Theme Song: A bunch of songs from a few different Ike & Tina albums. If you are a fan you know them well and will find nothing new here.

Interesting Dated References: Well, this release had one sole purpose: To cash in on Tina Turner’s mid-80s success. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind Tina from the mid-80s and Tina from the 70s are two totally different things. First off, Tina from the 70s had Ike, and therefore, was good. Tina from the 80s only had stories about Ike, therefore she was no good. And her fucking hair was stupid. I’ve been so tired of that hair since well before Thunderdome.

Best Line: Anything Ike says during the backstage footage. The man can say whatever he wants and it both sounds good and makes sense.

Social Context: Again, most of the social context here lies in the fact Tina Turner was so attached to Ike, even when she rebelled against him, even third-rate video companies knew they could use old footage to cash-in. “Yeah, it doesn’t matter if he’s in it, we can release it because all she does anyway is talk about him. Poor guy.”

Summary: Now we’re not going to argue. Ike Turner with Tina was a good combo. All of the musicians in the Ike Turner Revue were excellent, The Ikettes were excellent, and Tina, when she wasn’t complaining about some shit or running her mouth, was good. This was filmed at their height in 1971 in Caesar’s Palace. Of course the fucking camera spends almost the entire time on Tina. As a result, we miss seeing one of the tightest rhythm sections work their magic so Tina can shake her ass. The tape starts right out with a version of Sweet Soul Music, then (luckily) it goes into backstage footage of Tina and Ike talking to the camera. Of course Ike talks about the album and the sound and the music and how much he wants the crowd to enjoy the show. He cares, he was a true showman.

But Tina, she talks about herself. Hey Tina, who bought you those flowers behind your head even though you already had a kid with his bass player? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Watch Ike roll his eyes around the 34-second mark for a laugh.

So a few more songs happen including Honky Tonk Woman, and The Ikettes (sans Tina on stage) do Everyday People. Still, the cameramen are stupid and all you see is Ike’s back as he jams with the drummer.

Seriously, every time he’s on camera, we see a shot of his back. That’s him circled. You know why he has his back to the camera? He’s a true musician, he’s not a delusional, attention-starved maniac like everyone else who ever had or was in a band.

Ike tells it like it is. Okay, so then they do Proud Mary and a few others and the tape ends.

What do you want from me? Ike Turner was a hero. He was a real musician, he was real talent. He wasn’t a phony who cared about image. And you think your band is good? Your band sucks. Your fucking fan base is never going to grow any further than it has. Lets not forget that your prime is long gone. It’s over for you. You are nothing. Ike Turner, he was somebody, and she tried to take it away from him. National (dead) hero.

Poster and Box Art: Again, I have too much respect for you to waste your time like this. There’s an interesting font going on, but lets not spend too much time on it as I’m sure we both have better things to do.

Availability: eBay.

Posted by srock on Friday, September 5th, 2008 at 10:40 am. Filed under Extremely Dated Musical Entertainment