Customer Reviews
A very listenable Album - By: Ms. D. M. Brackley, 29 Jul 2008 
I have been a Blackmore's Night fan for about a year now & have the majority of their albums. Secret Voyage I find not one of their best but certainly not the worst & it has a great mix of influences, from mediaeval, (as you would expect) to Rock. There are a couple of weak tracks as a previous reviewer mentioned & for me personally the track "Can't help fallingin Love", should have been left off, it just doesn't "fit in" with the rest of the album. None the less, a must have for all Blackmore Night fans.
Haven't stopped playing it! - By: T. Gambrell, 27 Jul 2008 
I have to say I am somewhat surprised by the claims madein the review above, but maybe they are the general views of fandom (in which I am not involved). 'Ghost of a Rose' was a terrible disappointment for me, no where near as good as their previous efforts (except the amazing title track). 'Village Lantern' was a tremendous return to formin my opinion & they have maintained & built on that here with 'Secret Voyage' which is an original-sounding & consistently great album. 'Locked Within The Crystal Ball' is possibly their finest track so far & must be a great opener for their live shows. 'Can't Help Falling In Love' (which seems to have divided opinion) I think is infectious - good on them for trying something different with an old classic, & also for sounding like they were at least having a lot of fun recording it. If I had a criticism I think it's a shame that there's nothing on the album that really jerks the tears but I've been playing it over & over all weekend (which I haven't done with anything else for simply years) & haven't got bored with it yet.
A great effort all round & it shows that they still have plenty to offer after 10 years or more.
Merely good and far from being the best album by Blackmore's Night - By: G. Donaldson, 16 Jul 2008 
Strange - I don't know what happened to the previous reviews, which disappeared but good to see K Sinclair's has been reposted. An informative review, although I don't agree that the album merits 5 stars - as suggested by K Sinclair a number of songs recall previous material & there is a sense of "sameness" now, coupled with a more "pop" feel. As for "Can't Help Fallingin Love With You" - oh dear, what WERE they thinking? - truly dire & a bit of an embarrassment IMHO. Still, each to their own of course.
For me, Secret Voyage does have some fine moments but is quite some way from "Ghost of a Rose" peak form (their best album). The preceeding album to Secret Voyage was The Village Lanterne, which demonstrated a dropin quality from their first four consistently excellent albums & this new release is at a similar level. Certainly still worthwhile for fans but anyone new to the band should definitely look to their first four albums first.
A refreshing blend of all that has come before... - By: K. Sinclair, 01 Jul 2008 If you are a Blackmore's Night fan, you will not want to miss this album.
Firstly, the sound of this album seems to be a combination of the previous ones ~ I can hear elements of all 5 other albums, & I mean thatin a very good way. There is a 'darkness' to it ~ a mix of "Shadow of the Moon" & "Village Lanterne".
God Bless the Keg :
It starts off with a harpsichord sound, & seems rather 'French revolution', & then the rest of the orchestration comes in. Just when you think it is finished, you are left with this beautiful, dark, deep organ ~ a bit like the opening of Enigma's song 'The Rivers of Belief (The Returning Silence)', & there's also what appears to be Gregorian chanting right at the end!
Track 1 runs straight into track 2 ~
Locked Within the Crystal Ball :
My current addiction!
A wonderfully powerful song {just over 8 minutes long} ~ I can almost picture that ship from the front cover being tossed on the waves, hear the thunder & see the lightning! The sound is rather like 'Just Call My Name' & 'I Guess It Doesn't Matter Anymore', because of the drums. There are two slightly lighter instrumental breaks, the first one reminds me rather of 1980's era Clannad... until Ritchie's guitar comes back in! And the second one is much more renaissancein style ~ *very* nice. Another nice little touch is that the lyrics very briefly reference track 7 : 'The Circle'.
Gilded Cage :
Similarin style to both 'No Second Chance', 'Castles & Dreams', and, slightly, 'Ghost of a Rose'. Lots of lovely violin on this one :)
Toast to Tomorrow :
A cross between Mary Hopkin's 'Those Were the Days', & a Jewish wedding! Oh, & 'Home Again'! Very much like a German drinking song ~ the sort of thing to get everyone clapping & singing along. Thankfully, it's more 'All For One' than 'Olde Mill Inn' {I'm afraid I just couldn't stand 'Olde Mill Inn'}.
Prince Waldecks Galliard :
A lovely instrumental. I can only describe it as a blend of these previous ones, but also with something unique about it : 'Minstrel Hall', 'Memmingen', 'Fayre Thee Well', 'Village Dance'.
Rainbow Eyes :
I hadn't gotten around to listening to the original, but because of the let-down I felt when I heard the original of 'Sixteenth Century Greensleeves' AFTER hearing BN's amazing live cover {on "Past Times with Good Company"}, I thought I'd better hear it first.
Okay. The original is *GLORIOUS*! That guitar work! That vocal! That flute! You can clearly see {hear?!} the direction Ritchie was destined to head in...
Now, the BN version...
Well, they've given it a more 'rock' sound, but they are using a nice renaissance style drum for the beat, so it is morein their 'folky' style.
Another one with a hint of 'No Second Chance', & a dash of 'Way to Mandalay'. It is beautiful ~ I'm sure Rainbow fans won't be disappointed with it :)
The Circle :
The lyrics to this are very inspiring. A very nice bass-line, lots of chanter & {possibly} hurdy-gurdy. There's a hint of 'Under A Violet Moon' & '25 Years'in there, & 'Way to Mandalay' & 'Cartouche'. And maybe a little hint of that 'sway' from 'Village on the Sand'!
This *really* makes me want to get up & dance!
Sister Gypsy :
Slightly similar to 'Ocean Gypsy' {which was a cover of a Renaissance [Annie Haslam's band] song}, & rather like 'Renaissance Fair'. The drum-beat & tambourine is rather likein their version of 'The Times They Are A Changin''.
Can't Help Falling In Love :
I think Elvis would approve!
Very much a 'rock' interpretation, but it sounds so good! I can't think of any of their previous songs that this reminds me of, as the drums have filled my head with the image of galloping horses...
Peasants Promise :
This opens with a beautiful acoustic guitar, & a vocal that reminds me a
little of 'Faerie Queen'. It's an acoustic song, but quite busy ~ it's very renaissance / medievalin sound. If you've got {and I hope you have!} the b-side track 'Sake of Song' {from the 'The Times They Are A Changin'' single}, it's a *little* like that. They've used a renaissance drum, which sounds a bit like good bodhran playing{!}, violin, chanters, mandolin, shawms, tambourine, & various other similar instruments. It's very addictive ~ I want to dance to this one, too!
Far Far Away :
A similar sound to 'Be Mine Tonight', crossed with 'Castles & Dreams'. This is one of those songs to just lay-back & drift-away with...
Empty Words :
This one has a slight similarity to 'Waiting Just For You', & 'Oncein a Million Years'. A very nice song to end with...
Although a couple of the tracks on this album could be described as 'weaker', they are still good, & for me this is the only BN album other than "Ghost of a Rose" where I can honestly say I like every song.
I only hope Candice & Ritchie will soon be giving us a few b-sides or live performances {or both} to go with it...
