PARIS MOON

Earlier in another review for a live performance of Blackmore's Night I stated that much was lost in the transition from sight to sound, given the visual component of the band. Captured two studio albums later, the DVD Paris Moon quite makes up for that flaw, and as such is a few points above their concert release Past Times With Good Company. Recorded at the legendary Olympia in the French capital, it showcases a (very) merry band of minstrels bringing their top material to Gaul for the first time.

One of the big bonuses over the studio albums, and even over audio-only live recordings, is that we actually get to see just how professional and talented this band is. Overall the tracks do not stray away too much from their studio versions, and to reproduce some of the arrangements live is quite a feat. And Blackmore, especially, still does not cease to amaze me. On some of the songs, the band manages to incorporate a very animated string of improvisation ? worth noting are Durch Den Wald Zum Bachaus, Home Again, the duo Ariel/Loreley (where Ritchie finally brings out his Strat ? shame he doesn't do the same for Fires At Midnight ) and the scorching encore St. Theresa. Visually, the recording quality is quite good, filled with different camera angles capturing every member of the band. Sound-wise, the bass sounds a bit too high, giving a performance a lot of oomph (rattling everything made of glass in the surroundings), but sometimes muffling Ritchie's more delicate acoustic guitar strumming.

The only extras in the DVD are a short and not very insightful documentary on the show and a photo gallery. So, why the huge box? Seriously, this thing is thicker than Rush's R30, but the contents certainly don't justify it. For your money you get the concert DVD and an audio CD from the same show with a shortened playlist ? what's the use of that? I hate these things, if I wanted an audio recording I would have got it, thank you very much. Plus, where the hell am I gonna store it? In the living room, where the home cinema is, along with the other DVD's, or in the library, with the other audio recordings? Damn you, Blackmore's Night!

All in all, an entertaining show. But if you want to take home the live Blackmore's Night experience, Castles & Dreams is probably the best choice. For your money, you get a lot more goodies than on Paris Moon, plus the playlist is not that different, and the extra tracks from The Village Lantern in the latter are not that impressive as to justify paying for both in DVD and CD.

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