BLACKMORE’S NIGHT – All Our Yesterdays (2015)

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To introduce Richie Blackmore is like bringing sand to the beach. The iconic guitarist has a long history. With Deep Purple and Rainbow he influenced Rock music that much that still nowadays a Rainbow reunion would be highly appreciated by old and young. But Blackmore decided already years ago to focus on mainly acoustic, folk medieval music mixed with rock&pop.
With his wife Candice Night the legendary six-stringer founded BLACKMORE’S NIGHT, and it’s a sobering thought that Richie Blackmore has been a part of this band for longer than he was with Deep Purple, and has recorded more studio albums with Candice than with any other singer.
Well, is back with another BLACKMORE’S NIGHT opus, this time strangely released by Frontiers Music (not the typical product from the label).

“All Our Yesterdays” is the name of the new disc that comes with twelve new songs. This time the music feels like a journey though Europe, listening to the various folk influences that are included on the new longplayer.
Ther are some Irish references in songs like “Allan yn n fan” and “Coming Home” while the title track has some gypsy elements.
Blackmore’s acoustic guitar & mandoline and Night’s voice are equally in focus on this record. It’s mainly the ballads when Candice Night can show the entire potential of her emotional and warm voice.

Blackmore has his moments in a couple of instrumentals. The sphereful “Queen’s Lament” is one of these tracks which is actually more a kind of intermezzo, before the classic approach comes up to surface with “Where Are We Going From Here”; almost ‘catchy’.

But the one all Richie fans would love is “Darker Shade Of Black”; the second half features a long electric guitar solo that demonstrates he is one of the greats. The full reverb sound recalls the glory days of Rainbow.
Blackmore’s Night also offers a couple of covers here, with the clear intention to appeal a wide audience.
One is ’80s Mike Oldfield poppy classic “Moonlight Shadow”, where Blackmore arranged it slightly different by still not going to far away from the original. However, the solo parts are slightly different and newly interpreted. I like it.
“I Got You Babe” from Sonny & Cher became another cool cover version that shows the full potential of musicians and song. It’s quite rare listen Blackmore playing this stuff, but works.

Richie Blackmore and Candice Night stick to the Blackmore’s Night trademarks and fans of the earlier records will enjoy also the new longplayer.
However I heard a little more ‘poppy & commercial’ direction in “All Our Yesterdays”, especially seeing the cover songs chosen – for sure a Frontiers suggestion.
It’s cool stuff, but there is still the mighty wish out there in the metal world for a Rainbow reunion.

01 – All Our Yesterdays
02 – Allan Yn N Fan
03 – Darker Shade Of Black
04 – Long Long Time
05 – Moonlight Shadow
06 – I Got You Babe
07 – The Other Side
08 – Queen’s Lament
09 – Where Are We Going From Here
10 – Will O’ The Wisp
11 – Earth Wind And Sky
12 – Coming Home

Ritchie Blackmore – guitars, mandola, hurdy gurdy, nickelharpe
Candice Night – vocals, chanter, cornamuse
Bard David of Larchmont – keyboards
Earl Grey of Chimay – Bass and rhythm guitar
Lady Lynn – harmony vocals, shawm, flute, recorder
Troubadour of Aberdeen on drums

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