Ike Turner – Rocks
Bear Family BCD17679 [2024]
Just One More Time – Much Later – Matchbox – Hey Hey – Sad As A Man Can Be – The Groover – (I Know) You Don’t Love Me – The Rooster – Rocket ‘88’ – Box Top – Jack Rabbit – Early Times – The Big Question- Hoo-Doo Say – Trouble Up The Road – Peg Leg Woman – It’s Gonna Work Out Fine – Katanga – Do You Mean – I’m Tore Up – Steel Guitar Rag (Square Dance) – She Made My Blood Run Cold – Ho-Ho – That’s All I Need – Gonna Wait For My Chance – No Coming Back – Walking Down The Aisle – Go To It – Do Right Baby – Lookin’ For My Baby – Potatoe Mash – In Your Eyes Baby – Loosely
In the musical field, Ike Turner (1931-2007) is mainly known for two things: the duet he formed with Tina Turner (and the hits that followed) and Rocket 88, recorded in 1951 with Jackie Brenston under the leadership of Sam Phillips who many consider to be one of the founding elements of Rock’n’Roll.
Aside from these two things, the public knows little or nothing about Ike Turner’s career. Fortunately, this copious (33-track) compilation in Bear Family’s “Rocks” series repairs this injustice. It covers ten years of Turner’s career, from the recording of Rocket 88 in 1951 to 1961, when Ike decided to concentrate fully on the duo he formed with Tina.
Turner’s career is much richer and more complex (some might say labyrinthine) than it seems. Between his work as a session man as a guitarist or pianist, his activity as a producer and talent scout, and the sides recorded under his name (without forgetting the pseudonyms), it is difficult for the amateur to find his way around. These 33 titles offer a clearer vision and a complete panorama, which allows us to measure the extent of his talent better.
We, therefore, find him playing the piano behind Jackie Brenston or on the excellent instrumental Loosely, showing the influence of Pinetop Perkins, who had taught him the basics of the instrument.
He sang occasionally (but he himself admitted that he didn’t particularly like it). Moreover, even when he is credited with vocals, it is not necessarily him; thus, the “Ike” that Tina calls out on the sublime It’s Gonna Work Out Fine is, in reality, Mickey Baker. This aversion (and his bad temper) probably explains the number of singers who parade within the Kings Of Rhythm and other groups led by Turner, as well as the ease with which Turner and the Kings Of Rhythm adapt to the singers they backed for Federal in particular.
In fact, what Turner really enjoyed was leading the band. Even if he played little or nothing, he set the direction for musicians and vocalists through his compositions and the energy he gave.
And there is, of course, his extraordinary guitar playing. This is what the listener notices, and what captivates him, first and foremost on this record. It’s hard to believe that Turner chose this instrument by default because he couldn’t find a permanent guitarist for his band (moreover, Bonnie Lee, the singer in his group at the time, also played the piano). To say the least, Turner quickly learned how to master his new instrument, particularly the Fender Stratocaster and he developped a characteristic use of the whammy bar.
Whether playing rhythm guitar, where he imposes a relentless groove, or during brilliant instrumentals, where he lets all his inventiveness shine, drawing from Duane Eddy at times or Gatemouth Brown at others, he is always surprising and inventive, as evidenced by his unbridled rereading of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys’ Steel Guitar Rag. And most of the time, his guitar playing steals the show.
To acquire urgently!
https://www.bear-family.fr/turner-ike-ike-turner-rocks-cd.html
Fred “Virgil” Turgis
