After The House of Blue Light, Ian Gillian was fired by the band. Blackmore suggested they replace him with Joe Lynn Turner, who was currently leading Rainbow. Two singles were released: “King of Dreams” and “Love Conquers All” . The album made it to #45 in the UK and #87 in the US. This is Turner’s only appearance with Deep Purple.
Members:
Joe Lynn Turner: vocals
Ritchie Blackmore: guitar
Roger Glover: bass, additional keyboards and producer
Jon Lord: organ, keyboards, string arrangement
Ian Paice: drums and percussion
The Tracks:
- “King of Dreams”: This is one of the best songs. Turner’s vocals are great and the song lulled me into a false sense of security.
- ” The Cut Runs Deep “: Blackmore has good guitar moments, but Lord sounds terrible on the keys.
- ” Fire in the Basement “: A decent rocker, but not much else.
- “Truth Hurts”: Paice sounds like he’s not even trying to start a rhythm. The vocals are great.
- ” Breakfast in Bed”: The worst song on the album. It’s pretty corny.
- “Love Conquers All “: The weakest of the two singles. I almost felt like skipping this one.
- ” Fortuneteller”: Another one of the best songs, but it doesn’t save the album.
- “Too Much Is Not Enough”: Lord sounds terrible on this, but Blackmore sounds decent.
- “Wicked Ways “: A decent closer, but not much else.
Final Verdict: Sometimes when I do these Rankings, I come across an album that makes me think “Do I have to talk about this one?” This is one of those times. Turner is really the best thing about the album, but most of it doesn’t sound like Deep Purple at all. They sound too mainstream and poppy.
Grade: D
Aspie Catholic 
After sharply disagreeing with you about HOUSE OF BLUE LIGHT, I’m glad to see us on the same page about this. Jon Lord refused to call this a Deep Purple album, and I think he was right. This wasn’t quite the death knell for Ritchie Blackmore’s involvement with Purple, but it wouldn’t be long. One inaccurate thing in your review: Rainbow was inactive at the time of the production of SLAVES AND MASTERS, because obviously Blackmore was still in Purple, and at that pint, Joe Lynn Turner’s most current musical activity had been recording and touring with Yngwie Malmsteen for the album ODYSSEY.
Where’s the edit button on this thing? That should say ‘at that POINT,’ not ‘pint,’ although, given the quality of this album, I’m sure SOMEONE was drunk when it was made.