Ike & Tina Turner: Live in ‘71

With a voice that was raw and powerful but sensual as well, a set of gams to die for, and a booty that shook like the San Andreas Fault, Tina Turner in her prime was something to behold. And if her husband, guitarist and bandleader Ike Turner, was by most accounts a violent, drug-abusing Svengali, when the Ike & Tina Turner Revue hit the stage, the musical magic was palpable. This 1971 concert, recorded in the Netherlands, is representative; not one of their best, maybe, but good, especially with improved visual quality and fine (if a little flat-sounding) DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Their repertoire, all cover tunes, ranges from older items such as Bobby “Blue” Bland's “I Smell Trouble” to a batch of then-contemporary rock songs, including the Beatles' “Come Together,” the Rolling Stones' “Honky Tonk Woman,” and, of course, their indelible hit version of Creedence Clearwater Revival's “Proud Mary,” with Ike, Tina, and company gradually going from “nice ‘n easy” to “rough” (and quite a ride it is). They also perform the two songs they'd recorded with producer Phil Spector, including the mighty (but ultimately disappointing, sales-wise) “River Deep, Mountain High.” From a musical standpoint, it's all good, but the Revue wasn't just about music, it was also about Tina and the three Ikettes (all of them sporting dresses that ended about a foot above their knees), dancing to Ike's choreographed routines and literally working their butts off. An accompanying CD contains most of the same tunes, but it's the concert footage that makes this a hot item. Recommended. Aud: P. (S. Graham)