- Ike Turner -- vocals, guitar

- Tina Turner -- vocals

- Ike Turner (solo efforts)

- Tina Turner (solo efforts)

Genre: soul

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title:  The World of Ike & Tina Live!

Company: United Artists

Catalog: UALA064-G2

Year: 1973

Country/State: --

Grade (cover/record): VG / VG

Comments: double LP set; gatefold sleeve

Available: 1

GEMM catalog ID: 5257

Price: $20.00

While I’m not a gigantic Ike and Tina Turner fan, I picked this 21 track live double album set up at a central Virginia antique store given the fact I’d never seen a copy before.  Produced by Jackie Clark, Warren Dawson, Soko Richardson, and Ike Turner, 1973’s “The World of Ike & Tina Live!” proved a surprisingly enjoyable early-1970s era concert set, complete with MC, warm up band, etc.  Musically the album served to showcase the unique and the schizophrenic marketing niche Ike and Tina had carved out for themselves.  Exemplified by tracks like ‘Dust My Broom’, ‘Let Me Touch Your Mind’ and ‘Annie Had a Baby’ their roots were clearly in R&B and soul.  Ike in particular seemed more comfortable with the bluesier material (‘You’re Still My Baby’).  Ironically, by the late-1960s their sales were coming from a rock (read white) audience with little understanding or interest in those roots. Those marketing demographics gave the set an odd feel though you had to respect the Turners for keeping them in the set list.  It also left Tina to handle the rock-oriented numbers.  Accordingly most of the spotlight was on Tina.  She was clearly quite a performer, though to my ears her performances were frequently hyperactive and shrill (check out the two Beatles covers ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’ and ‘Get Back’).   That left Ike's performances as the album's biggest surprise.  Exemplified by ‘If You Love Me like You Say (You Wouldn’t Treat Me Like You Do)’ (written by Tina) and the Tina duet ‘Games People Play’ his gruff voice and raw guitar were criminally overlooked. Ironically, by the late-1960s their sales were coming from a rock audience with little understanding or interest in those roots.  Sure, the album was probably bolstered by a significant amount of post-production work (some of the audience sounds seemed dubbed) and some of the edits were a bit abrupt, but the sound and performances were all pretty impressive.  Doug Johnson’s stylized cover painting was also nifty.

"The World of Ike and Tina Live!" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Theme from “Shaft”  (Isaac Hayes) –

2.) I Gotcha   (Joe Tex) –

3.) Intro To Tina

4.) She Came In Through the Bathroom Window   (John Lennon – Paul McCartney) –

5.) You’re Still My Baby   (Chuck. Willis) –

6.) Don’t Fight It   (Wilson Pickett – Steve Cropper) –

(side 2)

1.) Annie Had a Baby   (H Glover – L. Mann) -  

2.) With a Little Help From My Friends   (John Lennon – Paul McCartney) –

3.) Get Back  (John Lennon – Paul McCartney) –

4.) Games People Play  (Joe South) –

5.) Honky Tonk Women   (Mick Jagger – Keith Richards) –

(side 3)

1.) If You Love Me like You Say (You Wouldn’t Treat Me Like You Do)   (Tina Turner) –

2.) I Can’t Turn You Loose   (Otis Redding) –

3.) I Wish It Would Rain   (Barrett Strong – Norman Whitfield – R. Penzabene) –

4.) Just One More Day   (Otis Redding – Steve Cropper – M. Robinson) –

5.) Stand By Me   (B. King – E. Glick)

(side 4)

1.) Dust My Broom   (Elmore James) – 

2.) River Deep, Mountain High   (Phil Spector – Jeff Barry – Ellie Greenwich) –

3.) Let Me Touch Your Mind  (O. Sain) –

4.) Chopper   (Tina Turner)

5.) 1-2-3  (J. Mandara – D. White – L. Borisoff)