Ritchie Blackmore’s scorching guitar work helped propel Deep Purple to legendary status. But even for a rock god, the life wasn’t always sunshine and stadium anthems. In the 1990s, a restlessness began to gnaw at Blackmore.
The constant touring grind and the pressure to churn out ever-heavier riffs started to lose their appeal. A new direction beckoned, a path that would lead him away from the hard rock thunder and towards a more unexpected musical landscape.
What could have possibly lured this legendary guitarist away from the genre he helped define? Blackmore himself recently shed light on this surprising shift, offering a glimpse into the creative restlessness that fueled a dramatic change in his musical journey.
A Shift in Passions
After decades with Deep Purple, a band he helped forge, Blackmore felt a pull towards a different musical direction. Blackmore, who penned iconic hard rock and metal anthems, found himself drawn to the melodies of traditional medieval music.
“I’ve always loved melodic rock,” he explained, “toward the end of Purple, it was just being loud for the sake of being loud, so when I heard Renaissance music, there were so many incredible melodies that struck a chord with me. That was such a relief in many ways, so I jumped off the monster train just to play some melodies more organically.”
Blackmore’s wife, Candice Night, echoed this sentiment. Night, who sang on Rainbow’s 1995 album before joining their folk rock project Blackmore’s Night, married the legendary guitarist in 2008. She described the folk band as an escape from the music industry’s pressures, offering a more creative and personal space for Blackmore’s musicality to flourish.
Disillusionment and Escape
Formed in the late 1990s, Blackmore’s Night wasn’t just a musical shift; it was a reaction to the changing music industry. “It really began as a personal journey and escape from what the rock ’n’ roll world had become for Ritchie in the late ‘90s,” Night explains.
Having experienced creative freedom in his earlier bands, the late 90s brought a stark contrast. Reforming Rainbow, Blackmore found himself battling corporate control. Record companies demanded approval on everything from song titles to album direction, a far cry from his previous experiences.
Seeking refuge, Blackmore and Night retreated to a farmhouse studio in Massachusetts. There, amidst a crackling fire, they traded heavy riffs for acoustic melodies, composing music solely for their own enjoyment. Positive feedback from friends sparked the idea to share their creations with the world. Blackmore’s Night wasn’t just a new sound; it was a rebellion against industry pressures, a path to artistic liberation for both the creators and the listeners.