Joe Lynn Turner: On Working With Deep Purple

Jon Lord and Ian Paice were feeling jealous from and threatened by Joe Lynn Turner when he was the singer of Deep Purple in 1990?!!

This is what the Turner said during an interview back in 2008 on Living Legends (see below) Talking about the writing of the fellow up to Deep Purple's Slave & Masters with him on vocals after Gillan left in late 1987, Joe Lynn Turner said: "...for the second album (following Slave & Masters)... they didn't want to hear it." He goes into details "Ritchie and I were OK with it. Roger was in the middle, and there was Jon and Ian (Paice) that were absolutely against it. They were really... I have to say it, absolutely jealous... absolutly jealous, and I don't... care... what you say... guys... you are... you were threatened. and I understand that! They felt it were slipping away from them, because the focus has been shifted, and it was, because of more commercial purposes. And that's exactly what we suppose be doing. Becoming more commercial... "

As a matter of fact I never imagined Turner singing any song from Battle Rages On album.

Mr Turner's work on Rainbow is outstanding, and his work on Slaves & Masters is excellent. No doubt about it, but I don't see opposing an attempt to change Deep Purple into a hair-metal band, for example, would be threatening the career and future of giants like Ian Paice and Jon Lord! Jealousy? from a situation where Turner and Blackie trying to change the future of Deep Purple?

Please... I don't want to be harsh.

As I said, Slave & Masters is a great album, but most of DP fans and music critics agreed that the album was (and still does) sound like a typical Deep Purple one, but certainly more like one of the best Rainbow albums.

I think this is one of the reasons Jon and Paice were against a second shot to take with Turner on helm - I still doubt that Roger Glover went with it in the first place.

First time I listened to Slaves & Masters was at a friend's house. That was a couple of months after the album came out in Europe. My friend phoned and asked me to come over to his house. When I entered the house it was the first time when I heard "Fortuneteller". We gave the album a very in depth listen, and a second one. I was filled with joy from the first listen. The album is just great: lyrics, music, singing, mixing and production.

However, I agreed with my dear friend when he said that this brilliant album was more like a Rainbow album. My judgment was not based on comparing this album with Perfect Stranger or Machine Head aka Gillan on vocals, I adored Deep Purple when Coverdale and Hughes were on vocals, that was Deep Purple too. 

I never thought of Deep Purple as Blackmore's band...

... but this is a different story to tell.

Nevertheless, this is my opinion as a fan.