Ritchie Blackmore's New Rainbow Disrespected Fans Says Former Singer

Former Rainbow singer Joe Lynn Turner has criticized Ritchie Blackmore's new version of the iconic group and says that he was actually in talks with the guitarist about putting together a more "authentic" version of the band.

Turner made the comments in a new interview with the Australian outlet Illawarra Mercury. "I had worked with Ritchie's manager for over a year trying to put something together that was authentic. When I say 'authentic,' I mean authentic lineup, regardless of who was still around, who wasn't," he revealed. "We were going to have people that actually were in Rainbow... And they just pulled out at the last minute really and put this thing together."

The singer said that he was shocked by Blackmore's decision to put together the current lineup. "Why would anyone of his iconic nature want to come out and not be as good as he can be? Because, obviously, the reviews haven't been that good. And that's not for me to say - that's what people are saying. It's obvious that it's just not living up to snuff.

"It's a shame that they didn't see the vision that they should have put an authentic Rainbow together, because all the fans feel disrespected in a way. They were hoping that they would get a chance to see at least some cast of Rainbow members, all in one place, all at one time. And that just didn't happen."

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