Emily: Tina Turner started out as an R&B singer with her husband Ike, who is perhaps better known for his abusive tendencies than his music. I thought she broke out and got her solo start during the late '70s, embracing disco with the likes of Diana Ross. Turns out she stayed with Ike a bit longer than that, and her post-divorce debut was Private Dancer in 1984. She makes a clean break from her old persona, eschewing R&B in favor of shimmering pop, rock, and dance music. What keeps this album from blending in with other '80s pop, though, is Tina Turner's powerful and emotional delivery of the lyrics. Whether it's a storytelling ballad (Private Dancer), a funked-out cover of an R&B classic (Let's Stay Together), or a new pop anthem (What's Love Got to Do With It), Turner's soul-powered voice sets her apart from all of her influences and imitators.
Favorite Tracks: What's Love Got to Do With It; Private Dancer; Let's Stay Together
Zack: I’ll admit that I’ve never really listened to
anything by Tina or Ike Turner, with the lone exception being Every Planet We
Reach is Dead off of Gorillaz’s Demon Days. I don’t even know the words to a
single Tina Turner song, which somehow just feels wrong to say. Additionally, I
accidentally refer to this album as “Tiny Dancer” frequently. I’m not ashamed
of that last point at all because it always makes me think of a miniature Tina
Turner, like a little Tina Turner Tinkerbell, dancing around provocatively, and
then I giggle. But the first two confessions I am ashamed of. And I’m glad I
get to correct them here. On that note, Private Dancer was pretty good. According
to Wikipedia, 70 percent of it became a single. That makes sense, since each
and every song seems to have been crafted to blow up on the radio. I think that
is the perfect measuring stick of a pop album, too. I was most strongly drawn
to a lot of what Wikipedia assures me are the biggest hits – What’s Love Got to
Do with It, Let’s Stay Together, and Better Be Good to Me specifically. I don’t
know if I would really characterize Private Dancer as a great R&B album
(and all that that entails) but I thought it was a great pop album.
Favorite Tracks: I Can’t Stand the Rain; Better Be Good to
Me; What’s Love Got to Do with It
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