V/A – Blackmore’s Castle – A Tribute To Deep Purple & Rainbow

Lion Music

Posted: 11/7/04

Reviewed by: Dirt

Category: 70s Hard Rock

Released: 2003

Label URL: www.lionmusic.com

1/2

Okay, so the whole tribute album obsession seems to have come and gone.  I’m happy about that because too many crappy bands were delivering too many crappy covers.  Occasionally, a tribute still crops up though, so there still must be a market for this type of compilation. 

Lion Music has assembled a good one here called Blackmore’s Castle, which is a tribute to Deep Purple and Rainbow.  As the title implies the material will be from the Blackmore era of Deep Purple, as well as Rainbow.  The only tune that people might debate is “Bludsucker” (misspelled as “Bloodsucker” on this cd), a song that appeared on Purple’s ‘98’s Abandon cd.  Although Blackmore did not appear on that album, he did co-write this song with the rest of Purple.

The purpose of any tribute album should be to appropriately pay homage to the original band while exposing fans to quality new artists.  Lion Music succeeds on both counts.  The track selection is fabulous, concentrating on Dio-era Rainbow and Gillan-era Purple.  Classics such as Rainbow’s “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves” and “Gates Of Babylon,” and Purple’s “Black Night” and “Highway Star” fit comfortably next to 80s Purple tracks “Perfect Strangers” and “The Battle Rages On.”  The performances live up to the classic nature of each song.  Other than Reign Of Terror’s (featuring Mike Vescera and Joe Stump) take on “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves,” you probably won’t be familiar with any of these artists.  For instance, Iron Mask tear it up on their rousing rendition of Rainbow’s “Gates Of Babylon,” Condition Red give Purple’s “Black Night” an interesting twist with sitar, violin and flute, and Arabesque’s female vocalist, Katia Salemi, delivers a grand performance of “Stargazer” that would definitely impress Ronnie James Dio.

The Bloody Truth:  I love Deep Purple and Rainbow, so it’s hard to impress me with covers of their tunes.  But believe me when I say that these are magnificent performances of their classic tracks.  Mister Kite’s version of “Bludsucker” is a bit modern but still well done, and the other twelve tracks are classic.  If only all tributes were like this one.