THE VILLAGE LANTERNE

Well, the least we can say is that our legendary Ritchie has the persistence and drive to pump out new albums regularly, even if they pretty well all sound the same. If this writer keeps writing reviews about a band that he alreadu said most of what he had to say, it is because his status of prog folk specialist entices him to review albums that fall onto this sub-genre and therefore the cheesy Anglo-Saxon groups (BN and Mostly Autumn) just scratching the surface of the genre, but monopolizing too much of the spotlight are highly irritating as they are obscuring much worthier groups. But this is only one small reason why I do review them, the main fact is that the albums are widely available and after also available in the library system, hence the occasion is there.

So onwards for Blackmood's new adventures in his fantasy world with his Fair Lady in tow. I guess our friend Ritchie must by now invested in a dairy farm dependence to a castle lost in the middle of the mountains, because each new album brings their loads of clichés and the load of cheese delivered is ever increasing as well. The fact that more and more of their drumming is synthetic is also not helping out my opinion, and pretty soon, given his direction, he'll be knocking on Rondo Veniziano's door for assistance. Well I guess I'm overdoing it a tad, but I'm just trying to stress a point that an old dog like him should avoid. Another irritating thing are those liner notes almost justifying each track's coming too. I mean do you really want to explain your blunders or even how you got your "brilliant ideas".

Really, the album sometimes sink into the insufferably cheesy clichés, almost drawing to the ridicule, if it was not for the old axeman's pure virtuosity and highly emotional playing (his acoustic guitar on The Messenger is divine but ruined by the arrangements around it), but there are some rather pleasant tracks as well: the enthralling World of Stone (but I might be influenced by Candice's portrait holding an instrument, right next to the track's lyrics ;-), the surprisingly strong St Teresa, and Windmills.

BTW, the reprise of Purple's Child In Time and Rainbow cheesy hit Street Of Dreams are not exactly what you'd be hoping for (whatever that might be), but the first one did not amuse me (but it took balls and a solid touch of bad taste to adapt it, even if the results are not as bad as I'd first feared, but I am not smiling), while the second left completely cold, just as the original did.

After such a brutal (but fair IMHO) review, I can only salute Mr Blackmore's drive to keep his project right on line, the way he wished it for over a decade, which is the first time in his lengthy career, since all of his previous groups kept changing personnel and sound. Hats off to you, Sir!! I think you finally found your peace!!

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