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The Highway Star

A small place with about 300 rooms

joe lynn turner, promo photo for belly of the beast album

Rolling Stone has a long form interview with Joe Lynn Turner, focusing on his days in Rainbow and Deep Purple. This was done for the magazine’s King for a Day series that “features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and singers who had the difficult job of fronting major rock bands after the departure of an iconic vocalist. Some of them stayed in their bands for years, while others lasted just a few months. In the end, however, they all found out that replacement singers can themselves be replaced.” And Andy Greene is, of course, the man responsible in the past few years for the excellent interviews with Don Airey, Neil Murray, Bob Daisley, and David Rosenthal, among others. Dig in!

Ronnie James Dio and Ian Gillan are two of the most beloved singers in the history of hard rock. After they laid down their vocals on Rainbow and Deep Purple classics like “Man on the Silver Mountain,” “Smoke on the Water,” “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll,” and “Highway Star,” it was almost impossible to imagine anyone else delivering them.

But when each of them parted ways with their band, Rainbow/Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore turned to the same singer to fill the voids they left behind: Joe Lynn Turner. He fronted Rainbow from 1980 to 1984, helping them score the biggest American hits of their long career, including “Stone Cold” and “Street of Dreams.” He then joined Deep Purple in 1990 for the Slaves and Masters album and tour. This time around, fans were less willing to embrace him as the new guy. The album sold poorly, and it was ripped apart by critics. Gillan returned to the band shortly after the tour wrapped, and he’s still at the helm of Deep Purple today.

“My theory is that fans find it difficult to reconcile what they’re used to hearing with something new,” Turner tells Rolling Stone via Zoom from his home in Eastern Europe. “I don’t care who you replace or whatever happens. If they don’t hear that old familiar, they’re going to crucify you. I got crucified several times.”

Long before his hard-rock crucifications, Turner grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, as Joseph Arthur Mark Linquito. His grandmother was a country music fan who loved Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard since it reminded her of the Italian folk music of her youth, but Turner gravitated towards acts like Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis instead. “I had older cousins that would spin 45s at sock hops,” he says. “I was too young to go into the parties, but I still checked out all the girls dancing with the guys. It’s really what turned me onto this stuff.”

Continue reading in Rolling Stone.



40 Comments to “A small place with about 300 rooms”:

  1. 1
    Boswell's Johnson says:

    Joe has a great voice and helped Blackmore take Rainbow in a commercial direction. I think the problem with his Purple tenure was that Blackmore was trying to make Purple sound like Rainbow. Not only was it “beneath” Purple but it was also 10 years out of date for commercial success.

  2. 2
    francis says:

    hello, for me it is certainly not the best singer of rainbow! I had the opportunity to see him several times with this group and from what I noticed he is pretentious and show-off unlike RJD and Graham bonnet…on the other hand in a solo career he is much better!

  3. 3
    Gregster says:

    Yo, that was a great article ! Well said JLT ! Always good to hear honest perspectives on things.

    Peace !

  4. 4
    MacGregor says:

    JLT saying he or S&M was criticised at THS? Or something along those lines wasn’t it? Surely not, especially way back then? Cheers.

  5. 5
    Frankenster says:

    MacGregor,

    I think JLT criticizes the fact that many Purple fans didn’t accept him as Deep Purple singer instead of Gillan back in the early 1990s. I’m not sure if the Highway Star existed or not at that time.

    I remember an interview where JLT says that he wasn’t accepted by the Deep Purple fan club as an american in an english band.

  6. 6
    Adel Faragalla says:

    S&M is a great album but it’s not a DP album.
    Anyone who differs needs to seriously check their hearing.
    Peace ✌️

  7. 7
    Uwe Hornung says:

    I think he mistook The Highway Star with the DPAS/Simon Robinson who referred to Joe as „the man from the colonies“ back in the day. You know how these friggin‘ Limeys can be if someone is from Hackensack.

    Great, instructive interview. Heartwarming to hear how Candice‘s sincere interest in Renaissance music developed its first tender roots. Love conquers all indeed. Hey, there‘s nothing wrong with putting in an extra effort! An industrious girl.

    And yes, Jon didn‘t like LCA, he thought it was cabaret with terrible lyrics. Jon was lyric-conscious unlike Blackmore, he made derisory comments about some of DC‘s lyrics („What exactly is a Stormbringer?“) as well. After all, he wrote the lyrics to quite a few of his own solo songs. And those lyrics were never inane.

  8. 8
    Micke says:

    @ 4 Amen to that..

  9. 9
    Uwe Hornung says:

    “S&M is a great album but it’s not a DP album.
    Anyone who differs needs to seriously check their hearing.”

    That’s true, Adel, but neither were Come Taste The Band or – if Mk II under leadership of Ritchie is your be- and end-all – Purpendicular. It’s ok to stray from the recipe once in a while – unless you’re AC/DC of course.

    To me, S&M is an album featuring Joe Lynn Turner, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice attempting AOR. As such, it’s not bad at all, but it’s not up there with AOR masterpieces from Foreigner, Toto, Styx or Journey either. The gig I saw (the second night at Hammersmith) was good too though I could have done without Long Live Rock’n’Roll at a DP gig – especially with the verse of Child In Time thrown in just shortly beforehand.

  10. 10
    Marcus says:

    In Rock, Machine Head, Burn, Perfect Strangers, Slaves and Masters: The Big 5 for Purple. Joe did an incredible job. Slaves and Masters contains hard rockers, and fantastic ballads. Classic Rock Nostalgia was beginning to rise at the time, and Machine Head is what people want to hear. Joe leaving and then Ritchie leaving set the stage for the what was to come for 30 years.

    And for the past 30 years, that’s what Gillan Glover and Paice have been delivering. The best of Machine Head with 3 or 4 other songs to fill up the setlists. Purpendiculites load your canons. No, I wasn’t expecting any invitations to any DP fan conventions.

  11. 11
    MacGregor says:

    Yes I was wondering abut the HS reference & thinking has he got his wires crossed somehow, don’t worry Joe we all do it, especially as father time approaches. Also nobody here would say anything about him being in Purple would they??????? Regarding that I remember thinking back then in 1990 after realising it unfortunately wasn’t a nightmare & I had just woken up. Blackmore seemed to regret in the late 1980’s putting an end to Rainbow. So JLT coming into DP may have been a sort of reunion for Blackmore & trying to capitalise on the Rainbow commercial success mixed with DP recent publicity. A silly move it was. I do think that TBRO album is better suited to DP, it has 4-5 strong songs on it & that title song is a stomper indeed. Classic MK2 at it’s grandest in all aspects. It is worth it for that one track. Gregster was saying that he likes the album as his favourite of the 3 reunion albums. For me it would sit 2nd after THOBL. I do say the same in regards to the debut reunion album in that the song Perfect Strangers makes that album worth while, a huge Purple moment that is. The album has a few other decent tunes however we all felt it a little too easy going or laid back in some ways.
    Especially for a first up album, there wasn’t any angst on that which of course is a good thing. But the fire that is created by that emotion does create many a good tune in MK2. Regarding the lyrics to the song Stormbringer yes Jon Lord admitted when he was talking about that that he was probably being a little snooty, or something along those lines. I like the lyrics along with Gypsy, Soldier of Fortune & Holy Man. Much better than some of the other songs on that album. Hold On & High Ball Shooter, please. Cheers.

  12. 12
    Kris says:

    My first Deep Purple concert took place in Poland on September 23, 1991. The lead singer of the band was Joe Lynn Turner at the time. I have to admit that in the songs from the album “Slaves And Masters” it sounded sensational, but the songs from the Mark II and III period were weaker. This is my personal feeling, with all due respect to Joe. Greetings to The Highway Star and thank you for always up-to-date news about the band!!!

  13. 13
    max says:

    @ 7

    Even worse some referred to the new singer as “Jolene” back in the day … It was clear to hear on the way out of the hall after the deafiening experience of attending a show in Freiburg that left those that I had talked into coming along rather disappointed. Not Joe’s fault alone – but his acting on stage was considered amusing to put it mildly …

  14. 14
    peter says:

    i thought Joe did a great job on the SM LP, live he was fine on Burn, Black Night, Lazy, Smoke on the water and all the new material, it was just Highway Star, and the Perfect strangers tracks I felt he was poor on, also should have gone with less ‘chat’ between songs, and let the music speak for itself. Another challenging aspect for JLT as lead vocalist was RB’s penchant for ‘unrehearsed’ material on this tour, Yesterday, Whiter shade of pale etc, he thought he coped with this well.

  15. 15
    Christof says:

    Sorry Adel, Slaves & Masters is for me the absolute lowpoint in the complete Purple catalogue. Maybe (well, not maybe but definitely) my hearing has suffered from many years of hard rock, but I’m really sure that even with perfect hearing I would come to the same conclusion!
    I must admit that the three JLT Rainbow albums also left me pretty cold, i. e. AOR was never quite my cup of tea (or Mein Bier as Germans typically say). But lyrics like “The rain falling down, Washing the sins from the street” going along with a song title “Breakfast in Bed” made my hair stand up…
    Like Max, I also was at the gig in Freiburg. Having seen Purple with Gillan 6 times before, this was the first DP show which left me bored. Best thing was the laser show as the physicist in me could think about the effects of the beams making the walls glow some time after the beam walked away. Luminescense is a fascinating thing if the singer fails to impress you ;-).
    In the interview it’s easy to read some bitterness – partially understandable as he really got some harsh criticism for the job he was doing. But contrary to an Ian Gillan or a Ronnie James Dio he didn’t influence a whole genre. On the contrary, he was one of several fine AOR singers at a time where such bands were rather interchangeable.
    What makes it difficult for him: he was the symptom for this AOR course, not the reason. This was obviously Monsieur Blackmore. But everybody tried to fight the symptom…

  16. 16
    sidroman says:

    The thing about Slaves and Masters is I’ve listened to Bent Out of Shape and Slaves and Masters back to back. They fit together suprisingly well. I think it’s a good album, but it definitely sounds more like Rainbow than Purple. I had a chance to see Purple on the S&M tour but they cancelled a few days before the show. I had to wait til November of 96 top see the band for the first time on the Purpendicular tour.

  17. 17
    Francesco says:

    Io ho avuto la fortuna a Zurigo di assistere al concerto dei Purple con JLT, a me é piaciuto un sacco, tutti molto affiatati, e poi hanno spaziato su tutto il repertorio dei Deep, un concerto bellissimo e tanto virtuosismo e un Blackmore in splendida forma con il sorriso e voglia di suonare. Non capisco proprio come possa cancellare questo pezzo di storia.

  18. 18
    Andy says:

    Joe has always been one of my favorite singers. I’d seen DP previously with Gillan for Perfect Strangers, and Rainbow with Joe for Straight Between the Eyes. On S&M I thought Joe fit right into DP. I had tickets to see DP in NYC in 1991 and I was expecting a good show. A few flashes of brilliance, Ritchie’s solo on Highway Star got people up, but overall, the show really wasn’t that good. The crowd seemed only mildly enthused and Joe’s awkward between song banter didn’t help matters. After the show I heard people wondering why they didn’t play any Rainbow.

  19. 19
    Uwe Hornung says:

    To me Joe Lynn Turner is Purple family, perhaps a little the crazy aunt that can be tasking on everyone at times, but you would not dare to not invite her to the party, wouldn’t you?

    He’s an AOR singer, yes, that is what he was hired for, both with Rainbow and Purple. He has also probably sung fewer bum notes than either Ian Gillan or David Coverdale in his career, you don’t do that kind of jingles, backing vocals (on albums of artists such as Cher, Michael Bolton and Billy Joel who could get anyone they wanted), and extensive studio session lead vocal work he does if you’re not reliably pitch-perfect and your voice is not up to scratch. He’s technically a very good singer (and no slouch on the guitar) and his voice has held up fine, I like his timbre. I’ve seen him with Rainbow (2x), Purple (1x) and Hughes/Turner (1x), his pipes need not be belittled.

    Replacing Gillan of all people was a thankless task for him, I don’t know what the other guys in Purple were thinking – if they were thinking at all. Bad Company would have been the much better choice for him.

    And if S&M hadn’t been a DP record, but, say, credited to Joe & the Hackensack Heroes, it would be a cult AOR album today.

    Joe’s wig never bothered me, all credit to him for getting as far as he did in a genre where long hair with lead vocalists was seen as mandatory (certainly by Ritchie himself). What did bother me were some of his lyrics (though not really worse than some of Coverdale’s) and his all too often unfortunately inane stage raps.

    So yes, he was a detour for DP, didn’t really fit and is a New Jersey Sopranos style bigmouth, but as Christof has rightly pointed out, he was a symptom, not the cause. And his first solo album is a minor AOR cult classic,

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARuT6mHk4xk

    the Fandango stuff across the board at least respectable, with some gems even (not entirely dissimilar to Elf btw):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCsofOdxmFU

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXQ7___4chE

    So cut Joe some slack please, will ya!

  20. 20
    Nino says:

    This world is full of paradoxes: Ian Gillan considers himself the worst Black Sabbath singer, and Joe Lynn Turner considers himself the best Deep Purple singer.

  21. 21
    sidroman says:

    Ian could have been a better singer with Sabbath, if he learned the lyrics to their songs. It’s been awhile but they had a version of him on Youtube singing Neon Knights on the Born Again Tour. He didn’t even know half the words.

  22. 22
    Leslie S Hedger says:

    I thought S&M was just an all right album. Joe did a fine job of singing but songs like LCA and Truth Hurts are 2 of the absolute worst DP songs. I wish they would have left these 2 songs out of the live show and played Fortuneteller instead. I would like to see what Blackmore and Lord would have done with this song live. I have 3 shows from the S&M tour and they are all boring!! They make Last Concert in Japan and the 1993 NEC shows look great in comparison.

  23. 23
    Svante Axbacke says:

    @21: Ah, give him a break. He canät even remember the lyrics to his own songs! 🙂 And also remember the funny story about Ian having a binder on the floor with all lyrics, then he walked on stage and found them covered with dry smoke! 🙂

  24. 24
    MacGregor says:

    JLT did fine with Rainbow & he is a very good vocalist. I still like a lot of those 3 albums, his stage presence isn’t the best but as a lead vocalist & co songwriter he is suited to those 3 Rainbow albums. S & M well it is one of those one off albums, meaning a lineup that only lasts one album & tour. DP with Come Taste the Band & S & M. Sabbath with Heaven & Hell, Born Again & Cross Purposes. JLT like Dio in 1980 was up against it big time fronting a major band with a catalogue of classic albums behind them. They both did ok getting the job done in different ways. Dio lasted longer, but only just however he did return two more times with the Sabs. It does come down to the original or known lead vocalist songs being performed live. Dio only had one short new album behind him in 1980 when touring with Sabbath, the rest was Ozzy era songs. The same with Gillan on the Born Again tour & he was held in high esteem by many fans. Turner also only had one album & the rest was MK2 material. How long do bands last with a replacement lead vocalist? There are a few exceptions, Marillion are still going & the same with Journey. Maybe it is more difficult in the hard rock genre, Bruce Dickinson being replaced by Blaze for what 2 albums & 2 tours, the same with Judas Priest & Rob Halford out for a little while with ‘Ripper’ Owens facing the lynch mob for a short but futile stint. Tony Martin always looked awkward on stage with Sabbath & never quite fitted in. It is a difficult job for those lesser known lead vocalists stepping into the spotlight light. The rabid fans & their expectations, it is a wonder they all survived. Cheers.

  25. 25
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Leslie, you’re not wrong. Ritchie played the S&M songs very tastefully live, but not with huge bursts of inspiration. It was almost like now that the band was even more following his musical orders, he didn’t want to step too much on the new music. The whole S&M album and tour had a “Dire Straits meets Deep Purple” feel to me. To me that didn’t mean that the music was crap, but “exciting” is not a term that would have crossed my mind to describe it. Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler shows aren’t “exciting” either, on a good night they engulf(ed) you in musical warmth, different strokes for different folks – of course, as DP fans, we’re geared towards grand musical drama.

    Ironically, I liked Mk V’s treatment of SOTW, how they played the first verse almost unplugged. That was new and fresh to me though I’m sure that enough people thought it was sacrilege.

    Let’s put it this way: I saw Joe joining DP for one album as an interesting one-time experiment, it needn’t (and did not) to have gone on for very much longer than it did. But I can listen to S&M less distraughtedly than to The Battle Rages On which to me sounds incredibly cold, harsh and with the band alienated from another every time I put it – warily – on. A painful album for me, there is no Purple product to which I listen with less joy. I sometimes put it on in a vain attempt to “rediscover” it, but it turns out a chore every time. It’s not that all the song material is bad (though there are very many fillers) – it’s the atmosphere and feel off the album that puts me off.

    PS: I think Ian battled so hard with the Sabbath lyrics because they simply meant hogwash to him, irrespective whether Ronnie, Geezer or Ozzy had originally written them. He just isn’t into this stuff and cannot relate (and I sometimes wonder whether his refusal to sing anything from the Mk III era is not also more down to lyrical than musical disdain). Which beckons the question why he joined Sabbath in the first place of course, but then he was under the influence! That said, his tenure with them gave us the wonderful Born Again, one of the most remarkable albums in the greater Purple Universe.

  26. 26
    Gregster says:

    Uwe said… qt.” (But) I can listen to S&M less distraughtly than to The Battle Rages On, which to me sounds incredibly cold, harsh and with the band alienated from another every time I put it – warily – on. A painful album for me, there is no Purple product to which I listen with less joy. I sometimes put it on in a vain attempt to “rediscover” it, but it turns out a chore every time. It’s not that all the song material is bad (though there are very many fillers) – it’s the atmosphere and feel off the album that puts me off “…

    I’d suggest that “history-of-the-time” puts a-lot-of-people-off liking “TBRO”…I must admit to being a bit confused & “non-challante” about the news of JLT replacing IG, & then being delivered “S&M”, only to then be told that IG is back with “TBRO”, with the main “theme” behind-it-all being Mk-II celebrating the “MiJ” 21st-anniversary, or similar, with a new live effort to come & “MiJ” refresher to follow soon…And then RB left before the tour finished, so it was a confusing & disappointing time for everyone concerned I think…

    However, “TBRO” imo, is a stronger & more consistent effort than “Perfect Strangers”…And we did get the 3 x disc set of “Live in Japan” to enjoy too, that settles any query about the songs selected for “MiJ”…Even the “Come Hell or High Water” boxed-set of 2 x 1993 shows is quite good too in retrospect…

    Certainly it was a sad & confusing time for everyone, but “TBRO” perhaps suffers a little in that production has too much of IG vocal harmony present too often through a few tunes ( I think its there for versus & chorus’s on at least 1 x tune ), & maybe that was done to calm a frustrated RB down. Yes, there were nights it’s reported where IG had to change the set-list at the last minute which annoyed RB to no-end due to an inconsistent voice, since IG was apparently partying too hard, & not taking care of himself, to the bands detriment…

    So the band nearly became history, & perhaps what happened needed to happen…IG started taking care of himself & RB resurrected Rainbow. But this shouldn’t put anyone off “TBRO” where possible. A couple of more recordings in this type-of-manner & sound would have been great to have now.

    And then Steve came along & wow !!! We have a totally new band to get into, for the next quarter-century !…It did take a while for me to get interested in the band again I must say, but I’m glad I did !

    Peace !

  27. 27
    Andy says:

    Uwe, interesting comparison between Dire Straits and DP on the S&M tour. I have to agree. I saw Dire Straits at a huge arena in NJ for their last tour. What struck me was the crowd was much more tame than a typical rock crowd. People were sitting in their seats and drinking coffee. So low key. The opener, Calling Elvis was a highlight, a good spatial sound. The only time the crowd got pumped was when the band moved to a smaller stage setup for Sultans of Swing. I thought the show was about to take off at that point, but then they went back to a more relaxed feel.

  28. 28
    Uwe Hornung says:

    PS: Ripper Owens with Judas Priest was awful – pitch-perfect, but soulless. Those were years of desolation for me as a fan with him in the band. It was the Queen syndrome once again – you have to be camp/gay to be a credible front man for Priest. Plus the music was horrible too as they were trying to out-Pantera Pantera in that Pant-Era.

  29. 29
    Rock Voorne says:

    Expressions/opinions outed by great musicians and in our case people like Jon Lord are often seen as oracle stuff.

    Jon and other guys in the DP family regularly talked bs imho.

    If JLT bashing just for LCA , calling lyrics inane, wtf he stayed with mister I never said I was Bobby Shakespearre for many years.

    The reflections and debates on the S and M period keep returning on fora.

    I felt ambiguous. JLT did a great job in RAINBOW , his solo effort RESCUE YOU was wonderful, he was very good on ODYSSEY but……

    I dont know how it happened, his voice live on the tour wasnt up to par with his usual performance.

    Pity, DP between 87 and the return of Gillan turned a corner instrumentally and went back to their roots after trying to adapt to the 80 s culminating in almost 70 s level quality during the TBRO tour.

  30. 30
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Well Roger Glover liked it. ‘Love Conquers All’ I Mean. I remember an interview where he said he heard it on the radio in the car and first didn’t realize that it was DP, but liked how his own bass slotted in determining the chords via setting the root notes. He thought it was Motown’ish.

    For the life of me, I’ve since then tried to find out what he exactly meant with that, but have failed to do so! On this particular track, his bass playing strikes me as unremarkable, there I’ve said it (his chorus intros on King Of Dreams OTOH are brilliant!).

    As regards the song, I’m with Jon, this is in fact bordering on saccharine. And I’ve real issues with grown men (Joe was turning 40 at the time) singing about “girls” – in comparison: Big Ian sang as a not yet 30 year old about “(my) Woman From Tokyo” in 1972.

    I like ballads (too) and have no issues with grand tearjerkers, but ‘Still Loving You’ it wasn’t (and I can forgive Klaus Meine lyrical glitches more than Joe, Ingleesh eeze nott heez nätiff langwich).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pOr3dBFAeY

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgwdoISbyJY

  31. 31
    Gregster says:

    @29…Rock said…”Jon and other guys in the DP family regularly talked bs imho”.

    LOL ! That’s show-biz !!!… And don’t forget that the filthy-press often add their $00:02 too, to further add to the bollox !

    As long as all is said-&-done with a friendly smile…:) !

    Peace !

  32. 32
    Uwe Hornung says:

    What’s good about this place here is that it sometimes brings you to revisit things, I gave S&M (Friday Music remaster) a spin last night:

    – Nope, it doesn’t sound like Difficult To Cure/Straight Between The Eyes/Bent Out Of Shape to my ears. The music is much too organic. Once Rainbow weren’t barbarians at the gate anymore (Dio)) or flirting with a glam rock sound (Bonnet), the JoLT era albums all sounded clinical and a little stiff. Especially Jon’s keyboards are way too rhythmic and busy (even if he is playing less Hammond and less loud in the mix) – you never heard anything of the like on Rainbow albums, keyboards with Rainbow – unless they were playing a solo or a classical intro – tended to be dead with little rhythmic embellishments. You name me one Rainbow song where the keyboards actually “cook” – Jon is “cooking” all over the place on S&M, just not with his usual sound. He was a great rhythm guitarist on the keys.

    – I finally got what Roger meant. Yes, on Love Conquers All, neither the guitar nor the organ move much with the chord changes, Roger does that for them. And Ritchie’s slide solo is really tasty, I had forgotten that. Jon’s moving string introduction (kept off from the single version) is beautiful too.

    – I think the song material is actually up to scratch (and better than on TBRO) – only the inane (musically as well as lyrically) “Breakfast In Bed” sticks out like a sore thumb (or should that rather be “like a sore morning glory”, given the general song subject?).

    – My wife still observed yesterday: “This doesn’t sound like Deep Purple at all, it could be any band. Where is the loud organ? I know you’re always going on about Ritchie, but to me Ian Gillan’s voice defines the Purple sound. This guy is a good singer, but he sounds like Paul Rodgers or Lou Gramm.” She actually also remarked when she heard “King Of Dreams”: “I know that one, is it Bad Company?” And she’s right (of course she always is!), “King of Dreams” could have been something straight off the last two Bad Co albums of the initial Rodgers era (Desolation Angels/Rough Diamonds).

  33. 33
    MacGregor says:

    That is why S & M is ‘affectionately’ known as Deep Rainbow. It has four members of DP & three from 1980’s Rainbow. Plus the production is smooth & not raunchy rock ‘n roll & Jon Lord is low key on the album & Ian Paice’s drum sound is mediocre to say the least. It is all too smooth for me, not hard rock style like THOBL & TBRO. Those two albums rock with classic MK2 DP traits throughout, S & M, well it rolls down a hill until it disappears & people wonder ‘what was that that just rolled by’? Cheers.

  34. 34
    Gregster says:

    @ 32…I actually did the same, & listened to “S&M” cranked-right-up, & “TBRO” cranked-right-up, & they’re two different recordings, with “S&M” struggling to maintain a DP identity imo. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad album…”TBRO” is classic DP, with plenty of power applied to the sound & songs.

    I also listened to “THOBL” cranked-right-up, & enjoyed it the most lol ! (Especially when “Mitzy Dupree” comes on…Always makes me laugh aloud) !

    Peace !

  35. 35
    Uwe Hornung says:

    THOBL is an underrated gem – a really interesting and deep album. Very varied too. The Fireball of the 80ies.

  36. 36
    Gregster says:

    @ 35…Very well said !

    Peace !

  37. 37
    Rock Voorne says:

    I may have post fade brain damage or something but Gillan stopping with singing about things related to girls around his 3o, I thing august 27 he was 27 btw, no way….

    Too lazy too look up the titles but everyone with a GILLAN collection knows this is weird to say.

    Not to to mention he kinda made KAYBD, did you really Uan? I dont want to know, a vulgar lyric.

    There are many rxamples out there. GIRLS LIKE THAT, anybody, ieuwwww

  38. 38
    Uwe Hornung says:

    I‘m not sure that KAYBD is actually about anal sex, Big Ian just joked that it was. I think it‘s about the past catching up with you.

    Wikipedia quotes Ian:

    “There’s this guy named Redbeard, from a radio station down in Texas. He phoned me up after it had been played on every radio station in America and said, “Is this what I think it’s about?” And I said, “Yeah.” And he said, “It’s amazing, every radio station in America is playing a song written about anal sex and they don’t even realize what’s going on.” And I was like, well it’s not in-your-face anal sex, it’s just a joke. It just came about with the lyrics. It’s no big deal. But it’s a humorous thing and not meant to be offensive. And I think it was just an afterthought. It certainly wasn’t what inspired the song.“

    In a lot of old Blues tracks, the “back door man“ is not always just an anal sex connaisseur, but the lover of another man‘s wife, who can‘t be seen visiting his mistress officially.

  39. 39
    sidroman says:

    KAYBD should be in the setlist along with Perfect Strangers. Was fortunate to see Purple with Simon McBride in February. It’s sad though that Steve Morse who filled in for Blackmore for over a quarter century had not a single song played from his era. I first saw Purple in 96 on the Purpendicular Tour, and I remember there were 5-6 songs from that album in the setlist that night, including The Aviator which I thought was a great song and wish it was retained at every show after, not suprisingly it wasn’t.
    I dont mean to be over critical, because the band still sounds great for a bunch of old geezers except from Simon. My other favorite band The Who, I last saw in 2019, and they shoul really hang it up, it’s just Townshend and Daltrey with a backing band of faceless musicians anymore. Just my 2 cents!

  40. 40
    Rock Voorne says:

    ” but the lover of another man‘s wife, who can‘t be seen visiting his mistress officially.”

    Well that sounds more appealing. NOT!
    Gimme Anyones Daughter please!

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