Search - Ike Turner & Tina :: Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter

The Best of the Forgotten Classics

D. Connally | Aurora, Colorado United States | 10/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This compilation has been a long time coming. Many of these Ike and Tina Turner songs have never seen the light of day on CD. It's about time. Gems like "The Chopper", "Up on the Roof" and "Doin It" should not be relegated to sitting in the bins of used LP stores. These songs deserve to be heard. Ike and Tina Turner have created a number of classic records and these songs sit comfortably among their best. The disc opens with the ever funky "Funkier Than a Mosquitas Tweeter" which was penned by Tina's sister Alline. Was she talking about Ike? :) Tina's wildly uplifting reading of the track blows Nina Simone's bastardized rendition out of the water. The disc continues on with funk and soul drenched songs such as "What You Don't See" and "Baby, What You Want Me To Do" which would make Sly Stone proud. Soul, always a component of every Turner record turns up more predominately on cuts such as "Game of Love", "Up On the Roof (from the 'Let Me Touch Your Mind' LP) and "Whole Lotta Love" which was an R&B hit for Tina alone in 1975. And though many think Ike to be the sole svengali and mastermind behind the revue, Tina also made her writing attempts. You would be remiss to neglect to mention "Nutbush City Limits" (not on the disc), but she had other fine moments. "The Chopper" sits right alongside 'Nutbush' and other Tina tunes such as 'Sexy Ida' and 'Help Him'. The showstopper of this disc, however, is the addition of a sexy, soulful song from the Turner's 1969 LP 'Come Together' entitled, "Doin' It". Tina's raunchiness is restrained, but her sexual energy explodes over the track as Ike and company pander to her every desire to "change the groove". This is Aaliyah's "Rock the Boat" 32 years earlier.In all, this disc has been over 26 years in the making. It's a pleasure to know that these classics are now available to hear without the cracks, pops and hisses of vinyl. The original 'Bold Soul Sister' and her erstwhile husband were indeed as funky as the title of this album suggests."

The roughest, hardest, rarest and best of Ike and Tina!

Mr. K. Sinclair | leeds, w yorks United Kingdom | 01/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This stuff is the perfect compliment to any best of Ike and Tina album. There are no other albums, apart from the album 'Working Together' that are currently available, that give you such a good impression of Ike and Tina.What we have on here is the wild and funky hard soul stuff, albeit with a touch of psychedelic funk-rock. For me this is what I had hoped that they had recorded. Most tracks I'd heard by them sounded a bit dull, or uninspired compared to Bold Soul Sister and a handful of the tracks on the best ofs.These tracks sound pretty rough, even for the time, and would dfinitely benefit from remastering, to bring out the brightness of the drums and tighten the bass. But then again that garage band sound is part of the charm. I mean, Tinas voice is at least as rough as the recordings!Best track on here is, for me, The Game Of Love. I wish that heavy soul sound had been pursued a bit more. Theres shades of Ann Peebles or Ann Sexton on it.Quite a bit of over eager 'fozzie bear' style guitar (Wacka Wacka!) but Ike's playing is great, punctuated with some firey R and B/Blues style licks.All in all, my favourite recordings by the band and in some ways the most cohesive re-release yet by Ike and Tina.Dont be put off by the fact that Tina's 80's to recent output is so sterile, or the fact that Tina is so famous. This is the absolute antithesis of that sound. If you want hard soul, raw funk and rocking tunes then this is where to start!"

Whole lotta tina

Dennis York | Vancouver,WA | 02/15/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"God,what a voice. There was nobody better than Tina in her prime.

There is a great cover of "Whole Lotta Love" on this CD which alone makes it worth the price.

The Ike and Tina Revue was one of the greatest bands in the world,bar none,as this CD will testify to.

Tina is in a class by herself.

Her work w/ Ike is far and away above her solo work that she is better known for.

If I had my own radio show,this CD and others by the Revue would be aired every day,until people out in Radioland GET IT!

Absolutely without peer,was Tina."