| Joe Lynn Turner has been very
prolific over the last 5 years or so releasing several solo albums,
3 albums with Glenn Hughes in HTP and several guest appearances,
most notably in Brazen Abbot. However, Turners solo output despite
his claims have never met the heights of his best work be it with
Ritchie Blackmore in Rainbow or with Yngwie Malmsteen on Odyssey.
So it was with some trepidation that I approached The
Usual Suspects, Turner's ninth solo album. The album
is called The Usual Suspects as it sees Turner
reunite with musicians from his earlier solo album such as Al Pitrelli,
Paul Morris and John O'Rielly (the latter two incidentally where
in the Doogie White Rainbow line up).
The associated PR material with the release had all the usual
quotes "best ever work" etc so I was ready for disappointment.
Luckily what I actually got was a very nice surprise with this
being a very high quality dark hard rock record with subtle nods
to Turner's best works with Blackmore. Infact if Blackmore doesn't
give Joe a call to get Rainbow back together (we are presuming
the call to Dio will never happen) then he may well never have a
better opportunity as Turner is in stunning form throughout and
penned a number of stunning tracks with Karl Cohran.
Opener Power Of Love is classic JLT with its
classy big chorus, yet the crunch factor is heavier than it has
been in years, Turner's vocal delivery is superb here. Devil's
Door could easily have been on Bent Out Of Shape with
a very Blackmore-esque solo from Karl Cochran adding to the aura,
the chorus here is sublime. Jack Knife sees the
quality drop a little for a Deep Purple-ish track that JLT could
bash out in his sleep before the soulful Really Loved
is a master class in AOR finesse.
Rest Of My Love sees the darker tones return
with the strong riff before a more melodic calm takes over for
the verse which possesses somewhat of a Stone Cold feel (and who's
gonna knock that!) - a definite highlight. Into The Fire
builds nicely into a rocker with a characteristic LA AOR feel (mainly
thanks to the clean guitar motif) in the chorus. Blood
Money showcases the darker side of JLT with its dark
ominous feel, this really allows Turner's vocals to shine through.
Another Blackmore-ish guitar solo from Cochran works nicely here.
All Alone sees the more melodic Rainbow sound
return with its heartfelt verse that sees JLT pour out the emotion
better than he has in years. The simplistic guitar work here really
adds to the feel of the track and the chorus also benefits from
this approach. Ball & Chain possesses a Hendrix
vibe in its riffing approach yet comes across as a little disjointed
in places. Love & Love Again sees the sound
get back to AOR waters with this delicate ballad, where Joe sounds
like he has a guaranteed top 40 hit if the likes of Bon Jovi or
Aerosmith were to cover it so lets hope Frontiers see the potential
of this track and get Joe back firmly into the spotlight. The
frantic Unfinished Business closes the album
with a Deep Purple feel influenced by the Hammond Organ. The chorus
is big big big and would be a gas in the live arena.
The Usual Suspects really took me by surprise.
As previously mentioned I wasn't expecting anything outside what
JLT normally churns out but this is certainly Turner sounding
better than he has since Slaves & Masters. There is a good
cross section of material here and I particularly enjoyed hearing
that tracks that nodded to the Turner/Blackmore chemistry of old.
I would love to see Joe do some extensive touring on this release
and really take it to the masses, and a follow up in the same
vein would be very welcomed indeed.
Could this be the Hard Rock album of the year already? Maybe....just
maybe.
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