Here are a couple of excerpts from what appears the same Joe Lynn Turner interview, published on twodifferent YouTube channels. JLT is reminiscing about his work with Ritchie Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen.
Posted by Nick on Monday, March 25th, 2024, filed under News. You can follow comment on this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.
I have always wondered how boring can an individual be. But here it is in person. JLT — when he opens his mouth it puts people to sleep. It is always better to sleep than waste your time trying to listen to this JLT shit.
Always good to hear from JLT, & to learn a little about Yngwie J Malmsteen in this instance. I only watched to short 6-minute vid, & thought it was great. He seemed relaxed, & happy to discuss things in a short & sweet way. Worth Watching !
I politely disagree, Joe is mostly not mouthing off here but offering historic insight with quite some perception.
I think “being your own worst enemy” sums up Yngwie and how he squandered his undeniable talent. He could have gone much further. It’s like he never grew up.
And I also agree that ‘Rescue You’ is one of the best albums featuring Joe (production + Al Greenwood’s songwriting + Joe’s performance), his voice was doing there what it was simply made for, he’s an AOR crooner, a very good one at that. You hear to this day that ‘Rescue cost a lot of money to make, it was a great-sounding record at the time, better than any of the Turner-era Rainbow albums.
I finally share his view that Mother’s Army sounded like no other band, in a way it was approaching Prog Rock.
This was complex music exquisitely played and sung, if anything a bit in the King’s X vein. Musician’s music, perhaps that is why they didn’t crack it, I wouldn’t put all the blame on Nirvana.
Interesting that Don said pretty much the same thing about Gary Moore in the interview mentioned in the previous post here: the guy reached his ceiling musically in his youth and never improved afterwards. But I think that wasn’t the reason for Yngwie not becoming super successful. We may just set too high expectations for our fav musicians, especially in commercial terms. And in the real world of show business it’s the 3 min pop songs that rule the waves, and have most of the time. There are rare windows of opportunity when heavy music or prog or alt may become commercially successful, but then it comes back to the regular commercial musicscape, anyway. In fact, I am surprised that our DP boys sold about 100M records of thoroughly non-commercial music. The only thing Yngwie could have done better, in fact, is sustaining his 1988 commercial break till like 1992 keeping Joe onboard or otherwise. And then the muddy wave of grunge would have wiped anyone anyway just like it did.
Yngwie remains stuck in the 80ies. I would have liked to see him venture into true Prog (something like UK or Kong Crimson) or World Music, he never recorded a Bitches Brew. He still likes to look and play like the kid he was when he joined Alcatrazz, but that was more than 40 years ago! He’s caught in this time capsule, and over time it has become increasingly ridiculous.
Some things Joe said like Yngwie not knowing the difference between leasing and owning a Ferrari reminded of what I heard from someone who lived in his neighborhood in 80ies/90ies. It reminded me of The Wrestler, the film with Mickey Rourke. According to the neighbor, Yngwie would always wear shades, go shopping in the supermarket in his stage outfits any time of the day and had several Ferraris and Lamborghinis parked before his house, all in various stages of decay due to insufficient maintenance. That sounded like a hollow and volatile existence.
I then look at someone like Steve Vai and say: Yeah, the man has aged gracefully – he’s cringe-free whether you like his music or not. And when he talks about his past – like his Whitesnake years – there is some reflection and a wry smile there. Yngwie OTOH seems to live under the illusion that his life is a sequence of smart decisions and actions.
For the avoidance of doubt: I think he’s a fantastic, one-of-a-kind guitar player and more than just a Ritchie Blackmore/Uli Jon Roth clone though they have both undeniably influenced him.
Malmsteen in a progressive rock band? Never, his attitude is not there as we all know. However you have already stated that. Same with other certain guitar hero’s out there, Blackmore included.. A good example to my ears is Dream Theater, John Petrucci is fine guitarist, however? Is there a keyboard player in Dream Theater is there????????? The modern day whizz bang guitarist or show off wouldn’t last two seconds in a serious progressive rock band. Those bands do not have a ‘look at me’ lead guitarist, they have a ensemble guitarist who knows what to play & what NOT to play. Attitude indeed. Cheers.
Thanks for the heads up regarding Allan Holdsworth, talk about improvising, sheeesh. I witnessed him & Jimmy Johnson on bass & Chad Wackerman drums live in 2002. A hell of a lot of improv & Holdsworth was a sort of John Coltrane on guitar in that sense. When he was young he wanted to play sax apparently but couldn’t afford one so he purchased a guitar. A bit hard to grasp at times a lot of his music live in concert, however I am still glad I witnessed those musicians playing live. I used to own the Road Games EP & the IOU album & this live in Tokyo 1984 concert features a lot of that. Paul Williams on vocals on a few songs which is nice & it also breaks up the ‘monotony’ of the instrumental free form music. Jack Bruce sang two songs on that EP from 1984. A rather good concert this is. Holdsworth is held in very high esteem by so many of the great guitarists in rock, blues & jazz. He had plenty of colour in his sounds & also his playing. Cheers.
It’s the people & the bankers that mould the successful musicians & bands…The people want “Machine-Head” again & again, & the bankers will fund the next recording based on the “Machine-Head” expected returns…( See other threads for confirmation yo )..And this is potentially what happened per-se to Yngwie, for want of a way of defence on his behalf. He is one of the most masterful guitarists that has crafted his own unique sound, whilst using a growing batch of 1970’s Olympic White Fender Stratocasters, & Marshall amps.
Yngwie is a monster-player, & the only link he has to other well-known-influencial players of similarish style, is the fact they come from Europe, & that means “classical” music got some air-play in their child-hood, & they arrived earlier.
Yngwie could likely play a lot of other-peoples-music quite well, but I doubt these same people could play his…
And Yngwie has an air-kick better than anyone I’ve ever seen, whether football, soccer, the Olympics long-jump or whatever…See to believe stuff !
“He is one of the most masterful guitarists that has crafted his own unique sound …”
That is true, lieber Gregster, but his impact could have been so much more. And for once, I don’t think record companies are the issue. I don’t blame him for lack of commercial success – demanding music sometimes has a hard time finding an audience. If he had set up his own little cottage industry and released strange albums every few years to a cult of devotees and otherwise gave interviews in Guitar Player magazine, that would be totally fine by me. Uli Jon Roth has sort of done that, he walked away from certain rock star fame with the Scorpions to play his own music irrespective of commercial success, no record company could chain him down, perhaps he didn’t care for Ferraris? But Yngwie is in that time warp of wishing to remain an 80ies rock star forever – it’s almost childlike magical thinking. Compared to him, even Ritchie has branched out eventually.
I don’t give a damn about his air kick, I would have liked to have heard a Flamenco album from him or a joint project with his other idol Al Di Meola or with Jeff Beck. I would have preferred to see him MATURE.
You may well be correct Leiber Uwe, as I have to admit that I don’t “follow” Yngwie per-se, I simply recognized a remarkable talent when his time came. His playing was fiery & wielded all the licks, tricks & riffs that would make your jaw drop in awe, & yet remained distinctly different from the “others”. And he picked everything played, yet sounded like the others who were finger-tapping. He used to have a divided audience at the “Fender Stratocaster” forum that I used to visit from time-to-time, (as they somehow found my e-mail details lol) where people simply passed-him-off as a shredder, but he’s much more than that ! His guitar tone is to my ears among the best around period.
Anyway, I did know of him through the 1980’s, & I think he’s done quite well to still be remembered & not forgotten, with so many quality guitarists / musicians coming through in that time. Perhaps it’s “us” the audience that could have helped him along, rather than blaming him for a lack-of-progression ? He’s a survivor, & that warrants some merit. And his air-kick has to be noted as one of the amazing phenomena that one gets at one of his shows. It’s almost as impressive as his amazing playing, especially at his age lol !
Sigh, so now we know what people at Stratocaster forums are obsessed with. It’s not pre-CBS or not, or maple fret board vs rosewood, it’s Scandinavian gymnastics.🤣
There was no doubt a strong influence from Blackmore’s general stage demeanor, but Yngwie’s moves were way more effeminate – by today’s standards he was prancing and pouting around on stage.
Not that Ritchie couldn’t swing his butt temptatiously if duty called! 😁
At least Blackmore with his antics still managed to ‘wipe the floor’ with most guitarists. Poor ole Malmsteen is still dreaming of doing that. Not to worry at least he can play the guitar. Cheers.
![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse3.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/paice2.jpg)
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
I have always wondered how boring can an individual be. But here it is in person. JLT — when he opens his mouth it puts people to sleep. It is always better to sleep than waste your time trying to listen to this JLT shit.
March 25th, 2024 at 21:25Yo,
Always good to hear from JLT, & to learn a little about Yngwie J Malmsteen in this instance. I only watched to short 6-minute vid, & thought it was great. He seemed relaxed, & happy to discuss things in a short & sweet way. Worth Watching !
Peace !
March 25th, 2024 at 23:44I politely disagree, Joe is mostly not mouthing off here but offering historic insight with quite some perception.
I think “being your own worst enemy” sums up Yngwie and how he squandered his undeniable talent. He could have gone much further. It’s like he never grew up.
And I also agree that ‘Rescue You’ is one of the best albums featuring Joe (production + Al Greenwood’s songwriting + Joe’s performance), his voice was doing there what it was simply made for, he’s an AOR crooner, a very good one at that. You hear to this day that ‘Rescue cost a lot of money to make, it was a great-sounding record at the time, better than any of the Turner-era Rainbow albums.
I finally share his view that Mother’s Army sounded like no other band, in a way it was approaching Prog Rock.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUdmLVLgrQs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hAYP0Fze_Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHESktoKKvo
This was complex music exquisitely played and sung, if anything a bit in the King’s X vein. Musician’s music, perhaps that is why they didn’t crack it, I wouldn’t put all the blame on Nirvana.
March 26th, 2024 at 02:04@3
Interesting that Don said pretty much the same thing about Gary Moore in the interview mentioned in the previous post here: the guy reached his ceiling musically in his youth and never improved afterwards. But I think that wasn’t the reason for Yngwie not becoming super successful. We may just set too high expectations for our fav musicians, especially in commercial terms. And in the real world of show business it’s the 3 min pop songs that rule the waves, and have most of the time. There are rare windows of opportunity when heavy music or prog or alt may become commercially successful, but then it comes back to the regular commercial musicscape, anyway. In fact, I am surprised that our DP boys sold about 100M records of thoroughly non-commercial music. The only thing Yngwie could have done better, in fact, is sustaining his 1988 commercial break till like 1992 keeping Joe onboard or otherwise. And then the muddy wave of grunge would have wiped anyone anyway just like it did.
March 26th, 2024 at 12:52Yngwie remains stuck in the 80ies. I would have liked to see him venture into true Prog (something like UK or Kong Crimson) or World Music, he never recorded a Bitches Brew. He still likes to look and play like the kid he was when he joined Alcatrazz, but that was more than 40 years ago! He’s caught in this time capsule, and over time it has become increasingly ridiculous.
Some things Joe said like Yngwie not knowing the difference between leasing and owning a Ferrari reminded of what I heard from someone who lived in his neighborhood in 80ies/90ies. It reminded me of The Wrestler, the film with Mickey Rourke. According to the neighbor, Yngwie would always wear shades, go shopping in the supermarket in his stage outfits any time of the day and had several Ferraris and Lamborghinis parked before his house, all in various stages of decay due to insufficient maintenance. That sounded like a hollow and volatile existence.
I then look at someone like Steve Vai and say: Yeah, the man has aged gracefully – he’s cringe-free whether you like his music or not. And when he talks about his past – like his Whitesnake years – there is some reflection and a wry smile there. Yngwie OTOH seems to live under the illusion that his life is a sequence of smart decisions and actions.
For the avoidance of doubt: I think he’s a fantastic, one-of-a-kind guitar player and more than just a Ritchie Blackmore/Uli Jon Roth clone though they have both undeniably influenced him.
March 26th, 2024 at 16:00Malmsteen in a progressive rock band? Never, his attitude is not there as we all know. However you have already stated that. Same with other certain guitar hero’s out there, Blackmore included.. A good example to my ears is Dream Theater, John Petrucci is fine guitarist, however? Is there a keyboard player in Dream Theater is there????????? The modern day whizz bang guitarist or show off wouldn’t last two seconds in a serious progressive rock band. Those bands do not have a ‘look at me’ lead guitarist, they have a ensemble guitarist who knows what to play & what NOT to play. Attitude indeed. Cheers.
March 26th, 2024 at 21:27Yngwie is always raving about Allan Holdsworth, you might think he’d have taken some inspiration eventually …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_iDkIyFmfQ
It’s not like he hasn’t dabbled with it or doesn’t have the chops …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoPDwV5HpLQ
Here’s the original:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74GBPl2FaK0
March 26th, 2024 at 23:34Thanks for the heads up regarding Allan Holdsworth, talk about improvising, sheeesh. I witnessed him & Jimmy Johnson on bass & Chad Wackerman drums live in 2002. A hell of a lot of improv & Holdsworth was a sort of John Coltrane on guitar in that sense. When he was young he wanted to play sax apparently but couldn’t afford one so he purchased a guitar. A bit hard to grasp at times a lot of his music live in concert, however I am still glad I witnessed those musicians playing live. I used to own the Road Games EP & the IOU album & this live in Tokyo 1984 concert features a lot of that. Paul Williams on vocals on a few songs which is nice & it also breaks up the ‘monotony’ of the instrumental free form music. Jack Bruce sang two songs on that EP from 1984. A rather good concert this is. Holdsworth is held in very high esteem by so many of the great guitarists in rock, blues & jazz. He had plenty of colour in his sounds & also his playing. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvEs8KvcBmY
March 27th, 2024 at 23:00Yo,
It’s the people & the bankers that mould the successful musicians & bands…The people want “Machine-Head” again & again, & the bankers will fund the next recording based on the “Machine-Head” expected returns…( See other threads for confirmation yo )..And this is potentially what happened per-se to Yngwie, for want of a way of defence on his behalf. He is one of the most masterful guitarists that has crafted his own unique sound, whilst using a growing batch of 1970’s Olympic White Fender Stratocasters, & Marshall amps.
Yngwie is a monster-player, & the only link he has to other well-known-influencial players of similarish style, is the fact they come from Europe, & that means “classical” music got some air-play in their child-hood, & they arrived earlier.
Yngwie could likely play a lot of other-peoples-music quite well, but I doubt these same people could play his…
And Yngwie has an air-kick better than anyone I’ve ever seen, whether football, soccer, the Olympics long-jump or whatever…See to believe stuff !
Peace !
March 28th, 2024 at 02:24“He is one of the most masterful guitarists that has crafted his own unique sound …”
That is true, lieber Gregster, but his impact could have been so much more. And for once, I don’t think record companies are the issue. I don’t blame him for lack of commercial success – demanding music sometimes has a hard time finding an audience. If he had set up his own little cottage industry and released strange albums every few years to a cult of devotees and otherwise gave interviews in Guitar Player magazine, that would be totally fine by me. Uli Jon Roth has sort of done that, he walked away from certain rock star fame with the Scorpions to play his own music irrespective of commercial success, no record company could chain him down, perhaps he didn’t care for Ferraris? But Yngwie is in that time warp of wishing to remain an 80ies rock star forever – it’s almost childlike magical thinking. Compared to him, even Ritchie has branched out eventually.
I don’t give a damn about his air kick, I would have liked to have heard a Flamenco album from him or a joint project with his other idol Al Di Meola or with Jeff Beck. I would have preferred to see him MATURE.
March 28th, 2024 at 14:24@10…
You may well be correct Leiber Uwe, as I have to admit that I don’t “follow” Yngwie per-se, I simply recognized a remarkable talent when his time came. His playing was fiery & wielded all the licks, tricks & riffs that would make your jaw drop in awe, & yet remained distinctly different from the “others”. And he picked everything played, yet sounded like the others who were finger-tapping. He used to have a divided audience at the “Fender Stratocaster” forum that I used to visit from time-to-time, (as they somehow found my e-mail details lol) where people simply passed-him-off as a shredder, but he’s much more than that ! His guitar tone is to my ears among the best around period.
Anyway, I did know of him through the 1980’s, & I think he’s done quite well to still be remembered & not forgotten, with so many quality guitarists / musicians coming through in that time. Perhaps it’s “us” the audience that could have helped him along, rather than blaming him for a lack-of-progression ? He’s a survivor, & that warrants some merit. And his air-kick has to be noted as one of the amazing phenomena that one gets at one of his shows. It’s almost as impressive as his amazing playing, especially at his age lol !
Peace !
March 31st, 2024 at 22:42Sigh, so now we know what people at Stratocaster forums are obsessed with. It’s not pre-CBS or not, or maple fret board vs rosewood, it’s Scandinavian gymnastics.🤣
https://64.media.tumblr.com/c77513835ebb04ec37da676764c0b5e4/tumblr_n1bveo2jKL1qjmsjxo1_400.gif
April 1st, 2024 at 01:49I wouldn’t just say Scandinavian Stratocaster gymnastics Uwe. Or perhaps that is ballet lessons. Cheers.
https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/photo-of-deep-purple-and-ritchie-blackmore-with-deep-purple-news-photo/84850802?adppopup=true
https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/1st-november-guitarist-ritchie-blackmore-from-deep-purple-news-photo/167921319
April 1st, 2024 at 21:12There was no doubt a strong influence from Blackmore’s general stage demeanor, but Yngwie’s moves were way more effeminate – by today’s standards he was prancing and pouting around on stage.
Not that Ritchie couldn’t swing his butt temptatiously if duty called! 😁
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IECo3FAGQBw
April 2nd, 2024 at 13:19At least Blackmore with his antics still managed to ‘wipe the floor’ with most guitarists. Poor ole Malmsteen is still dreaming of doing that. Not to worry at least he can play the guitar. Cheers.
April 2nd, 2024 at 20:41