Belly Of The Beast

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Before I listened to Belly Of The Beast, my experience of Joe Lynn Turner was when he was in Rainbow and then Deep Purple, and I remember a singer with an impeccable, smooth voice. While sometimes skirting the odd social issue, his lyrics remained well and truly in the accessible and largely radio-friendly wing of this beautifully broad church that is Heavy Metal.

By the time you get to Dark Night, you might think that a pattern is emerging with the slow start and then a swift speed up. But no, Dark Night is a slow burn, with more familiar lyrics for Joe, but it’s sung and performed in a very much heavier tone. It’s still dark, still brooding, an introspective song of Metal damnation, a lost spirit beyond saving, “in the dark night of the soul.”Carry my cross, I stand betrayed,” sings Joe, “my crucifixion is your disgrace.” Wow, you’d never hear him sing like that in Rainbow, but perhaps one of his predecessors might have done it. And there it is, a hidden, unspoken influence that seems to be there throughout, an influence that Turner embraces and makes his own.

Requiem is the absolute ideal name for the album’s final song. And it’s a song of life’s end, a sombre reflection of desperation, of barren regret. It’s also got an orchestral, Steinman-like big production sense about it, and it brings the curtain down on the album with a sense of great theatre. You just couldn’t predict the song’s construction, and that unpredictability is something that runs through the whole album. On the writing side, you have to change and grow to mature. I had this in me. As far as pushing into a heavy vein, Peter said, ‘Joe adapted his voice, ’ which is the truth. It’s still me though. I kept it dirty, gritty, and metal.” In putting this album together Joe Lynn Turner may well have been influenced by recent world events over the last couple of years. Turner was extensively interviewed for the 2016 book, The Other Side of Rainbow, by author Greg Prato, and is also featured on the book's cover. [13]It’s been a long time since I listened to Joe Lynn Turner. Probably 1984 and Rainbow’s ‘Bent Out of Shape’ if I’m brutally honest. But my tardiness does the man a disservice, for his catalogue of music is superb. At the age of 71 he’s been able to reveal that he wore a hairpiece since the age of 14, due to a diagnosis of alopecia at the age of three. And for that he deserves huge respect. Don’t Fear the Dark’ reminds me of Dio, and in a very good way. But Joe Lynn Turner is very much his own man, so don’t let the comparisons fool you. The song positively pumps along. With ‘Fallen World’ JLT tells us all that is wrong with the world, and has some swirling keyboard and guitar to support it over an almost spoken word/rap delivery in places. What I got, though, was so much more. Here is a singer who has utterly re-invented himself and shown what an absolute hugely talented singer and songwriter he is. What vision he has as well. L.A. Blues Authority vol. 5 – Cream of the Crop (1994 compilation of covers by Blues Bureau International) – "Sittin' on Top of the World"

It happened completely by accident, but some of the best things happen by accident,” Joe notes. “I was not very familiar with Peter’s bands Pain and Hypocrisy, but when we met, I loved his personality, and I felt like we had a chemistry together. She said: “You gotta do it! And this is the perfect time. New album – update yourself. You’re seventy-one years old, who are you trying to impress?” I said: “Okay, I’m scared shitless but I’m gonna do it.”

Notes

After goodness knows how many decades as a musician, he’s still sounding original and fresh, and yes, hungry. This album has an energy that you’d expect from, well, someone much younger, and it’s a revelation to hear. Long before you joined Rainbow, you were a Deep Purple fan. Did it feel surreal being in that band? George Gakis & Very Special Friends – Too Much Ain't Never Enough (2012) – "Street of Broken Dreams" Is this “Disappointing” rating personal? Sure, but I am actually a person. Expecting and hoping for some classy AOR but instead getting some chugging generic metal leads to disappointment. Cap it all off with some over-the-top rants, and you’re left with a tepid outing that could have – no, should have – been so much more. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got several olde Rainbow albums I need to go snuggle up with. It’s also far past time to dive into Joe Lynn Turner’s solo discography and hear what I might have been missing out on.