Despite this resurgence in their popularity, the tensions within the band had returned with a vengeance. Lead vocalist Ian Gillan and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had always found difficulties in working together, something that had led to Gillan initially leaving the band after the “Who Do We Think We Are” album back in 1973. The negotiations to bring this lineup back together always had to rest heavily on the working relationship between Gillan and Blackmore being able to be cordial, and initially this appeared to be working. But the pressure of constant touring together and making decisions together again soon saw that fragile alliance brought to bear. The widening of the musical differences between the two, and the resulting arguments, led to Gillan being fired from the band in 1989, with Blackmore leading and insisting on the change.
This led the band on the crux of an impossible decision. Continuing the band was never in question, but the choice of the new lead singer would critically help to shape the music the band would produce going forward. Initially, the band’s choice was Jimi Jamison, then with the band Survivor. After a two-week session with the band, he reluctantly parted ways with them; according to Jon Lord when quoted on the situation in 1993, he said "He [Jamison] was an enormous Deep Purple fan and he would happily have taken over the job. But at the time he was afraid of his managers. They didn't want him to leave Survivor and he didn't dare to get into a fight with them”. The band went back into the auditioning process, and during this many high profile candidates were considered for the job, including Brian Howe (White Spirit, Ted Nugent, Bad Company), Doug Pinnick (King's X), Australians Jimmy Barnes (Cold Chisel) and John Farnham (Little River Band), Terry Brock (Strangeways, Giant) and Norman "Kal" Swan (Tytan, Lion, Bad Moon Rising).
Through all of this, entering stage right was Joe Lynn Turner. Turner was the lead vocalist for Blackmore’s pre-reunion era band Rainbow, having contributed vocals to three albums prior to their break u to allow Blackmore to return to Deep Purple. At this time, he had just completed a successful stint as the singer for Yngwie Malmsteen’s band, with the excellent album “Odyssey” being the result as well as a successful tour to promote it. With that coming to an end, Turner had apparently had offers from both Bad Company and Foreigner to come on board as their lead singer, before the Deep Purple job became available. Turner was a known quantity, not only to Blackmore but his other fellow Rainbow bandmate in Roger Glover. He had a proven track record of writing, and his vocals were unquestioned. Would the connection with Rainbow end up being a problem with his joining up with Deep Purple? Perhaps. But any consequences of that would only be known following the release of the album that they recorded together, which became known as “Slave and Masters”
The opening two tracks to the album were ones that caught my attention from the first time I put this album on. There was then, and always has been, something about them that still draws me into this album every time I hear them. That opening drone of the synth and organ into the mid-tempo drumbeat and bass line that sets up the song, Ritchie’s little guitar twiddle, and then Joe’s voice coming in and beginning his story... everything about it is encapsulating. “King of Dreams” does mirror in places the great opening tracks on Deep Purple albums, perhaps not as fast in tempo, but certainly in bringing an emotion to the surface. There’s no great solo battle between organ and guitar, both have their place but it is understated in an unusual way for the band and these two great players. For the most part, the music holds its own throughout the song, and it is Joe Lynn Turner and his vocals that make their presence felt most, that drive the song and draw the most out of it, an emotional response that in many ways only Joe Lynn Turner can provide. The tempo and mood of the track harmonises along with him, and makes this a truly superb opening to the album. And then this is followed by the bigger energy bump of “The Cut Runs Deep”, organ and guitar combine together in true Deep Purple fashion, drums hammering in along with the undercurrent of the bass guitar to drive the opening of the song. And then, once the chugging tempo is set by Paice and Glover, Turner comes in and steals the track again. Turner has two phases of his singing ability – the crooning power ballad (which we will come to), and the attention grabbing frontman whose vocals rise to greater heights, the screams and wonderfully delivered lines that draws the attention to him. That’s what we get here on “The Cut Runs Deep”. Joe Lynn Turner front and centre, before the best parts of Deep Purple battle each other playing out the song, Jon Lord’s incredible Hammond organ dominating alongside Ritchie Blackmore’s lead guitar and Turner’s vocal.
“Fire in the Basement” draws back on the blues roots of the band with Ritchie’s guitar and Lord’s organ. Both are prominent throughout in the way the best Deep Purple songs emphasise them, while that great bass line from Glover underneath comes through beautifully. Ian Paice’s drumming here reaches its usual exceptional standard as well, holding the blues line in the middle solo section while Ritchie and John do their work. I will say it again – Deep Purple are at their best when these two each have their solo piece in a song, and play off against each other, and it works here as usual. The energetic vocals from Turner in the final stanza of the track put the finishing touches on a great song.
The middle of the album is dominated by a side of Deep Purple that isn’t seen very often, and for the most part never when Gillan was at the helm. Here we have four songs, two of which journey towards the dark side of the power ballad or just straight ballad, and the other two that settle into the downtown country feel of commercial FM radio and AOR rock. “Truth Hurts” is the power ballad, and the first true comparisons to Rainbow come to the forefront. This is the style of track Blackmore, Glover and Turner tried to produce in rainbow to gain commercial credibility, which worked on some tracks and not so much on others. This is a well-crafted, subtly beautiful song, with Turner’s honeyed vocals providing the perfect topping for Ritchie’s melodic and haunting guitar work and Roger’s complementing bass guitar. Lord’s keys and organ are there in a supporting role and only to complement what has been written rather than play their part in the song. Given the three songwriters are the same here as for Rainbow, the similarity cannot be dispensed with. It would be difficult to categorise this song as a Deep Purple track. “Breakfast in Bed” opens up with Lord’s keys rather than his organ sound, another nod that this album is looking for a different sound from that which Deep Purple had based itself around for 20 years. This is one of those AOR sounding tracks that Turner excels on with his vocal style, and he is the driving force of the song. It is, again, a very easy listening sounding track, written for an audience that perhaps was young when the band started out but has now matured to the point that this style of music is what it is looking for. It channels the Blackmore/Glover/Turner writing masterclass, again keeping the organ under wraps, the keys instead complementing the guitar and bass as Turner croons over the top. The true ballad of “Love Conquers All” is next, there is no pretence going on with this song. This is no “Child in Time”, this is pure balladry, with strings on the track as well to emphasise its mood and character. And... it is difficult to denigrate it, despite the fact I just cannot get on board with style of song. These five play this song immensely well, it is flawless, and Joe’s vocals again are like honey being poured over ice cream. He is an amazing vocalist, and it truly does shine on this track. The other four though, they have nothing to do but Ritchie’s bidding. And the fourth and final song of this middle section of the album is “Fortuneteller”, one that injects a bit of the old Deep Purple back into the veins, which obviously only comes because Lord and Paice are also credited as co-writers on this track. Suddenly the organ is back, the drums have a presence, and there is more energy and oomph behind the vocals again. I mean, not a lot mind you, this still moves along at a plodding pace rather than a good drive, which is why it resides in this conglomerate of the middle of the album.
“Too Much is Not Enough” is an interesting choice for this album. It was originally composed by Turner, along with fellow musicians Bob Held and Al Greenwood, for his debut solo album “Rescue You”, which was released in 1985. It wasn’t used, and so it resurfaced here to become a song on a Deep Purple album. It obviously has the tweaks added by Blackmore and Lord, but it is noticeable for the very un-Hammond organ sounds, with synth and keyboard being used in place of Lord’s usual organ deepness. The almost pop rock sound of the arrangement also comes heavily to the fore, and the desire to have background vocals that mirror having backing girls as a part of the track. It has touches of that era Def Leppard about it, which perhaps goes part of the way to explaining its sound. The album then comes to a close with “Wicked Ways”, an upbeat, forceful, harder core song, full of Joe’s screams and melodic vocals. He mixes up the intensity of his singing on this track, sweet and melodic through the verses and then more forceful and from the diaphragm in the chorus. There is a great full tempo bass riff from Glover throughout the song that is a dominating and excellent presence, driven by Paice’s drumming as well. The mix of guitar and organ provides a real Purple sound to the track, both together as the rhythm and then the switch up between the two in the middle of the track. As a closer, it does everything the final song on an album should do – entertain and encourage you to go back to the beginning and listen to the album all over again. It does its job well.
My introduction to Deep Purple had pretty much come from the first two albums of the resurrected Mark II lineup, with both “Perfect Strangers” and “The House of Blue Light”. And it would be fair to say that I loved – and love – both of those albums. “Perfect Strangers” was such a terrific album, one that I discovered as a newbie rather than a returning fan of the band, so perhaps I had a more unique experience of that album. I certainly did of “The House of Blue Light” because I apparently think more of that album than most of the fanbase.
The announcement of Ian Gillan moving on from the band was one of those disappointing moments, especially because of my enjoyment of those two albums, and the announcement of Joe Lynn Turner to helm the band did bring on the inevitable comparisons and beliefs that this was a Rainbow reunion, and that the album would therefore have more of a Rainbow sound to it than a Deep Purple sound. And – it's true, as I have mentioned here already during this episode. There’s no doubt that Blackmore pulled in the reigns tighter to himself now that Gillan had departed, and with the name Deep Purple he was able to exert more commercial influence with that entity than he was able to do with the name Rainbow. Is that a bad thing? I mean, would the music have changed immensely if another lead singer had been brought in? Certainly, the album would not have sounded like Rainbow – as this album most certainly does – but would it have sounded like Journey or Survivor or Cold Chisel if one of those other vocalists had been the one drafted in? Inevitably, having three-fifths of Rainbow, and two-fifths of Whitesnake leaves us in a position where comparisons are going to be made.
I very much remember this album when it was released, and not just because I bought it the very first instant I was able to upon its release. I couldn’t wait to hear it. Yes, it was always going to be different from the high velocity albums I was engrossed with from this period. But come on, it’s Deep Purple, right? They had nothing to prove, no need to beat their drum. And from the opening tracks, I was entranced. It was really like revisiting an old friend, who had come to resemble another old friend. That beginning of “King of Dreams” into “The Cut Runs Deep” is still as superb as the day I first bought the album. And the funky groove of “Fire in the Basement” and the then-modern hard rock tones of “Too Much is Not Enough” and “Wicked Ways”, they are still fabulous. And despite my overall abhorrence of the power ballad and rock ballad in general, whenever I play this album I still sing along to “Love Conquers All” and “Truth Hurts” and never consider skipping those songs. Joe Lynn Turner just performs them too well to allow me to do so. More than anything else, this album reminds me very much of a time that I was developing deeper feelings for a young girl who had come into my vision when I was first indulging in this album, and the songs here still remind me of the time when I was wondering if I would ever find the courage to ask her out to a movie. The fact that I did indeed get around to doing that, and that I am still married to that particular young girl some 35 years after first asking her out, does make this album all the more special for me.
For two weeks – possibly longer - I have had this album out of its CD case and on my stereo again, taking in everything that it has to offer. 18 times I have played this album at home and at work and in the car. I never get tired of it. It is still such an amazing experience for me, for reasons that I think I have explained well enough. I do understand when fans of the band exclude it, suggesting it isn’t a Deep Purple album. It certainly does dress itself as a Rainbow album, but for me that doesn’t matter. As an ALBUM, no matter the artist, it is one that I have loved for 35 years, with no end in sight. It just works.
Of course, the band and their management disagreed. In the years since, Jon Lord, Roger Glover and Ian Paice all proclaimed their disappointment with it, with Lord and Glover both publicly saying they don’t consider this to be a Deep Purple album. On the other hand, Blackmore claimed it was one of his favourite Deep Purple albums, and Turner himself – surprise surprise – thinks it is one of the best albums the band released. The fact that the band was well into the writing process for the follow up with Turner, before record company and pressure from all but Blackmore brought about the return of Gillan to replace Turner for that next album, shows how fractured everything still was within the group. And the fractions still had some time to fester before a solution of sorts could be found.
Through all of this, it is disappointing that we didn’t get a second album from this Mark V version of Deep Purple. But perhaps that is what makes this album so special, because it was a one off, without anything beyond it to spoil it. And I can only agree that I treat this more as an extension of Rainbow rather than Deep Purple, but given I love both bands, and all eras of both bands, that doesn’t detract from this album for me at all. Honestly, I could go and listen to this album again right now. Perhaps, I will.
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