier Of Fortune’, Joan Baez’s ‘Diamonds And Rust’ and Jethro Tull’s ‘Rainbow Blues’; for those who have misconceptions that Blackmore’s Night plays mediaeval music they should check out this DVD. Make no mistake BN is as much a pop-cum-rock band than it is a renaissance inspired acoustic group. 

The DVD closes with a strong version of the title track of the album it promotes with Candice Night putting in a particularly fine performance. For those who have discarded Blackmore’s change in directions this release might well surprise many of those cynics and critics. (JB)