Blackmore's Night
Album: All Our Yesterdays
Label: Frontiers Music
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.blackmoresnight.com

Adopting a theme of drawing on the past, living in the present, and looking towards the future, the latest collection from Richie Blackmore and Candice Night continues to underline their preeminent status as contemporary revivalists of medieval folk with a rock sensibility.

It's an interesting mix of songs and instrumentals that opens with the sprightly title track, about having to let go of the past and move on, a gypsy flavoured romp that draws on Night's Russian roots before moving to a brace of instrumentals. Reflecting Blackmore's Welsh heritage - and the international nature of music - 'Allan yn y Fan' is a fiddle driven tune with a Welsh title written by a German while the six-minute 'The Darker Shade of Black' is an altogether moodier Blackmore-penned piece built around mournful violin and, towards the end, harpsichord and acoustic and electric guitars.

There's an interesting trio of covers, this time round. First up is a lovely arrangement of former Linda Ronstadt hit, 'Long Long Time', written by Gary White, featuring a Renaissance flavoured backdrop of woodwind and acoustic guitar. That's followed by a fairly faithful 'Moonlight Shadow', the song penned by Mike Oldfield and the Pet Shop Boys, Night's voice soaring over military beat snares, with the third being an unlikely, but stirring version of Sonny & Cher classic, 'I Got You Babe'. Rather than the usual duet, this is sung solely by Night with harmonies from band member Lady Lynn and given a stately Maypole Dance treatment, with wheezing hurdy gurdy and a ringing tubular bells. While nothing tops the original, this definitely knocks the UB40 version into third place.

It's back to self-penned material and medieval colours for afterlife-themed folk dance 'The Other Side' with its tumbling hand percussion, hurdy gurdy and choral backing vocals , followed by the resonant short acoustic guitar instrumental 'Queen's Lament' before 'Where Are We Going From Here' reworks one of their older songs from a ballad into a far rockier version (albeit still with a brief Renaissance interlude) with Blackmore's guitar work recalling his Purple and Rainbow days.

In the final stretch, Night bangs the tambourine for 'Will O' The Wisp', another lively jig-styled track with a supernatural theme, before shifting to mellower notes with the shawms-embellished acoustic ballad 'Earth Wind And Sky' and then returning for another jig as a deftly picked mandola introduces the energetic hand-clapping, thigh-slapping Celtic hued 'Coming Home', everything shifting up a register for the final rousing flurry.

I've seen some rather sniffy reviews, some suggesting Night's voice isn't what it was. Ignore such carping, their musical doublet and hose is in as fine a fettle as ever.

Mike Davies