31.05.2011.

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V.A. - Blackmore's Castle: A Tribute To Deep Purple & Rainbow Vol.1 & Vol.2 (2003/05)



2003 - Vol.1
The opener by Mister Kite is a perfect start because they play Bloodsucker in a contemporary nu metal version. I also like Perfect Strangers by Transcendence who convince with a bombastic modern rock version of this 80s classic by Deep Purple. Arabesque play Stargazer and are one of the two bands with female vocals on this tribute CD. Singer Katia Salemi has great vocals which makes this another highlight. Unfortunately the album gets worse after such a promising start. While playing Self Portrait, Lars Eric Mattson just doesn't seem very motivated. And his song is much too slow. Reign Of Terror's Sixteenth Century Greensleeves annoys with a long and boring intro and their retro song is sounding too much like the original. My favourite Rainbow song is still Gates Of Babylon. Although I was looking forward to listen to Iron Mask's version, I was disappointed because their interpretation is just too fast. Headline are the other band with female vocals and they present a more progressive version of Battle Rages On. Well done! Condition Red got the award for the worst singer on this compilation. Although the folky arrangements are ok, I prefer pushing the skip button on the CD player. Space Truckin by Torben Enevolden is an excellent timeless rock song. Very curious is Eric Zimmermann's Man On The Silver Mountain. Voices and instruments are very distorted, wrapped in a bizarre Amiga sound. I think it's cool, but probably even the smallest Blackmore fan will call this a blasphemy. At this point, you could stop listening to the album. Winterlog's Highway Star is sounding absolutely uninspired, a one-to-one clone of the original. Then there are two boring and superfluous instrumentals: Lazy by Jason Richardson and Still I'm Sad by Condition Red.
TRACKS: 01. Mister Kite - Bloodsucker 02. Transcendence – Perfect Strangers 03. Arabesque – Stargazer 04. Lars Eric Mattsson – Self Portrait 05. Reign of Terror – Sixteenth Century Greensleeves 06. Iron Mask – Gates of Babylon 07. Headline – Battle Rages On 08. Condition Red – Black Night 09. Torben Enevolden – Space Truckin’ 10. Eric Zimmermann – Man on the Silver Mountain 11. Winterlong – Highway Star 12. Jason Richardson – Lazy 13. Condition Red – Still I’m Sad

2005 - Vol.2
The second Lion Music tribute to Ritchie Blackmore is solid as a rock. Sometimes artists take the fact that they are reproducing the work of a legend very seriously, and in the case of Blackmore’s Castle Volume II, it shows. The CD starts out with the Deep Purple classic, “Stormbringer,” where Domain brings the song into the 21st Century with space-age keyboard work, yet still show it the proper respect it deserves by lacing it with solid guitar play. The next track is the best on the album, as Michael Harris plays “Lady Of the Lake” outstandingly while respecting the original composition and doing a solid job of reproducing Blackmore and Dio. Another track that rocks you to the core is the House of Shakira cover of the classic “Starstruck.” The guitars wail their deep dark Rainbow sounds through power riffs and solos alike. “Kill The King,” covered by Baltimoore, is a solid shred session of beautiful axe play. There actually isn’t a bad song on the album. All take extra care to play their respective guitar pieces in an honest and soulful tribute to Blackmore’s magic. An album like this not only makes a person wonder why they are not more familiar with the original artists work, but also shows the talent of the replicating artists. Blackmore turns 60 on April 14, and this is a solid birthday tribute.
TRACLS: 01. Domain – Stormbringer 02. Michael Harris – Lady of the Lake 03. Dogpound – Mary Long 04. Orion Riders – Burn 05. Daniel Flores and Friends - I Surrender 06. Baltimoore – Kill the King 07. Rolf Munkes/Gerald Kloos – All Night Long 08. Man on Fire – Maybe a Leo 09. Chris Catena – Mistreated 10. House of Shakira – Lady Starstruck 11. Takara – Can’t Let You Go 12. Chris Heaven – Soldier of Fortune