Customer Reviews

Tina (Eco)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For the first time, I had the bucket-list pleasure of seeing Tina Turner perform live this past Sunday at San Jose's HP Pavilion. For a woman approaching her 69th birthday and celebrating her fiftieth anniversary as a performer, she is a genuine force of nature - still as striking as ever and showing even more passion with her familiar repertoire. In conjunction with Turner's all-stops-pulled tour, Capitol has released yet another greatest hits compilation but this time following the order of the concert set list. Your appetite for this release will depend on how many of the other collections you own. There are several on the market already - 1991's Simply the Best, 1993's What's Love Got To Do With It (the soundtrack to her biopic), 2005's All the Best: The Hits - not including all the live recordings on CD and DVD and her legendary work with her ex-husband Ike. However, if you have not been a fervent follower since her 1984 breakout, Private Dancer, this is an especially worthwhile purchase.

There are eighteen tracks in all that cover the broad scope of Turner's career. Her years as the distaff half of Ike & Tina Turner are book-ended by the Phil Spector-produced "River Deep, Mountain High" from 1966 with his signature Wall of Sound in full force, and the autobiographical "Nutbush City Limits" replete with Memphis-style horns from 1971. Forget the covers by Celine Dion and Bob Seger, as both are indisputably her classics. However, Turner's signature song, as we all know, is "Proud Mary". Although for me, it always loses something without Turner's familiar choreography in view, she transforms the original by Creedence Clearwater Revival with the slow ("nice and easy") opening, the spoken-word intro, and the high-kicking, horn-blasting choruses. The comparatively polished version presented here is the one she recorded for the soundtrack of her 1993 biopic.

1989's Foreign Affair is well represented with the twangy power rocker "Steamy Windows" (the opening song of the concert) and her synth-heavy anthem, "(Simply) the Best". The percolating "What You Get is What You See" comes from 1986's Break Every Rule. But it's no surprise that "Private Dancer" gets the lion's share of the tracks here - the seductive title track, the underrated rocker "Better Be Good to Me", and of course, her Euro-infused comeback, "What's Love Got to Do With It?". There are four movie songs, two of which Turner played roles onscreen - as the drug-dealing Acid Queen announcing her arrival with Pete Townshend's eponymous rocker from the Who's groundbreaking rock opera, 1975's Tommy, and as Aunt Entity, the foreboding ruler of Bartertown, in 1985's post-apocalyptic Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, from which she uncharacteristically sings the poignant anti-war ballad, "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)".

The other two movie songs are the gently loping "I Don't Wanna Fight", the theme from her 1993 biopic, and the disappointing U2-penned GoldenEye, a typical James Bond theme from 1995 that sounds like it was written in the 1960's for Shirley Bassey. Three live performances are gratefully included here as well, the first two from her 1999 Amsterdam concert. Al Green's "Let's Get Together" gets a surprisingly churchy treatment with an organ-dominated opening, but Turner eventually sidles the song into its familiar clubby groove. With the Billy Preston-like keyboard pounding, Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand the Rain" takes on a roof-raising gospel flavor. Taken from a 1986 concert at London's Camden Palace, her version of "Addicted to Love" doesn't have the curled irony of Robert Palmer's original version, but it captures the beat-heavy bombast and Turner wails mightily on the chorus.

The new tracks, both penned by Pat Monahan of the rock band Train and Robbie Williams' longtime producer Guy Chambers, show her voice undiminished in 2008. "It Would Be a Crime" scoots by with an inescapably catchy techno-beat, while "I'm Ready" is a more programmatic rocker hamstrung somewhat by the overly repetitive chorus. I truly hope these tracks indicate the release of a long-rumored album of new material. For those who are lucky enough to attend her current concert tour, you will find the following songs missing from this compilation: "Typical Male", her bluesy version of the Beatles' "Help!", "Undercover Agent for the Blues", the Rolling Stones medley of "Jumping Jack Flash" and "It's Only Rock `n' Roll", and her final encore, "Be Tender with Me Baby". So consider this album not a definitive collection but more of a nice sampler for those of us in awe of her. I believe that would be the majority of us.

When I saw that Tina was set to tour again, my hope was that there would be a new album of songs. My fear was that Capitol would do yet another greatest hits CD. That's what we got here. It's good for the 2 new songs, I'M READY , which rocks, and IT WOULD BE A CRIME, which is good too. As for the other added bonus type tracks not on any other Tina CD, there are 2 nicely rearranged live in concert versions from 1999 of LET'S STAY TOGETHER and I CAN'T STAND THE RAIN that are a pleasant surprise to hear this way. And lo and behold, they dug up a real rarity, the soundtrack version from the film " TOMMY " of Tina's version of THE ACID QUEEN, which is something new to have on a Tina hits CD [ and a different version than on her " ACID QUEEN " 1975 solo album ].

But overall, I wish that this was a RARITIES release. What's the point with dragging up the hits yet again? It was done just a couple years ago with the far superior ALL THE BEST, then the one disc ALL THE BEST-THE HITS. And don't forget her best-selling SIMPLY THE BEST from 1991, the McDonalds promotion CD , GREATEST HITS from 1994, and the box set SIXTIES TO NINETIES. Geez, the greatest hits have been done to death! And still ONE OF THE LIVING from " MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME " has not made any of these greatest hits CD's. It charted at #15, the video was shown all over the place, and yet it's only on the soundtrack CD, and the scarce promotional 1993 Tina hits compilation PLAY THIS IN STORE. Tina must really hate ONE OF THE LIVING as it has not been on any CD since it's original release. Too bad, as it's a great recording that won her a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance, Female.

I would have loved a RARITIES CD, and it would have collected the many non-LP tracks, B-sides, and soundtrack songs. Here's what I would have loved to have seen : THE GAME OF LOVE [ with Santana ], TAKE ME TO THE RIVER, HAVIN' A PARTY, STRONGER THAN THE WIND, BOLD AND RECKLESS, HE LIVES IN YOU, BABY I'M A STAR, LOVE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING, DO SOMETHING, SHAKE A TAIL FEATHER, TINA'S WISH, BREAK EVERY RULE [ Single Remix ], and AFTERGLOW [ Remix ]. Such a selection of songs would have been new to many people, and would have collected all of these odds and ends into a really nice collection. If we couldn't have had a whole new album of songs, that would have been the next best thing. Oh well, just my view that's it's the hits yet again, with 2 new songs, and a few rarities. This could have been a much better CD with more research and some ideas than recycling the hits again. I read that Tina's set list for the new tour basically follows the order of the tracks on this CD. So, it's like a " souvenir " of the concert.

This is the first Tina Turner CD I've ever bought and it's awesome! I've been listening to her for years and this collection does not disappoint. It has her older stuff ("Nutbush City Limits", "Proud Mary", "River Deep, Mountain High"), 80's stuff ("Better Be Good to Me", "Private Dancer", "What's Love Got to Do With It?"), movie stuff ("Acid Queen", "We Don't Need Another Hero", "Goldeneye") and newer stuff ("It Would be a Crime", "I'm Ready") as well as some live covers ("Let's Stay Together", "Addicted to Love"). And more! This is a great introduction to Tina as well as just a handy collection of some her greatest hits. Well worth having!

All of TT's hits are here. Finally, a comprehensive collection of the diva's best songs.

This CD contains the whole array of Tina's work which is voluminous. No way could it all be put on one CD so check out the Platinum Collection if you want a bigger selection. For a single CD, this sums Tina up about as best as possible. AND for the bonus, two new songs. You'll LOVE I'm Ready about a lover who's been through it all, has taken the time to digest it and is back there again - Ready to Love You. It Would Be A Crime is a pretty good narration of our world today. Mama's got a baby so she smiles through the pain - Daddy's got a job so he's tired but inspired through it all... Look out the windows you can see it from here - it's like a newfound inspiration - the destination is clear. GREAT GREAT GREAT CD! LOVE IT! But then... Tina NEVER lets me down.

I really think that the re mastering is great, but anyway we really need new Tina Turner's songs.

TINA! is a great collection for the beginner Tina Turner fan. I have a lot of the older stuff that she did with Ike and so I wanted something more from her solo career.

This CD was just perfect. You get her monster solo hits from the 80s "Private Dancer," "What's Love Got To Do With It," "Better Be Good To Me," and "We Don't Need Another Hero." And you get "GoldenEye" from the 90s.

Also included are older standards that Tina did with Ike like "River Deep-Mountain High" (this is the Phil Spector version), "Proud Mary" (this version is from the cover version from What's Love Got To Do With It soundtrack), and "Nutbush City Limits."

The song "The Acid Queen" from The Who's rock opera Tommy (Superbit Collection) sounds different than the one that was on The Ike & Tina Turner Story [3CD]. I'm not sure if it was redone or if there was a single version (and which is which), but it still rocks!

Anyway, I love Miss Tina and this is a great starter or intro to this first lady of rock.

I think that there are no words to describe Tina Turner. She has been around for 5 decades with success (something very difficult for a singer) and now at almost 70 she is fantastic as always.
This cd comes out next with her latest world tour and even tough I also think that she could have released a new album, is still a wonderful surprise because from all her collections, this one has a great balance. 18 tracks that take you on a journey from 1966 to her latest recordings in 2008. I know that there are several hits missing in this production such as "TYPICAL MALE", "MISSING YOU", "ONE OF THE LIVING" (a Top 15 hit that also gave Tina a Grammy back in 1986 that has never appeared on any Tina compilation), "I DON'T WANNA LOSE YOU", "WHEN THE HEARTACHE IS OVER" or her hit duets such as "IT'S ONLY LOVE" next to Bryan Adams or "IT TAKES TWO" next to Rod Stewart. But there are always going to be songs left behind. But I think that the songs from this new collection make a good balance between them. One of the highlights of this production is "THE ACID QUEEN". There are several versions of this song but this one is the very best. It has a great sound and Tina's performance is flawless. In the case of "LET'S STAY TOGETHER" and "I CAN'T STAND THE RAIN" that appear here in live versions (that was a very good choice) next to "ADDICTED TO LOVE" from Robert Palmer that Tina has been singing sience 1986 and is the classic Tina live track . They all sound very good. Tina's live performances are very powerful. In the case of the two new songs, once again I have to say that I'm very happy for Tina because her voice is still very strong and both tracks represent Tina's style through the years. Something that didn't happen with the new tracks for her 2005's "ALL THE BEST" collection that didn't called very much my attention and the attention of others I think. The songs were ok but I felt them too weak for Tina. But Tina comes back very strong with "I'M READY" and in the case of "IT WOULD BE A CRIME", is very good. It's a fresh song, a soft rock track, but "I'M READY" takes the prize (I think that after the tour she should record a whole new studio album).
Then we have the classic hits from this eight-time Grammy Award Winner that include "PRIVATE DANCER", "THE BEST", "WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER HERO", "I DON'T WANNA FIGHT", "BETTER BE GOOD TO ME" and the #1 hit "WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT", just a mention a few.
What is very magical of this album is that you travel through the years and feel the songs very fresh. You can go from the great, fresh and full of rhythm "STEAMY WINDOWS" back to 1966 with the classic "RIVER DEEP-MOUNTAIN HIGH" and simply feel them equal. Another good election for this collection is that "PROUD MARY" comes in the new recording from 1993 instead of the original from 1971 and for "NUTBUSH CITY LIMITS" the producers chose the original version from 1973 which sounds better than the new recordings from 1991 and 1993.
I could go on talking about this cd because is very special and with just watching the photos, you can realize that age is just a number. This woman is almost 70, she looks fresh, attractive and still can rock as always and shows people that to continue "young" you must be active.

Finally I can tell that if you're looking for good Tina songs, get this one and if you want a very extense collection get "ALL THE BEST" from 2005. I would also recommed her album "FOREIGN AFFAIR". Personally I find it her best studio album. And well to finish, another good thing of this album is that follows some order and songs that Tina is singing on this new tour.

The music speaks for itself. I just saw the Atlanta show last night. To see a near 70-year old legend perform with the similar energy level as she did in 1985 when I last saw her and to hear the response from the soldout crowd is something I will never forget. To those who have written negative reviews of the show on this review page, my answer is: be glad these living legends are still performing for all of us "old folks" who also enjoy the Gwen Stefani's, Pink's, and Christina Aguilera's of the world

It's a little bit of history repeating listening to this best of collection. I hope she is ready for her tour in Europe - we are. Go on Tina.