My favorite from the entire album is the
sing-a-long song, Wish You Were Here which has a sad tone to it. The electric
guitar in this is heartbreaking and has that soulful edge to it that Ritchie uses
sometimes to squeeze the sorrowful spot in your heart. This song could soften even the
hardest of hearts. The crystal clear notes of the Strat just flow throughout the entire
song, and Candice's voice fits this song perfectly. Another favorite of mine is the radio
friendly No Second Chance, which invites right in another sing-a-long fest. It also
has a lot of electric in it (which might have something to do with the reason I like it so
much....just maybe....). This one should have recieved a little radio airplay, but you
know how the music business is these days.....sigh. No Second Chance is a superb
song and is one that will probably get the repeat play a few times. Somewhere just beyond
the mist, spirits were seen flying
As the lightning led her way, through the
dark.....
There are a couple of instrumentals on here, of
course. Finally after all these years, Ritchie has decided that he can play the acoustic
rather well (he always could, but anyway), so he has treated us with not one, not two, but
three completely acoustic driven instrumentals, the rather mellow Minstrel Hall,
the short, but sweet, Memmingen and Mond Tanz, which can only be descibed as
beautiful, and it captures the spirit of the medieval times perfectly. It is an impressive
piece to say the least and shows just what a genius Ritchie is.
Silken threads like
wings still shine
Wind swept pleasures still make patterns in
her lovely hair so dark and fine...
Stands on high beheath the seas, cries no
more, her tears have dried...
Oceans weep for her, the oceans...sighs.
The finest version of Greensleeves that
retains the magic and sound of the music from that time, is included on here as well. I
have said it once, and I'll say it again, Candice Night's voice is perfect for this sort
of music. The title song, Shadows of the Moon has a wonderful mystical quality to
it. Again, I can imagine myself surrounded by the shadows of the moon, only the moonlight
and the candle light illuminating the world around me....it has to be magical if the music
is so powerful that it can take me away to another time and place like this can.
Walls built between
us, miles seperate us
Yet in our hearts we share the same dream,
feelings so strong
We must carry on...
On to our Magical World
The description of the song Spirit of the
Sea was best said on the Ritchie Blackmore homepage, what was said about it is this:
"A story of sea-faring guardian angel. A tale of a love separated only by realm.
Although you may not be able to hold someone that you love in your arms - they are always
around you... guiding you, comforting you. And no matter how lost you feel, your guardian
will always show you the path - if you allow them."
Which face wears
the masque this evening? When will your true colors show?
Will they be as black as shadows, hiding
'neath the rainbows....
Ocean Gypsy is a haunting song, and the
perfect example of a song that a minstrel would sing around a fire. Listening to it, it
seems that Ritchie and Candice have an emotional attachment to this particular song, and
this is shown in their performance of it, making it one of the best cuts on this cd. The
Clock Ticks On is another enchanting song that captures the mood of the medieval
times. I keep using the word medieval, but it seems to be the best word to describe this
music, because that is just what it is...medieval. Ian Anderson plays the flute on this
particular song.
I miss your laugh,
I miss your smile
I miss everything about you, every second's
like a minute
Every minute's like a day, when you're far
away.....
Personally, I adore Be Mine Tonight it
is the kind of sickly sweet song that I tend to become attached to easily, and Play
Minstrel Play is another good song that conjures up images of that castle setting
again...and it has some pretty flute music in it too, and it kicks as much butt at the end
as an acoustic minstrel song can kick. Pretty cool, with as explosive an ending as
possible. Magical World is too sickly sweet even for me. It is sort of a
Romeo/Juliet kind of story but it just seems so happy....considering the subject matter.
It just doesn't seem to be quite right, but still manages to fit the mood of the album,
and it seems to be the most boring song on here as well.
Lovely moonlit
hours we spent, walking on the beach
We'd gaze up at the stars, I swear they were
in our reach.
Writing On The Wall starts out positively
haunting and then picks up to a sort of a medieval disco sounding tune....disco you say?
Yup. Disco. Imagine that. It is overall a pretty cool song, and Ritchie gets out the
trusty electric again and plays a few melodic riffs for those of us hungry for that sort
of thing. (which will be about 99.9% of us blackmoreites). Ritchie was even nice enough to
throw in a classic electric guitar solo for us metal maniacs that live and die to hear him
play that Strat. Renaissance Faire is too much like everything else on here, and
too repetitive sounding for my tastes, but it fits in nicely with the rest of this album,
the title should be enough to give you an idea of what it sounds like. Finally, for those
lucky souls who managed to get the bonus track version (like me, heehee), you also get the
instrumental version of Minstrel Hall which is extremely pretty.
But I feel my lover
by my side, and he makes me follow my own heart
We'll be together one sweet day, when that
day comes we'll never part
Wait for me...along the shore... |
