Hughes Turner - Better Than Ever!
I saw the Hughes Turner Project in Västerås, Sweden on September 9 2002 and they were amazing to say the least. It was the bands third gig on the european tour but few could tell that this was not a well oiled rock machine with years of work behind them. In fact, the tour started with rehearsals with the Swedish band just 10 days before the show I saw.
The place was packed, maybe 600 people or so, and the crowd loved every second of this show. Right from the thunderous belting of "Devilīs Road" from the excellent "Hughes Turner Project" album, to the last (and very loud) moments of a super heavy "Highway Star". And in between we got so much classic stuff that it was almost surreal to experience it. All in all, one of the best shows that I have seen in a very long time, probably one of the 10 best ever in over 20 years worth of concert attending. But that is not what this story is about, I want to talk about the deeper meaning behind this successful partnership and how this really is a case of poetic justice more than anything else.
To understand the importance of this, you need to understand the careers of Glenn Hughes and Joe Lynn Turner and their standing in the public eye and with different audiences. So hereīs a little bit of history.
Glenn Hughes joined Deep Purple in 1973 at the age of 21. He joined the band at the same time as singer David Coverdale and he was to play bass and sing with the band. Three years later, in 1976, Deep Purple ended in orgies of drugs, booze and overinflated egos. The band just imploded by the excess. Glenn was a cocain addict by then and right thru the 80īs he was little more than a has been. He did successful albums in short lived projects, like with Gary Moore and Black Sabbath, but his use of drugs kept him away from any real success. Then, in the early 90īs, he nearly died and finally he got his act together and got himself back into shape. But he had lost 17 years of his life by then and he had to start at the bottom again, something that was probably a good thing. He still earned a decent living from the Deep Purple catalouge and he could therefore afford to record solo-albums and promote these with shorter bursts of tours, usually in Japan, Scandinavia and Europe. Slowly, he redeemed himself as an artist and his reputation in the business.
Joe Lynn Turner joined Rainbow in 1980 and stayed with them for three highly successful years until Ritchie Blackmore reformed Deep Purple again in early 1984. This period in Rainbow was actually the most successful that the band ever had, but many rock fans of the old school thought that the commercial side of Rainbow with Joe Lynn on vocals was the worst period in the bands history. Some said that he destroyed the band even. But the truth was ofcourse that Ritchie Blackmore, who was listening to ABBA at that time, simply wanted to do something new, and for that he found the vocal range of Joe Lynn to be perfect. Rainbow certainly helped to create the mid 80īs AOR boom during that period. After his stint in Rainbow Joe Lynn joined Yngwie Malmsteen breifly and then he spent three years in Deep Purple, a period that only resulted in one studio album(good but laidback, so again people thought it was his fault that the rock edge was not there as before when really it was what Ritchie Blackmore wanted it to be at that time). By 1992 he was out and you can read his take on that in the Joe Lynn Turner interviews right here on Atlantis Online. At this point, rock was out of fashion and the big record companies were fireing hundreds of employees that had worked in promoting rock acts. Nirvana Tartarus had arrived. At this time it was impossible for a guy like Joe Lynn to get a decent deal in America, so he turned to Japan and Europe for the first albums in his name in the 90īs. Like Glenn Hughes, he was walking the tightrope.
Both Glenn Hughes and Joe Lynn Turner has got a great deal of talent. Glenn has one of the best voices in existance, the fact that he were asked to join both Judas Priest and Earth Wind & Fire during the mid 90īs should tell you something about his range. Joe Lynn Turner proved with a string of good albums in the 90īs that he had matured as a singer, that he now had the balls that people never thought that he had. Maybe he could showcase it now when he could do what he wanted, when nobody wanted hit songs for the US radio anymore? The honesty revealed a great rock singer and like Glenn, his personal reputation grew steadely right through the 90īs and into the new millennium.
Then came the partnership - you can read how it happened in the Hughes Turner Project interviews right here on Atlantis Online in Joes own words - and some people laughed it off. Until the "HTP" album arrived in 2002. I recall the shock that went through the Deep Purple community that I know so well when it arrived. It was clear that this album was one of the best releases from the Deep Purple family in many years. Many said openly that they doubted very much that Deep Purple themselves could compete with the music on display on this album when they hit the studios again. They may have a point.
So what are we looking at here? Well, I think we are looking at two stars that have been down in the gutter and they both know damn well that the interest for the HTP concept is the biggest that they have met since the Deep Purple days. And because of this they now put absolutely everything that they can into it. Consequently, the live shows are powerful beyond comprehention. They rock like crazy, no ballads in sight, just hard driving rock with attitude. The classics from the past will bring down the house and the solo tracks are chosen to showcase that they can certainly rock on their own albums as well. These guys are in fact educating the audiences and they are forging new reputations with a vengeance.
Case in point. I have never seen Glenn Hughes move like this, demanding the full attention of the crowd both left and right. He is all over that stage, always with a huge smile on his face. I have never seen him like this. The thought occours that maybe it was Ritchie Blackmores fault that we never got to see this when Glenn was in Deep Purple. Reportedly, he had told Glenn never to wonder in to his side of the stage. In other words, Deep Purple MK 3 could have been a lot more entertaining had it not been for stupid little things like that. This is a mindblowing thought, since it was so good even the way it was. But I can see it now, Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale working the audiences together again if there were a MK 3 reunion. God, it would kill! But Joe Lynn Turner is a great partner and together they serve up so much gold from the past and with such passion and ease, that the future of this project is assured.
But can it last? Can two ex-Deep Purple members, with all that bagage(egos if you will), really stick together for any length of time? Can they do the work that they need to put into it for the next few years and is that really what they want? I think they are enjoying the interest and the respect that they are getting but these guys have dreams that go beyond this project. Sadly, I donīt see a full time commitment. I see two highly talented guys that might get together once a year to dish out another album together and then maybe a tour. Maybe. But they have so many things going on in their careers and they may be secretly more into some of that. Certainly the solo stuff. In that respect, maybe they see this project as a good way to promote themselves? After all, a lot of people love this partnership and the interest has taken on very respectable hights.
Sadly, the decision to quickly release a live record recorded in Japan seems to be a mistake. The japanese musicians are not as good as the swedish guys that went out with them in Europe now. The difference is quite huge. Again, I foresee trouble with that. It seems that Joe has chosen his people from his recent albums for the japanese market, and here in Europe it is put together with the people that Glenn is used to work with. I see possible problems from that point of view, although it might have worked out fine first time around. But the live album proves that the swedish guys should be there in the future.
I hope that this is the beginning of something great. I really do. But I donīt trust them, I have to say that. Please prove me wrong here guys! Please take this as far as you possibly can. The rewards may just be a little greater than anybody can suspect. Rock doesnīt get much better than this.
