Shadow of the Moon

This article is about the musical recording. For similar titles, see In the Shadow of the Moon.

Shadow of the Moon is the debut studio album by the folk rock band Blackmore's Night, released June 2, 1997. The album stayed on the German charts for 17 weeks,^[2] and received gold certification in Japan for 100,000 albums shipped to stores.^[3]

Shadow of the Moon
Studio album by Blackmore's Night
Released	June 2, 1997 (Europe) February 17, 1998 (United States)
Genre	folk, neo-Medieval
Length	65:21
Label	Edel (Germany) / Edel America
Producer	Pat Regan and Ritchie Blackmore
Blackmore's Night chronology
Shadow of the Moon (1997) Under a Violet Moon (1999)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

In 2023, a 25th Anniversary Edition was released, containing new mixes of each song. The CD contains a home session of Shadow of the Moon and Spirit of the Sea, the bonus DVD contains video clips of Shadow of the Moon, No Second Chance and Renaissance Faire.^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Shadow of the Moon"	Ritchie Blackmore, Candice Night	5:07
2.	"The Clock Ticks On"	trad. by Tielman Susato, Blackmore, Night	5:14
3.	"Be Mine Tonight"	Blackmore, Night	2:51
4.	"Play Minstrel Play"	trad. by Pierre Attaingnant, Blackmore, Night	3:58
5.	"Ocean Gypsy" (Renaissance cover)	Michael Dunford, Betty Thatcher	6:05
6.	"Minstrel Hall" (Instrumental)	Blackmore	2:36
7.	"Magical World"	trad. Wassail, Blackmore, Night	4:01
8.	"Writing on the Wall"	trad. by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Blackmore, Night	4:35
9.	"Renaissance Faire"	trad. by Tielman Susato, Blackmore, Night	4:16
10.	"Memmingen" (Instrumental)	Blackmore	1:06
11.	"No Second Chance"	Blackmore, Night	5:38
12.	"Mond Tanz" (Instrumental; Mondtanz being German for "Moon Dance")	Blackmore	3:33
13.	"Spirit of the Sea"	Blackmore, Night	4:50
14.	"Greensleeves"	trad.	3:47
15.	"Wish You Were Here" (Rednex cover)	Leskelä Teijo	5:02

Bonus track

US / UK editions

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
16.	"Possum's Last Dance" (Instrumental)	Blackmore	2:42

1999 Japanese edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
16.	"Minstrel Hall (strings version)" (Instrumental)	Blackmore	2:34

Personnel

• Ritchie Blackmore – electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass, mandolin, drum, tambourine
• Candice Night – lead vocals, backing vocals
• Pat Regan – keyboards
• Gerald Flashman – recorders, trumpet, French horns
• Tom Brown – cello
• Lady Green – viola, violins

Guest appearances

• Ian Anderson – flute on "Play Minstrel Play"
• Scott Hazell – backing vocals on "Play Minstrel Play"

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5]	37
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[6]	11

2023 chart performance for Shadow of the Moon

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7]	75
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8]	16
Scottish Albums (OCC)[9]	24
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[10]	74
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[11]	11

Certifications

Certifications for Shadow of the Moon

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[12]	Gold	100,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r333767
2. "Ritchie's Bio". The Official Ritchie Blackmore and Blackmore's Night website. Archived from the original on 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
3. "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2000年1月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. January 2000 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). 484. Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan: 8. March 10, 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
4. https://www.discogs.com/release/26431679-Blackmores-Night-Shadow-Of-The-Moon ^{[bare URL]}
5. "Offiziellecharts.de – Blackmore's Night – Nature's Light" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
6. Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
7. "Austriancharts.at – Blackmore's Night – Shadow of the Moon" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
8. "Offiziellecharts.de – Blackmore's Night – Shadow of the Moon" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
9. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
10. "Swisscharts.com – Blackmore's Night – Shadow of the Moon". Hung Medien. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
11. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
12. "Japanese album certifications – Blackmore's Night – Shadow of the Moon" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved October 23, 2023.

External links

• Lyrics at Blackmore's Night official site