On March 10, Blackmore’s Night will celebrate the band’s quarter century anniversary with a deluxe, remixed reissue of their debut Shadow Of The Moon via EARMusic. In early January, Blackmore’s Night presented a new mix of their timeless interpretation of the classic “Greensleeves,” with a lyric video accompanying the release.
Earlier this month, they released “Play Minstrel Play,” a collaboration with long-time family friend Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson. Most recently, the band premiered the official music video for “Wish You Were Here.”
The fully remixed 25th Anniversary Edition of Shadow Of The Moon will be available in a variety of deluxe editions, all including an exclusive bonus documentary on DVD as well as two previously unreleased acoustic recordings. All configurations available are available for pre-order here.
Blackmore’s Night were founded in 1997 by seasoned guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and award-winning lyricist and singer Candice Night to stage and explore their love for traditional Medieval and Folk-Rock music. Together, they created a band that like very few others is a prime example of truthfulness and creative integrity. The band’s debut album Shadow Of The Moon (1997) was not only Blackmore’s deliberate radical cut from his previous life as celebrated rockstar in Deep Purple and Rainbow; it was a ground-breaking statement of his artistic ideals: mainly acoustic music, influenced by the songs of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance with a touch of genius that made them sound contemporary.
Shadow Of The Moon was a milestone album. It encompasses everything that Blackmore’s Night stand for to this day: beautiful melodies and warm atmospheres that are able to reach the soul as well as joyful songs to dance to and to celebrate. Those who really understood Ritchie Blackmore´s music in his rock years, could immediately find the essence of his greatness in Blackmore´s Night, supported by lyrics that fit his music more than ever before.
The album was converted in HD audio from the original recording, and it has been fully remixed, allowing the original performance to shine in its original glory. The original iconic artwork has been refreshed and reworked to celebrate the anniversary. Two previously unreleased acoustic recordings will be part of this reissue: “Spirit Of The Sea” and “Shadow Of The Moon,” both recorded in an intimate home session by Candice and Ritchie in 2022.
All physical first print editions will also carry an exclusive documentary on DVD as bonus. To fully celebrate the occasion, two Black vinyl LPs will carry a “Golden Ticket” – two lucky fans will win a Fender Ritchie Blackmore Signature Stratocaster guitar. The announcement of the album reissue edition coincides with the launch of the 25th Anniversary Mix of the title track “Shadow Of The Moon” – available as digital single and lyric video.
Award winning lyricist and vocalist Candace Night shares, “The songs are timeless. Many of them are from a bygone era, updated with new lyrics and arrangements. They hit the heartstrings of people with an emotional depth while also bringing the listener to a more simple time. The positive energy that we give from the music, and receive in turn from the fans, is electric.”
There is a magical collaboration between Night and Blackmore that continues to evolve a quarter century into their union. It truly exhibits individual strengths combining to become something uniquely their own. Night performs all the woodwinds which include renaissance and medieval double reeds, gemshorns, pennywhistles and recorders as well as lead and backing vocals, while Blackmore contributes all the guitars, hurdy gurdy, mandolas, mandolins, and nyckelharpa.
Night reflects, “Back in 1997, when we first started writing, we did so basically just for ourselves. Ritchie was in Rainbow and they were recording in a farm house studio in Massachusetts. While the snow was falling outside, and we were sitting by the fireside as the rest of the band was doing their tracks, we would just be in our own world with his acoustic writing melodies as an escape from the rock and roll world that, for him, had become more corporate. So he started writing the songs that became Shadow of the Moon.
“We did it just for ourselves, and when we played some songs for our neighbors at a party, they said ‘If you put this out as a record, we would buy it!’ That to us meant that someone besides us enjoyed it as well. Then the Japanese record company heard the songs and wanted to put it out in Japan. They were the first ones to believe in the band, and the CD charted immediately. It has been an amazing journey ever since. The fan base grows every year. We love what we are doing, and you can’t ask for more than that.”
