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Below are some reviews we have received.
 

Rainer  from Germany
Blackmore's Night in Trier, Kaiserthermen, on 17 July

Having arrived in Trier I began to relize this was the last show of a
stunning tour -  a saddening thought, but only for a short while. The venue was one
of the nicest Blackmore's Night have ever played in, the ruins of an ancient
Roman public bath.
The Geyers being the opening act for the second time on this tour had to
play while people were still arriving. They played a great set and definiteley
got everybody involved with their final number 'was wollen wir trinken'.

There was a great feeling in the audience, many people in costumes, a family
rather than strangers meeting at a concert.

And, true to the motto 'expext the unexpected' the show began with just
Candice and Ritchie going into an acoustic version of Shadow on the moon before
the whole band joined in to play 'Cartouche'. The latter si definitely a
well-chosen number as an opener, as it immediately gets the audience involved.
'Play minstrel play' kept the pace at a high level with wonderful flute solo.
Audience participation was to be maintained during the ensuing two songs,
'Under a violet moon' and 'Pastime with good company'. The whole band seemed in  a
very good mood, Ritchie even rewarding the man filming part of the show for
a TV station with a beer.
Then the beautiful voice of Candice was to enchant everybody when singing
'Queen for a day', followed by beautiful instrumental passages during the
second part of that song. A wonderful rendition of Deep Purple's 'Soldier of
fortune' once again proved the haunting beauty of Candice's voice.
Home again, the next number got the crowd very lively indeed, people in
constumes dancing in front of the stage, others soon following their example,
enjoying themselves immensely. With combined efforts of the people in the front
row and Sir Roberts request everybody went back to their seats after that
song, even staying there for a great version of 16th century greensleeves,
including a superb guitar solo.
Then, as if to prove they can lead the audience in any direction they like,
the band went into the very melancholic 'Diamonds and rust'. The rendition of
this song was so moving, that even breathing seemed hard. The instrumental
'Mr Peagram's Morris and Sword' then featured Ritchie's talents before the
song inspired by the 'Jamaica Inn' ( a very nice place, woth a visit), 'Village
on the sand' rocked things up a little more again.
'Ghost of a rose', the title track of the new album, was played next. It is
very hard to sum up the effects of this song in words- the inner dramaturgy
is just perfect,a haunting, melancholic melody, it enthralls the audience.
'Durch den Wald zum Bachhaus' was chosen to speed things up, with wonderful solo
passages by Lord Marnen of Wolfhurst.
It was then time for what probably still is my favourite Blackmore's Night
song: 'I still remember'. All I can say is that I am always on the verge of
tears when listening to it. 'Renaissance Faire' meant that everybody - dressed
up or not - would now run up to the stage and - space permitting - dance and
song along to the tune. A Blackmore's Night classic, not to be missed in any
show. 'The clock ticks on' was introduced with the Hurdy Gurdy, which Ritchie
now commonly plays on this song. But surprising everybody - most of all the
band, I should think - he went into the melody of 'Crowning of the king' .
Candice, quick in the uptake od such things immediately took her shawns and
played along, before they finally began 'cLock'. The regular set was now ended,
the audience very enthusiastic, feeling there was a lot to come yet. And
right they were:

The 'rock' part of the show was to come, featuring Ritchie predominantly
playing the Stratocaster:
Rainbow blues, All for one, Difficult to cure/Self portrait, featuring
different aspects of Ritchie's fabulous skills, from blistering licks to amazing
feeling (all for one). Squire Malcom was promted to do a short drum solo
during this part of the encores - another special feature, very rarely seen at
'Blackmore's Night shows, despite himbeing an excellent drummer. And to give
evry instrumentalist a solo spot, David was given his introducing 'Writing on
the wall' with a nicely arranged keyboard/organ solo. Ritchie's solo once again
climaxed in the riff of 'Burn', the audience clearly demanding more rock to
be played. 'Black night' was the first of two Deep Purple numbers to follow,
Sir Robert taking vocal duties again. More of a surprise was 'Smoke on the
water', done the second time this tour(Probably the second time since 97), and
this time it included an awesome guitar solo as well.

The audience were still demanding for more, for a while it ws hard to
imagine they could be made to listen to quiet songs after this. But then we were
flabbeghasted by a stunning performance ot 'Beyond the sunset'. I once again
caught myself wiping away tears, so touching is this song.
'Now and then' ended the show, again very melacholic, bringing back the
awareness that the tour was actually over, the waiting for the next one has
begun.

Having seen most of the shows on this tour I can sum up the general reaction
of the fans I talked to after the shows: They all were fascinated by the
wonderful music combined with the magical settings it was played in and the
friendly and peaceful atmosphere amongst the fans. Some pupils and fellow
teachers from my school came to see this last show in Trier and they loved every
second of it, said they couldn't wait to see the band again. Personally I do
very much like the aspect of Blackmore's Night being a music bringing together
generations - you will quite often see parents with their children.

So when Blackmore's Night play near your town- go and see them, you won't
regret it.

Name: René Geißler
Country: Germany
I was at your concert in Glauchau, Germany on July 12, 2003 and I really enjoyed it although I went there with a terrible headache after yet another long and busy working week. Amazingly, the headache disappeared during your concert, blown away like dust in the wind (maybe another song to be covered by you after Wish You Were Here, Diamonds And Rust, and Rainbow Blues?). To cut a long story short, you did a great show and I love you and your music more than ever.

Your latest CD has plenty of brilliant highlights and I’ve listened to it so many times that I can sing along almost every line. To me it seems that only the song Diamonds And Rust, although a great one indeed (Candice said, it was so great that you’d had to cover it), doesn’t fully go with the other songs as its lyrics sound a bit too modern (the telephone, the crummy hotel over Washington Square, etc.) compared to the other romantic and mystical, sometimes mysterious lyrics. Nevertheless, I love the song, as well as millions of other people do to
Thanks for  the fun and joy we had with you.

I’d like to wish you all the best and “don’t stay away too long this time. I’ll raise a glass, maybe two and I’ll be thinking of you until our paths cross again maybe next time ...“

With love

Please come to Denmark soon again, then next time I will know your tracks.