Joe Lynn Turner - JLT (CD)

All Music Guide

If you traced Rainbow from the beginning of their career to the end, it's like hearing two entirely different bands. Starting out as a Dungeons and Dragons prog metalesque outfit that lived for extended solos, the group morphed into a refined, radio/MTVfriendly rock outfit by the early '80s. The arrival of singer Joe Lynn Turner helped signal this change, and it's a sound/approach that the singer embraces to this day, as evidenced by Turner's 2003 solo effort, JLT. In fact, sprinkle a few Ritchie Blackmore fluid leads on such tracks as "In Cold Blood" and "Drivin' with My Eyes Closed," and you'd have tracks that would fit perfectly on Straight Between the Eyes, while elsewhere, Turner focuses on bluesy Zeppelin territory (especially "Jump Start"). Overall, JLT proves that Turner's vocal talents remain strong, and that he hasn't turned his back on the style that brought him where he is today.

- Greg Prato, All Music Guide