Set List: Death Alley Driver, Can’t Happen Here, I Surrender, Street of Dreams, King of Dreams, Power of Love, Devil’s Door, Jack Knife, Stone Cold, Jealous Lover, Spotlight Kid. Encore 1: Highway Star. Encore 2: Smoke on the Water, Unfinished Business. 1 hour, 35 minutes.

 When you make put together a list of the most influential singers in rock, Joe Lynn Turner doesn’t usually get the same consideration as legends such as Robert Plant, Rob Halford and Ronnie James Dio, but maybe he should. He is one of melodic rock’s greatest voices, as he proved at a recent show in California. 

His contributions to Rainbow and Deep Purple are well known, but he also made great music as the frontman for Fandango, Yngwie Malmsteen, Mother’s Army, Brazen Abbott, the Hughes/Turner Project and as a solo artist. His smooth voice has been featured on some of melodic rock’s most enduring classics, including Rainbow’s “Street of Dreams” and “Stone Cold.” 

And unlike most of his contemporaries, Turner has done some of his best work in the last five years. Both of the albums he made with Glenn Hughes are classics in the melodic hard rock field, his latest solo record smokes and his songs on the most recent affair with Brazen Abbott (led by guitarist Nikolo Kotsev) would make any Rainbow fan extremely happy.

It’s no surprise then that Turner has decided to do some shows in America, and his recent outings in Northern California were his first appearances in the region since he fronted Malmsteen’s band back in 1989.  It’s definitely a stripped down affair, with Turner front and center with just his most popular songs and a few nods towards his days with Purple. No lights or big sound system, just his great voice, great songs and a band of local musicians who probably grew up playing these classics in bars together. 

That’s right folks, here in 2005 there are no big budgets for guys like Turner, unless you are in Europe or Japan, where he is still a star. The backing unit of two guitarists, bass, keyboards and drums were the same guys that back Pat Travers when he travels out west, and not a bad way to do business when considering a costly West Coast tour (this one took in four dates in Northern and Southern California). 

Turner was in fine voice and the crowd, which was made up of about 100 hardcore fans, 100 semi-interested rockers and 100 people with nothing better to do on a Wednesday night in the San Jose area, ate up every minute of it. Turner had to do nothing more than stand back, let the band intro the songs and then just sing, which is something he does better than just about everyone else on the planet. The songs and all of those memorable melodies did the rest. 

Highlights for me included the one-two punch of “street of Dreams” and “Purple’s “King of Dreams,” the big hook in “Power of Love” and “Stone Cold,” which is one the most dramatic melodic rock songs ever written. 

Turner proved to be an engaging guy on and off stage, as he held court with his dedicated fans for nearly 30 minutes after the show, signing everything put in front of him and even answering questions about his days with Malmsteen and Ritchie Blackmore. I can honestly tell you that I don’t remember the crowd conducting an interview with a star at a signing before, but Turner was affable and charming all the way through it. It was 1:30 a.m. when the club finally pushed the last idiot (me) out the door.

I would like to see folks at the RockFest and Moondance Jam, along with all of the Midwest festivals held during the summer, take a look at booking Turner for their festivals next summer. His mix of talent and songs would do any promoter proud, especially one selling their shows to people who grew up back in the 80’s when Mr. Turner could be heard daily on FM radio.