J.R. Blackmore & Friends - Voices (2011) CD-Rip

Born in 1964 in Chiswick, England, the only son of a world-famous guitar legend, Juergen Richard “J.R.” Blackmore began his musical career in Germany. When he was just five years old, his parents separated and J.R. left the United Kingdom together with his mother to live in her birthplace Hamburg. It was the early years of modern-day Hamburg, which had seen legends to be like The Beatles play in the Star-Club before their heyday. Just like his father, Ritchie Blackmore, who made a name for himself and later became world-famous as a founding member of Deep Purple and later Rainbow. If you were going to be somebody in the music business, Hamburg was the place to be and was a gateway into stardom for a plethora of bands. During the following years, his father Ritchie played several concerts in Hamburg and whenever he was in town, J.R. had the opportunity to hang with the old man. Surrounded by rock geniuses and being part of that elite family, JR Blackmore grew up right at the heart of the seventies’ Rock and Roll scene. Concert halls would become a second home to him and so he rollicked about behind the curtains of all kinds of stages across the world. Naturally, he yearned to become a virtuous instrumentalist like his self-picked role models, and not just any old instrument. Oblivious to the ramifications of stepping into so huge a pair of shoes, like his dad, who played so splendidly, he was driven to learn to play the guitar...

While some bands carpet bomb the market with lots of the same in a fairly short amount of time, J.R. Blackmore’s projects take time to produce, but vary greatly in style, with the way he plays the guitar remaining more or less the same, being a chip of the old block. In 2011, together with former RAINBOW keyboardist Paul Morris, he had the idea to produce another extraordinary album as J.R. BLACKMORE & FRIENDS: VOICES.

A project with diverse voices and pitches, which stand in stark contrast to each other and are unique and recognisable in their characteristics. Furthermore, it wasn’t going to be huge names, Blackmore wanted to find and support new and relatively unheard of talent. But certainly, the album would also feature friends of his, such as ELA or the vocalist he started his solo career with Michael Bormann. With Markus Teske (BAZEMENT STUDIO) he found the ideal producer to give the album its final touch, and in October of 2011, VOICES by J.R. BLACKMORE & FRIENDS came out, a truly exceptional project featuring dissimilar voices and grandiose music. Ballads, which grab hold of one’s heart and rocking songs that revive memories of the eighties – a must-hear.