SouthSideoftheSky
It says Deep Purple on the cover, but it sure sounds like Joe Lynn Turner-era Rainbow!
I really don't like Joe Lynn Turner; I don't like what he did to Rainbow, I don't like what he did to Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force and I don't like what he did to Deep Purple. Turner's voice lends itself very well to slick AOR, but not to Metal of any kind. The real blame must, however, fall on Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover for bringing Turner with them from Rainbow into Deep Purple and also on Jon Lord and Ian Paice for allowing it all to happen! What were they trying to do? Turn Deep Purple into 80’s-era Rainbow? What was the point of that? I’m a big fan of Ronnie James Dio-era Rainbow, but the Joe Lynn Turner-era of that band I find very disappointing. But even those worst Rainbow albums are superior to this “Deep Purple” album. Had Slaves And Masters been released in the mid-80’s, straight after Rainbow’s Bent Out Of Shape album, it would perhaps have been understandable. But to do this Rainbow clone in 1990 after the first reunion that resulted in Perfect Strangers and later House Of Blue Light is strange to say the least.
I will not comment of each individual track here as they all sound pretty much the same to my ears. And if you have heard the 80’s Rainbow albums, you know just what this sounds like (only worse!). However, the closing track Wicked Ways is the best song here having a symphonic touch and with a bit more room left for instrumental work outs. For the rest of the songs, Blackmore, Lord, Glover, Paice and Turner seem to be on autopilot and lacking in inspiration. Not surprisingly, this line-up was a one-off and for the next album Ian Gillan would return once more and the battle raged on…
Had this been a Rainbow album – it sure sounds like one – it would have been the worst Rainbow album. Now, it will have to be deemed the worst Deep Purple album instead!
Avoid!