02.09.06 (MusicPortal.com) "The Village Lanterne," the brand new studio album from BLACKMORE'S NIGHT, is due for release on March 27th via SPV Recordings, and includes the first new material from the group since their 2003 album, "Ghost Of A Rose." Individuality and true musical greatness are marked by an artist who follows his own intuition, without being influenced by other people's expectations. Ritchie Blackmore's integrity may occasionally seem strange, if not indeed doubtful to many a DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW fan, but it shows that he is one of the best and most exceptional contemporary musicians in every respect. With his band BLACKMORE'S NIGHT featuring his partner, vocalist Candice Night, Blackmore has certainly not broken with his previous creative forms of expression. Quite the opposite: the songs on his current album, "The Village Lanterne," document unmistakably that there's still quite the Rock musician inside him. But Blackmore has not remained static in his development. He has allowed his penchant for Medieval music, which already shone through on many of his Hard Rock and Metal compositions, to culminate in his very own unique style of music. On "The Village Lanterne," BLACKMORE'S NIGHT combine the great vocal melodies and mysterious lyrics of Candice Night, with the seemingly archaic instrumentations and virtuoso guitar parts of Blackmore, taking all listeners with them on a journey into their mystical, romantic world. In the process, Blackmore continues to develop his ability as a composer and instrumentalist without ever denying his former artistic identity. 'Mood Tanz/Child In Time' is the resurrection of one of DEEP PURPLE's greatest hits in a new guise, while 'Street Of Dreams' is a haunting new edition of the RAINBOW classic. Both songs represent the close artistic links to Blackmore's work in the 70s and 80s. At the same time, 'Just Call My Name,' 'St. Teresa' or 'I Guess It Doesn't Matter' show that his Rock musician's heart remains ever-present in his new compositions. On the title track and on 'Faerie Queen,' Candice Night seems to blend as one with Blackmore's acoustic guitar, while '25 Years' displays oriental influences. Then there are magical moments such as the folkloric dance numbers 'The Messenger' and 'Village Dance,' and the beguiling 'World Of Stone,' 'Olde Mill Inn' and 'Windmills.' The album is also complemented by a new version of Ralph McTell's 'Streets Of London.' "The Village Lanterne" Track Listing: Jewel Case Disc: 1. 25 Years • 2. The Village Lanterne • 3. I Guess It Doesn't Matter • 4. The Messenger • 5. World Of Stone • 6. Faerie Queen • 7. St. Teresa • 8. Village Dance • 9. Mood Tanz/Child In Time • 10. Streets Of London • 11. Just Call My Name • 12. Olde Mill Inn • 13. Windmills • 14. Street Of Dreams • Bonus Disc: 1. Call It Love (Performed By Candice Night) • 2. Street Of Dreams (Featuring Joe Lynn Turner) • 3. 20 Minute Interview With Ritchie Blackmore & Candice Night • 4. Castles & Dreams DVD Trailer
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02.06.06 (MusicPortal.com) Almost 15 years after THE CORRS became an international, multi-platinum sensation with a unique mix of Pop songs and traditional Celtic instrumentation, the band of Irish siblings are set to release their first album of traditional Irish music tomorrow via Rhino Entertainment. Entitled "Home," THE CORRS' fifth studio album will be available at regular physical and digital retail outlets and at www.rhino.com for a suggested retail price of $18.98. Produced by Mitchell Froom and featuring the BBC Radio 2 Orchestra arranged by Fiachra Trench, "Home" contains a collection of 13 traditional and modern Irish songs performed by THE CORRS clan -- Andrea on lead vocals and tin whistle; Caroline on drums, bodhran, piano and vocals; Jim on keyboards, guitar and vocals; and Sharon on violin and vocals. Recorded not only to please fans who have long clamored for an entire album of Irish music from the group, "Home" is also a tribute to the group's mother, Jean, who died in 1999. Her handwritten songbook, Andrea says, provided a major source of material for the album. "She used to play every weekend in pubs with Daddy, and she'd written all these Irish songs out in a book. They're songs we've loved over the years, and because our parents played them in their band, they're very special to us." "Home" includes songs that span a millennium of Irish music, from 'Return To Fingal,' a song music scholars say is at least 1,000 years old, to 'Old Town,' a song written in 1982 by late THIN LIZZY frontman and fellow Irishman Phil Lynott. Along with traditional songs such as 'My Lagan Love,' 'Moorlough Shore' and 'Black Is The Colour,' "Home" also features THE CORRS singing several songs in Gaelic on the tracks 'Brid Og Ni Mhaille' and 'Buachaill On Eirne.' Born and raised as a close-knit family in the town of Dundalk, the Corrs siblings all played instruments from an early age. In 1990 they appeared in Alan Parker's critically acclaimed film, "The Commitments." Since 1996, THE CORRS have released four studio albums, all of which have achieved platinum status internationally. Also worth mentioning is the fact that Andrea Corr has been voted the "Most Attractive Woman Of The Year" in a Hellomagazine.com readers poll for the third time. This year, she topped the list ahead of a list of contenders including Christina Aguilera, Anastacia, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Madonna, Vanessa Paradis, Jennifer Aniston, Sophie Marceau and Shakira. She also topped that site's poll for "Most Elegant Woman Of 2005" as well, finishing ahead of several members of international royalty, such as Princess Mary of Denmark, Princess Letizia of Spain, Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. "Home" Track Listing: 1. My Lagan Love • 2. Spancill Hill • 3. Peggy Gordon • 4. Black Is The Color • 5. Heart Like A Wheel • 6. Buachaill On Eirne • 7. Old Hag • 8. Moorlough Shore • 9. Old Town • 10. Dimming Of The Day • 11. Brid Og Ni Mhaille • 12. Haste To The Wedding • 13. Return To Fingal
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02.02.06 (AP) LOUISE SCRUGGS, who as wife and manager of banjo player Earl Scruggs helped to expand the audience for Bluegrass and Country music, has died in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 78 years old, and was previously treated for respiratory disease. The two married in 1948, two years after they met while he was performing at the Grand Ole Opry with Bluegrass legend Bill Monroe and she was a member of the audience. Her husband left Monroe to form FLATT & SCRUGGS with guitarist and singer Lester Flatt, for which Louise Scruggs took over their business dealings in 1955. Mike Buck, a curator at the Country Music Hall Of Fame, said she was one of the first professional managers in Country music. "She truly is one of the legendary icons behind the scenes of country music," long-time artist Dwight Yoakam said. "She didn't take the curtain calls, but a lot of us would never have heard Flatt & Scruggs if it hadn't been for Louise Scruggs." Earl Scruggs' three-finger banjo picking style invigorated Country music, a term he and his wife preferred over Bluegrass. But LOUISE SCRUGGS saw opportunities to expand her husband's audience beyond Country, first with the Folk movement of the 1950s, and later with Rock fans. She nearly rejected the chance for FLATT & SCRUGGS to record one of their best-known songs, 'The Ballad Of Jed Clampett,' the theme song for the television show "The Beverly Hillbillies," on which Jerry Scoggins did the singing. LOUISE SCRUGGS objected to the term "hillbilly" and feared the TV series, which ran from 1962 to 1971, would stereotype rural Southerners. She changed her mind after producers sent her a pilot episode. FLATT & SCRUGGS' stardom was boosted further when their 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown' was used on the soundtrack to the 1967 film "Bonnie And Clyde." "She advanced me and advanced our music," Earl Scruggs told The Tennessean newspaper last year. "I didn't get where I went just on talent." LOUISE SCRUGGS grew up in rural Wilson County east of Nashville. As a child, she was given a typewriter, and she said it helped fuel her resolve to leave the country for a city job. The typewriter was among items displayed in a Country Music Hall Of Fame tribute to the couple last year. "Someone asked me the other day if I was writing press releases back then," she said at the opening of the display. "I wasn't one to go to tea parties and all of that. I started doing it, and the further I went the more I wanted to see what I could do with it." Besides her husband, survivors include the couple's sons Gary and Randy.

[Ethnic News: January 2006]
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