By Lisa Eicholzer-Walker

INTRODUCTION:

JOE LYNN TURNER Deep Purple Trading Card Slaves & Masters Era

Joe Lynn Turner has always been one of my favorite singers. At first, I liked him only because he sounded similar to the great Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company) but after hearing the wide variety of vocal work he has done over the years he continues to amaze me with his chameleon-like way of adapting his voice to any genre of music. Most classic rock fans think of Joe as more of a vocalist than a songwriter, but the lyrics he has composed along with the melodies he's put together have touched the lives of many.

His former Deep Purple bandmates agree that he has some special gifts as a songwriter. Drummer Ian Paice said, "... sometimes Ritchie [Blackmore] will start something, a piece of music that has never existed before, and Joe will sing something, he has the ability to ad lib and be totally spontaneous about it and create a song from nothing. We couldn't do that before [he joined DP]." Legendary guitarist and JLT's former co-worker in both Rainbow and DP, Ritchie Blackmore* agrees, "...seriously, the older I get, the more I want to hear melodies. [when Joe was in Deep Purple] We really worked hard on constructing good, memorable songs and interesting chord progressions. That's what excites me at the moment. It also helped that Joe Lynn Turner, writes and sings great melodies. With Joe, we didn't have to rely as much on heavy riffs. When I was 20, I didn't give a damn about song construction. I just wanted to make as much noise and play as fast and as loud as possible." (*source: www.deep-purple.com-Slaves and Masters Interview pages)

IAN PAICE

Joe recently told me that within the last few months he has had to write material for both his forthcoming solo album as well as the one he is recording with fellow Voices of Classic Rock member, Glenn Hughes. I thought to myself, "That's a LOT of writing in such a short period of time," so I thought it would be interesting to talk with him about his songwriting process and philosophy.

I have always liked JLT's songs because a large percentage of them have lyrics that are not so profound as to make them un-relatable; not so shallow that they are frivolous. However, I know there are critics of Joe who think he is "not deep." This is FAR from true! Anyone who spends any quality time getting to know him will tell you that it is easy to get into a profound philosophical discussion with him on just about any subject. During my last conversation with Joe, I found myself discussing two subjects that (as a personal rule) I usually never talk about with anyone: politics and religion!

THE SONGWRITING PROCESS:

Since I am not a serious musician, myself, I have always been fascinated by the songwriting process.it always seemed like "voodoo" to me. I asked Turner how songs usually come together for him. He said, "You sometimes have music and no lyrics or a lyric and no music or maybe a little bridge and nothing more. Maybe you have a collection of great riffs. With songwriting there is no hard or fast rule in any situation. What I mostly do is add lyrics and melody to what might be a great guitar track for example."

RITCHIE BLACKMORE

Joe said that while working with Ritchie Blackmore, he carried around a notebook that Blackmore referred to as Joe's "bag of tricks." He'd often have a riff and ask Joe to "pull something out" of his bag to go with it. Blackmore also had the habit of handing Turner tapes of music parts, guitar tracks, etc. Joe said "I would go to bed with my headphones on and listen to all these pieces of music. I might hear one part I liked maybe in the beginning of the tape and then 40 minutes later hear the perfect part to go with it. Then, I'd put them in a key and play it. Many singers are not musicians. I've always played the guitar as you know. Of course it behooves a singer to know an instrument. The better singers and writers are musicians. Look at [Voice's of Classic Rock's own] Mickey Thomas.he is a drummer, and also a great singer and writer."

Some mis-informed people (including me!) had always thought of JLT primarily as a "lyricist," but Joe explained that he is also usually responsible for coming up with the melodies in collaborations. He explained that, "There are two categories for songwriting in publishing: music and lyrics. Arrangements and parts of melodies cannot be copyrighted. So music and lyrics are divided up 50-50. I will often come up with a melody on the music track that has already been written. I'll also usually come up with variations on a melody."

THE "BEATLE THEORY" AND JLT'S SONGWRITING PHILOSOPHY:

When I asked Joe about overall philosophy, he mused, "I try and subscribe to what I call "the Beatle theory." They were masters at making the lyric sound like the music or the music like a lyric. If you listen to almost any of their songs, the lyrics fit the arrangements and mood of the of the music. Whether it is 'Here Comes The Sun' or 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' (which has a cosmic sound to it that fits what it is about) and even 'Eleanor Rigby' totally had this whole morose feel to it. they nailed this concept so well which is why they are so highly regarded as some of the greatest songwriters of our time. This is what I try to reproduce.and when you 'hit it' it is like a marriage made in heaven. When the emotion of the lyrics support the way the music sounds.when it sounds like it says and says like it sounds you have a great song. When I listen to a music track I will think 'what is this music saying to me?'"

I asked him about songs he has written that he felt had that "ideal marriage." He cited, "Street of Dreams" and "Stone Cold" as good examples. "'Street,'" he said, "Felt dreamy, very moody. The lyrics and the music matched and low and behold it was also a big hit for us so there you go!"

ROGER GLOVER

Turner says imagery is important when constructing effective lyrics. He said Cream did it well in classics like "Tales of the Brave Ulysses" and "Deserted Cities of the Heart." "Having a knack for rhyme can also help," Turner explains, "songs that rhyme flow better and are easier to sing effectively. As a vocalist I am aware of how a word sings. I will often substitute one word for another because it sings better, if you know what I mean. There are certain words that are tough to sing. It's also important to choose words that allow a singer to be passionate. Roger Glover used to joke with me and say, (imitating Glover's voice) 'Joe, you could sing the phone book and make it sound good.' But, I would not be able to put enough passion into that, obviously."

Joe feels that some artists make the mistake of getting so quirky with their lyrics that it becomes an issue of "art versus stupidity. A lyric that is bizarre or ridiculous may be memorable to some people but Turner feels that it is not the most effective way to reach people.

ARGUMENTS DURING THE SONGWRITING/COLLABORATION PROCESS:

What happens when it is obvious that someone does not like an idea?

Joe responds, "Arguments do go back and forth during the process, absolutely. I do have one personal rule and that is if you don't have an alternative idea don't go saying (to me) I don't like this or that. If you have a complaint, fine, but have a solution or idea to go with it. If someone says they do not like something and has no alternative the wheels just stop turning and the whole creative process can shut down. On the other hand, you cannot be so philosophically attached to some part of a song that when someone makes a suggestion that you can't be flexible with it."

INSPIRATION: DOGS, DRUGS, ALCOHOL AND DON HENLEY?

I am always curious about where songwriters get their inspiration from.

"Fans often argue or have fun trying to figure out the deep meaning behind a song," Joe responds. "That is part of the magic. I like it when people come up with their own interpretation, especially if it ends up meaning something to them personally. But what happens a lot is that someone will tell me they think I am writing about a former girlfriend when I am actually writing about my daughter. Or.even my dog, Lola! (laughs) She can be an inspiration!"

OK, I admit it! Joe's dog is adorable but an inspiration for a song? Joe basically said that the term "inspiration" should not be taken too literally. Perhaps his dog might show him unconditional love so he might write about a relationship between two people that also shares that concept. So the affection his dog shows may inspire a theme. It's also important not to go jumping to conclusions about an artist if they write something that was inspired by something religious, for example. An artist may read a book about witchcraft just because it's interesting. But, that does not mean he or she is a practitioner of Wicca.

DON HENLEY

Turner admits that, "Inspiration can come from the weirdest places. As a professional I have to come up with the goods and don't always have a lot of time." This explains why he has to really observe everything around him in a unique or analytical way. He recalls some words of wisdom Don Henley once gave him: "I was in Fandango and down in Florida making 'One Night Stand' for RCA records. We had the same producer as the Eagles and I am this young, wide eyed kid. So I met Don Henley and he said to me, 'You got 25 years or so to come up with all this great material on your first album [after being signed by a major record label]. Then after that you have only 1 year to come up with the next one. It's hard not to shoot your load with the first one but it happens."

Henley also told Turner that he sometimes "made situations" that later provided inspiration for great songs. JLT said that he found himself doing the same thing throughout the years, "Yeah I actually made trouble or got myself in strange predicaments so that I would have something to inspire me. I actually lived as an emotional vampire, especially in the earlier days.stripping people of their deepest thoughts, pushing their buttons, provoking people into situations where I could use the result of it to write a song. Then I also purposely would pursue interests just for inspiration. You take songs like 'Drinking with the Devil' and 'Fire Dance' (off Rainbow's "Bent Out of Shape") those were all inspired by the occult."

Joe admitted something that few artists have had the guts to reveal. He said, "Yeah, alcohol and drugs can be very inspiring and absolutely can play a role in creativity. But nowadays I have to find other sources of stimulation. Even the (now "detoxified") guys in Aerosmith have admitted that drugs and alcohol used to help in the creative process until they realized that if they continue to abuse the stuff they would die! So finding other sources of inspiration can sometimes be a challenge. I'm also not falling in love every day on the road (like I used to). My life is more settled now so I have to draw more from TV, books, other things around me."

On his latest CD, "Holy Man," there is a song called, "No Salvation" and it's about a serial killer that Joe saw profiled on TV. There's also the cryptic "Babylon," inspired by the writings of the controversial but compelling author, David Icke. JLT's albums with Mother's Army (a band that also features Bob Daisley, Jeff Watson and others) are loaded with songs that contain some pretty "deep" provocative messages. We'll take a closer look at these songs in a future Part 2 of this feature but anyone who has heard them knows that they aren't all about "love and sex." Joe says, "If you are not constantly questioning things around you (in society), you are living in a vacuum."

A "STRONG" PERSONALITY

One thing I have always liked about Turner is his blatant honesty. Sure, it's unsettling to some people and a few fans may bristle at some of things he has spouted off in interviews, but one thing is for certain.a conversation with him is never boring! Plus, people who have worked with him.onstage, offstage and in the studio agree that his honesty allows them to always know "where they stand" and this actually makes him easier to work with. Turner believes that being uninhibited and having a "strong" personality has helped him as a writer and musician. He revealed that, "Now I am almost overcompensating for being quiet when I was younger. I was kind of a loner as a kid, read a lot, played by myself. Now I worry less about what people think. This is all part of living for the today and not for the tomorrow. Too many people might say for example, 'when I am rich tomorrow I will be happy.' Well that may never happen. I say if you have something to say, speak your mind now. I may absolutely be a belligerent, obnoxious, thoughtless fool sometimes but one of the facts of songwriting is that you have to be a bold personality."

In Part 2 of this feature, we'll talk to Joe in more detail about collaborating with classic rock icons like Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover (Deep Purple), Al Greenwood (Foreigner), Bob Daisley (Black Sabbath), Jeff Watson (Night Ranger) among others.