28 July 2007

The Descent of Ritchie Blackmore

Love him or hate him, Ritchie Blackmore was a talented guitarist (albeit with a reputation for being somewhat difficult). He made his mark with Deep Purple before leaving in 1975 to form Rainbow.




This is Deep Purple (Mark Three - David Coverdale (aka Elsie) had replaced Ian Gillan on vocals, Glenn Hughes had replaced Roger Glover) I've always liked this song.

There have been numerous reformations of Deep Purple. Blackmore also resurrected Rainbow for a while. Nowadays, however, he prefers to play twee mediaval-ish, folky stuff with his partner Candice Night:



That was Renaissance Fair. Well I suppose he has made a pile of money so he can do what he likes (and if you like this sort of thing then go ahead and like it!). For me it's just toe curlingly embarrassing fare. And another thing, did he really need to wear that silly hat???

9 comments:

Steve Bates said...

"For me it's just toe curlingly embarrassing fare." - jams

Toe-curlingly embarrassing Renaissance fare! :)

jams, my friend... it's satire! It's a send-up of all the silliness that takes place at actual Renaissance fair[e]s.

The tune itself, the intro, is indeed an actual Renaissance dance which one hears incessantly at such events (yes, I played music at one for 10 years; the proceeds paid for my harpsichord and a bit more). The rest... including the stupid, silly hat... is, I'm quite certain, a biting satire of all the pseudo-Renaissance stuff that is presented at such places. Those of us who play them know full well what sins we commit!

To any participant in such a "faire," this is funny beyond words. "Twee"? yes; that and worse!

jams o donnell said...

We don't get Renaissance Faires here. I first heard of them in 1990. I'm sure they are a lot of fun though, tweeness included!

I wish it was biting satire but looking at their other output I fear it is simply par for the course, down to the hat. I won't deny some lustful thoughts towards Ms Night though!

elasticwaistbandlady said...

That made me want to put on my corseted serving wench outfit and cook up some mutton alongside pints of ale.....ginger ale. I'm a conservative wench.

elasticwaistbandlady said...

Hey Steve, do you ever go up to Plantersville for the Renaissance Festival? I think it's way over priced, but we go every few years. Nothing really changes, so I don't see the point to make it a yearly event, though.

I can braid hair into crowns and various French Braids and they charge 25 dollars and up for that kind of thing at the Festival. Maybe I should give up my paper routes for the world of professional hair braiding.

jams o donnell said...

GINGER ALE? get thee yonder wench and bring me a pint of ye meade!

Steve Bates said...

ewbl, after 10 years in which the Texas Renaissance Festival near Magnolia, TX was a job (with everything that implies) every October, I haven't gone to one since then. It just doesn't seem like fun. Besides, I'm so old now that I wouldn't look nearly as good in tights as I did back then. :)

Steve Bates said...

jams, you've got the dialogue down just right, but it does seem unlikely that the UK would need to hold events that fake its own history. I've had something sold as mead; if that's the real thing, it's highly overrated.

Steve Bates said...

One more bit... back in the day, at the Texas Renaissance Festival, we perfomers were all amused to say (truthfully) that the King was a queen. I don't know what the Queen was.

jams o donnell said...

Ah it would be like a busman's holiday, Steve? I'm sure they are fun. There are mediaval type fairs here but not on the same scale. Some were orginally real mediaval fairs!

the King was a Queen? it's happened here too Steve!