The Great Tina Turner Sings Country

As the title suggests, this ten-track set does indeed feature Tina Turner singing country songs. What it doesn't tell you is that these cuts are taken from earlier in her career, and some of them are with her former husband, the late Ike Turner, and the source material in some cases is downright dodgy. But what would you expect from a label like Portugal's Goldies? If this stuff is officially licensed it would be a shock. That doesn't mean that it's bad, however. Turner can take any song, any commercial jingle, any fragment of any melody and turn it inside out into hard, tough, funky, dramatic, soul music. Some of these tunes, such as "Stand by Your Man," are sung with an arrangement that resembles the original, but in the grain of Turner's amazing voice become something so much rawer. Other cuts, such as Joe South's "Games People Play," (performed by the Ike & Tina Turner Review in front of a live audience) are radically altered and turned into something wildly funky. Still others, such as B.J. Thomas' lame "Lay It Down," become monster soul songs that dwarf the intentions of the songwriter; they are alchemically transformed from schlock to gold. Even though this thing is dirt-cheap and should be since it's not licensed, we can't recommend it, but if you can find a used copy somewhere, go for it; you won't be sorry despite the crummy package and questionable sound quality.