One often judges tribute albums with a degree of skepticism as many of them simply rehash a lot of old ideas and songs without really offering anything unique or they fail to generate any respect that the original band so rightfully deserved. Not so with Blackmore's Castle. The song selection and the arrangements are as good as it gets. As many of us grew up on a daily diet of Deep Purple and Rainbow, it goes without saying that many of the tracks on this album will be a worthy treat to those familiar with the songs penned by the master himself, Ritchie Blackmore.
As far as the music itself is concerned, there are some great tracks with some intensely brilliant guitar work from a variety of bands, some of whom may not be known to all. Accordingly, it goes without saying that the contributions by Mars Eric Mattson who heads up Condition Red are simply awe inspiring. He is a very talented musician accompanied by some equally talented band members and although he has chosen perhaps one of the better tracks, ("Black Night"), to pay homage to Deep Purple, it just doesn't get much better than this. The version that they offer here is one of the best I have heard and certainly puts a unique spin on the original. Equally well, Mats Leven who rips "Space Truckin" to pieces with his incredible voice also deserves mention. The contribution by Eric Zimmerman who mastered the entire project is also worthy of note.
Obviously, there was considerable thought injected into this project as I can find no fault at all in either the songs, choice of bands, the playing or the production. Everything gels nicely with no glaring omissions. The vocals, in particular on each track containing lyrics, are simply stunning and are a credit to each throat warbler who has lent his and her talents to this project.
Although it may seem irreverent to award a tribute album a full score of 5, I believe the originators of these great songs would also feel justification in doling out a worthy 4 stars. A great effort guys!
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