For the English folk song written by King Henry VIII, see Pastime with Good Company.

Past Times With Good Company is a double live album by the band Blackmore's Night, recorded in 2002 in Groningen, the Netherlands, and New York. It was released in October 2003 in Europe and in January 2004 in the USA and Canada. The European version includes a Greek rendition of Home Again and extra live tracks recorded at a press show in Solingen, Germany. CD 2 of the special Limited Edition leather-bound hard-cover package includes two bonus tracks: an acoustic Fires At Midnight and Home Again sung in Greek. The album's title is a homage to the 16th century English folk song Pastime with Good Company, composed by King Henry VIII, and performed in a special 2-part arrangement by Blackmore's Night on this recording. (Fires At Midnight is another piece with a royal lineage - it is attributed to King Alphonso X of Spain.)

Personnel

* Ritchie Blackmore - electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin, mandola, hurdy gurdy, Renaissance drum

* Candice Night - vocals, shawn, rauschpfeife, tambourine, pennywhistle, cornamuse

* Sir Robert of Normandie - bass, rhythm guitar, harmony vocals

* Carmin Giglio - keyboards, harmony vocals

* Squire Malcolm of Lumley - drums

* Kevin Dunne - drums on 16th Century Greensleeves

* Lady Rraine - harmony vocals

* Chris Devine - violin, recorder, mandolin

Production notes

* Produced by Ritchie Blackmore

Covers

Two of the tracks on this album are covers from Ritchie Blackmore's earlier bands.

*'Soldier of Fortune' is a Deep Purple song, from their Stormbringer album.

*'16th Century Greensleeves' comes from Rainbow's Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow debut album.

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Category:Double live albums

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Artist/Band Information

Blackmore's Night is a Renaissance-themed folk rock duo led by Ritchie Blackmore (acoustic and electric guitar) and Candice Night (lead vocals, lyricist and multi-instrumentalist).

History

Early

The duo originated in 1989 when Candice Night was working at a local New York rock music radio station. She first encountered Ritchie Blackmore, then with Deep Purple, at a football game in which he was playing. The two became romantically involved and discovered that they shared a passionate interest in the Renaissance.

During the reformed Rainbow's recording the album Stranger in Us All in 1995, on which Night contributed backing vocals and some of the lyrics, Blackmore became interested in the idea of bringing Renaissance music to a contemporary audience. Night's personality and singing ability made her the natural choice as frontwoman. In 1997 the pair were ready to launch the duo, the name being a pun of their own names, and which would consist of themselves plus session musicians.

1997 to 2005

Their debut album Shadow of the Moon was a success, particularly in Europe. In subsequent albums, particularly Fires at Midnight, there was an increased incorporation of rock guitar into the music, whilst maintaining a folk rock direction. Over time, Candice Night has increasingly participated instrumentally as well as singing the vocals, and is competent in a wide variety of Renaissance instruments.

The group performs at Renaissance fairs and Renaissance Festivals, as well as in stand-alone concert tours in appropriate venues including 'castle tours' of Europe, where they perform in historic surroundings for an audience dressed largely in period costume. The duo has been successful enough to inspire a number of international tribute bands including: Renaissance Night, the Italian Morning Star and the Midnight.

They have also performed the music for MagiQuest, a live simulation game located internationally.

2006-present

BLACKMORE´S NIGHT.jpgrightthumbLogo based on artwork of their albums

In 2006, Candice Night performed a duet with Andi Deris on Helloween's "Light the Universe", which was released as a single in certain countries and is available on their album Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy, released in the same year.

On June 27, 2008, the duo released its seventh studio album called Secret Voyage, a mix of medieval-sounding tracks and some contemporary ones. In addition to some covers of some traditional folk music (“Locked Within the Crystal Ball" is from the fourteenth century) and some originals, Blackmore’s Night also performed a cover of a Rainbow song (“Rainbow Eyes”) and a cover ("Can't Help Falling in Love").

On October 5, 2008, Candice Night and Ritchie Blackmore were married at a Castle on the Hudson after 19 years together. This is the fourth marriage for Blackmore.

Autumn Esmerelda Blackmore was born on May 27, 2010. A new album titled "Autumn Sky" was released soon afterwards.

Discography

Albums:

* Shadow of the Moon (1997)

* Under a Violet Moon (1999)

* Fires at Midnight (2001)

* Ghost of a Rose (2003)

* The Village Lanterne (2006)

* Winter Carols (2006) - Christmas-themed cover album

* Secret Voyage (2008)

* Autumn Sky (2010)

Live albums:

* Past Times with Good Company (2002)

* Paris Moon (2007, bonus disc on Paris Moon DVD)

Compilation albums:

* Minstrels and Ballads (2001)

* The Best of Blackmore's Night (2003)

* Beyond the Sunset: The Romantic Collection (2004)

Live VHS/DVDs:

* Shadow of the Moon (1997)

* Live in Germany '99 (2000)

* Castles and Dreams (2005)

* Paris Moon (2007)

Music videos:

* Shadow Of The Moon (1997)

* No Second Chance (1997)

* The Times They Are A Changin (2001)

* Ghost Of A Rose (2003)

* Way To Mandalay (2003)

* Christmas Eve (2005)

* Once In A Million Years (2005)

* The Village Lanterne (2006)

* Locked Within The Crystal Ball (2008)

* Highland (2010)

Band members

Core members

* Ritchie Blackmore - guitars, mandolin, domra, hurdy gurdy

* Candice Night - vocals, chanter, cornamuse, shawm, rauschpfeife, tambourine

Backing musicians

* Bard David of Larchmont - keyboards

* Squire Malcolm of Lumley (Malcolm Dick) - drums, percussionist

* Gypsy Rose (Elizabeth Cary) - Violin

* Earl Grey of Chamay (Mike Clemente) - Bass, mandolin and rhythm guitar

Former members

* Pat Regan - Early Music Consort various sting instruments (2008)

* Sisters of the Moon: Lady Madeline and Lady Nancy (Madeline and Nancy Posner) - backing vocals

* Lord Marnen of Wolfhurst (Marnen Laibow-Koser) - violin, flute, recorder

* Chris Devine - violin, flute, guitar

* Carmine Giglio - keyboards

* Mike Sorrentino - percussion

* Sir Robert of Normandie (Robert Curiano) - bass, guitars

* Tudor Rose (Tina Chancey) - violin, flute

* Mick Cervino - bassist

* Marci Geller - keyboards & backing vocals

* Adam Forgione

* Alex Alexander

* Jessie Haynes - guitars, recorder & backing vocals

* Lady Rraine (Lorraine Ferro) - harmony vocals

* Baron St James

Notes

* In 1998 "Blackmore's Kingdom" album was released by unknown group of musicians, it contains both Blackmore's Night songs and songs by Steve Tilston. This album is most likely a renamed version of guitarist Greg Joy's album "Celtic Secrets."

Several of the tracks on this CD also seem to imitate renditions of the same songs by the 1960s folk band Pentangle.

References