Album Reviews |

Ike & Tina Turner



River Deep, Mountain High 8 ( 1966 )
River Deep Mountain High / I Idolize You / A Love Like Yours / A Fool In Love / Make 'Em Wait / Hold On Baby / I'll Never Need More Than This / Save The Last Dance For Me / Oh Baby! / Every Day I Have To Cry / Such A Fool For You / It's Gonna Work Out Fine

"It was like my farewell. I was just saying goodbye, and just wanted to go crazy, you know, for a few minutes—four minutes on wax, that’s all it was. I loved it, and enjoyed making it, but I didn’t think there was anything for the public. "

Ike and Tina Turner Revue were mostly a Rhythm and Blues act that worked nightclubs. Spector saw them perform live and wanted to work with Tina and produce what he thought could be his greatest ever moment. It took that famed writing team of Greenwich and Barry a week to write the song, Spector got two dozen muscians in a studio including four guitarists and four basses. None of which by the way were Ike Turner, who was effectively banned from the studio. The finished recording went all the way to number three in England yet stalled at number 88 in Spector's homeland, effectively finishing his career. Interesting fact? Dennis Hopper took the cover art for the 'River Deep, Mountain High' album, which seems to have been only partly produced by Spector, although only his name features soley under the producer credits. Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine and Carol Kaye all featured as session musicians although the 'River Deep, Mountain High' album fared no better commercially than its attendant single in the US.

Now, Ike & Tina Turner only had three hits in the UK. This albums title track of course, a towering tour-de-force. In September 1973 the Tina Turner penned 'Nutbush City Limits' reached number four. So, 'A Love Like Yours' was the third hit, peaking inside the top-twenty in 1966 and also on this album. A real Spector production of the kind he used to deliver to the Righteous Brothers. The cymbals crash, the voice soars and the percussion is immense. Yes, it is a ballad. These kind of power-ballads were a Spector speciality, after all. 'Save The Last Dance For Me' opens with a classic Spector variation on the 'Be My Baby', 'River Deep Mountain High' rhythm. 'I'll Never Need More Than This' rounds out the Spector classics here, a hugely atmospheric sound and Tina letting rip.

It's a shame the collaboration between Tina and Phil didn't last, in many ways she was his ideal vocalist - able to really sit in the middle of his wall of sound and let scream. Her soul and power wouldn't ever fully be realised over an album length LP subsequently, although she of course enjoyed massive hits in the 80s.

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