Skip the bonus tracks!

The title of the album is a bit deceiving. I expected something more medieval, more well... villagy. Instead there are several honesto-to-God rock ballads, and they are not even particularly good for what they are. Candace seems ill at ease singing "I guess it doesn't matter anymore". She has tremendous stage presence, but her vocal range is rather limited. She should stick to mellow fantasy pieces like the "Faerie Queen". Any time she tries to sound harsh and tough, she ends up sounding fake, like she's trying too hard to step over her vocal limitations. There are a few fabulous pieces that make this album worth buying. But the bonus tracks I skip every time. They add nothing to the album. They sound like cheap generic pop.

Still Better Than Most of What's Out There...

Lord knows I love this band to death (see my reviews). But upon early listening of this, I'm starting to get the sense that I've heard it all before. The quicker songs use the same rhythms as on previous releases, and the slower ones and instrumentals are all competent and pleasant enough, but I'm not raving. Except, of course, for Ralph McTell's gorgeous "Streets of London", which I saw Blackmore and band debut live in NYC last December. Interestingly (and unfortunately?), on "Just Call My Name (I'll Be There)" and "All Because of You", Candice seems to be venturing into Celine Dion territory, both in delivery and production. The covers (including a duet with Joe Lynn Turner) of Rainbow's "Street of Dreams" are all right.

Fantastic cd----Blackmore shines, as does Candice

I was very impressed with this cd. As I am a die-hard Blackmore fan, you may think this would be a no-brainer for me to love this cd. Well, while I do love Blackmore's Night (BN), there are some times I feel the music of BN is a tad too mellow or, for lack of a better way to phrase it, "celtic" (I find that I often times have to be 'in the mood' to listen to their cds, as opposed to Deep Purple and Rainbow [I have seen Rainbow live twice, Deep Purple live 3 times, and BN live once in 2004, all terrific, but I digress]). That said, this cd really suprised me---it's a lot harder than I thought it would be; a pleasant suprise.