Slaves and Masters

Slaves and Masters
Studio album by Deep Purple
Released	5 October 1990
Genre	Hard rock
Length	46:51
Label	BMG, RCA
Producer	Roger Glover
Deep Purple chronology
The House of Blue Light (1987) Slaves and Masters (1990) The Battle Rages On... (1993)

Slaves and Masters is the thirteenth studio album by Deep Purple, and was released on 5 October 1990.^[1] This is the only Deep Purple album to feature former Rainbow lead vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, who joined the previous year.

Before hiring Turner, the band had considered singer Jimi Jamison of Survivor, but other obligations made him unavailable.^[2] Following its release, Slaves and Masters peaked at No. 87 on the Billboard 200. The album dramatically sold below expectations, as compared to Deep Purple's previous album, The House of Blue Light with vocalist Ian Gillan, which charted at No. 34. Fans of Deep Purple's earlier efforts thought the vocal parts ended up being too melodic.

Despite underwhelming album sales, Deep Purple had a relatively successful tour in support of Slaves and Masters in 1991, especially for the band's European leg. Turner was still a member of the group when they began recording their next album in 1992, but under duress from management, Deep Purple ultimately decided to bring back Ian Gillan to the line-up for their 1993 studio album The Battle Rages On... A handful of working tracks originally intended for the follow-up to Slaves and Masters would turn up on subsequent solo releases by Turner.

Subsequent releases

On 25 May 2012 the Dutch label Music on Vinyl re-released the album on vinyl. On 5 February 2013 Friday Music re-released the album in an expanded edition featuring two bonus tracks: the B-side "Slow Down Sister," and a rare radio edit version of "Love Conquers All." On 22 July 2013 UK label Cherry Red Records re-released the album in another expanded edition, this time featuring three bonus tracks: "Slow Down Sister", and the single edits for "King of Dreams" and "Love Conquers All".^[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Record Collector	[5]

Following its release, Slaves and Masters has been met with mixed reception from critics. Allmusic's Alex Henderson gave the album two stars out of a possible five, saying "The songwriting is weak and pedestrian, and most of the time, the once-mighty Purple (who were at least 16 years past their prime) sound like a generic Foreigner wannabe".^[4]

Track listing

Release on vinyl

1. "King of Dreams" (Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Lynn Turner, Roger Glover) – 5:26
2. "The Cut Runs Deep" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice) – 5:42
3. "Fire in the Basement" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover, Lord, Paice) – 4:43
4. "Fortuneteller" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover, Lord, Paice) – 5:49
5. "Truth Hurts" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover) – 5:14
6. "Breakfast in Bed" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover) – 5:17
7. "Love Conquers All" (Blackmore, Turner, Lord) – 3:47
8. "Too Much Is Not Enough" (Turner, Bob Held, Al Greenwood) – 4:17
9. "Wicked Ways" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover, Lord, Paice) – 6:33

Release on CD

1. "King of Dreams" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover) – 5:28
2. "The Cut Runs Deep" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover, Lord, Paice) – 5:42
3. "Fire in the Basement" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover, Lord, Paice) – 4:43
4. "Truth Hurts" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover) – 5:14
5. "Breakfast in Bed" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover) – 5:17
6. "Love Conquers All" (Blackmore, Turner, Lord) – 3:47
7. "Fortuneteller" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover, Lord, Paice) – 5:49
8. "Too Much Is Not Enough" (Turner, Held, Greenwood) – 4:17
9. "Wicked Ways" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover, Lord, Paice) – 6:33

Singles and others songs

King of Dreams

1. "King of Dreams" (Blackmore, Glover, Turner) – 5:27
2. "Fire in the Basement" (Blackmore, Glover, Lord, Paice, Turner) – 4:41

Love Conquers All

1. "Love Conquers All" (Blackmore, Turner, Glover) – 3:47
2. "Slow Down Sister" (Blackmore, Glover, Lord, Paice, Turner) – 5:55

Fire Ice & Dynamite (Music From the Original Soundtrack)

1. "Fire, Ice & Dynamite" (Blackmore, Glover, Turner)

Note: Jon Lord does not play on the song. It was performed by the four other members of the MkV Deep Purple line-up.

Re-recordings

1. "Too Much Is Not Enough" was re-recorded by Joe Lynn Turner for his album Hurry Up and Wait (1998).

Promotional videos

The album was promoted on television with professional music videos to the songs "King of Dreams" and "Love Conquers All". Both featured members of the band. The video for "King of Dreams" was shot at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Later live performances

With the exception of "King of Dreams", "The Cut Runs Deep" and "Love Conquers All", three of which have been occasionally performed by Joe Lynn Turner during his solo performances, none of the songs from Slaves and Masters have been performed live since Deep Purple's 1991 World Tour. The world tour set list also included "Burn" and "Hey Joe", which had always been vetoed by Ian Gillan. "King of Dreams" was also part of the set list of the Hughes Turner Project's European and Japanese tours in 2002. This version can be heard on HTP's Live in Tokyo album.

Personnel

• Ritchie Blackmore – guitars
• Jon Lord – organ, keyboards, string arr.
• Ian Paice – drums
• Roger Glover – bass, backing vocals
• Joe Lynn Turner – vocals

Additional musicians

• String orchestra led by Jesse Levy

Production notes

• Recorded in early/mid 1990 at Greg Rike Productions in Orlando, Florida
• Additional recordings at Sountec Studios Inc. and the Powerstation in New York
• Produced by Roger Glover
• Engineered by Nick Blagona
• Raymond D'Addario – production assistant
• Mixed by Nick Blagona and Roger Glover

Charts

Certifications

References