Daniel Pavlica from The Rocktologist recently spoke with legendary singer JOE LYNN TURNER (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE) about a number of topics. A few excerpts from the chat below:

The Rocktologist: You keep yourself busy with various projects (AVANTASIA being the latest of them). How do you pick out which project to work on?

Turner: “Usually it’s quality. There are some instances where I pick up projects that are of personal nature, but usually I look for quality. Avantasia, by the way, slots neatly among those quality projects. Tobias (Sammet) is an amazing guy and my only regret is that I’m leaving for Japan (Voices of Rainbow tour from March 12-14th), Korea and Las Vegas and therefore I won’t be able join the Avantasia tour. I’m just so busy with my own work. But we’re staying in touch and hopefully at some point I will jump in. Maybe in July.”

The Rocktologist: Let’s talk about Street Of Dreams the documentary. What’s the idea behind that?

Turner: “You know, I really don’t know, because I had not seen the documentary in full yet. First of all I didn’t even know Jan (Erling) was going to call the documentary “Street of Dreams”. And second, I didn’t have anything to do with the film other than appear in it. I did my script, which was just talking, and the next thing I heard was that Jan was doing a documentary out of it, and from what I hear it is doing pretty well.”

The Rocktologist: Looking back, do you consider the Slaves And Masters-era a wasted opportunity for Deep Purple?

Turner: “I believe it was one of the better albums that Deep Purple did. And in that perspective it certainly was a waster opportunity. We should have stuck with it and made at least two albums, thus proving to the fans and ourselves that it was a step in the right direction. What happened after that was made history. When Blackmore quit they got Steve Morse in and the band is now doing nicely on its own. However, I don’t think the band sounds like Deep Purple anymore, except maybe once in a while here and there. But I do think that Slaves and Masters sounds like a Deep Purple record for one big reason and that’s Ritchie Blackmore. He was the heart and soul of that band and as much as everyone would like to think that they were the pillars of the Deep Purple I believe it was always Ritchie who was running the show. Blackmore is the biggest missing ingredient of what is necessary for Deep Purple to work properly.”

Read the entire interview at The Rocktologist.