Search - Tina Turner :: Private Dancer

Tina's best gets a well-deserved makeover.

takemehome | USA | 03/07/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The 1980's. Considered to be a completely disposable era in music, yet so many classic albums have come out of that decade - Purple Rain, Like A Prayer, Thriller, Rhythm Nation, and Private Dancer. Today, Tina still performs to packed venues singing her big hits from this album, and for good reason - this is one of the fiercest albums ever made.



By now, we all know about Tina's escape from Ike Turner, descent into obscurity, and how Private Dancer made her one of the biggest comeback stories ever, so I won't go into all that. We all know how What's Love Got To Do With It became her first and only #1 single in the US and propelled her into legendary status. We all know how the album was certified 5X platinum, making it her most successful album ever. We all know how she won three Grammy awards that year in the categories of pop and rock. I need not go into all that, although I guess I am. Heh.



Private Dancer shows Tina's diverse talents. Musical styles such as reggae (What's Love) to rock (Better Be Good To Me, Steel Claw), R&B (Let's Stay Together, without its success Private Dancer never would have happened, I Can't Stand The Rain, and Show Some Respect), pop (Private Dancer, Help), and New Wave (1984) are represented here, and Tina masters them all with her soulful sexual raspy vocal delivery.



The incredible thing about this spectacular record is how quickly it was assembled once Let's Stay Together burned up the R&B charts and dance clubs. From start to finish, the album took four weeks to make - two weeks to choose and record the ten songs (well, nine if you lived in America in 1984 - Help was a Europe-only release until the album was released on CD) that would be on the album, and another two to finish the album masters. I can think of worse albums that took months, even years to make, and this fantastic smash success was done within a month.



To celebrate EMI's 100th anniversary, many of its most successful albums were reissued in digitally remastered form with bonus tracks, and Private Dancer was one of those albums, and the only album from Tina to receive such a release. All ten of the original album tracks are here, sounding spectacular. But that's only half the story. This release of the album includes four songs recorded before the rushed Private Dancer sessions. These songs, with the exception of one had only previously been available as the b-sides to 45 RPM singles released from the album - I Wrote A Letter was the b-side to Let's Stay Together, Rock 'N' Roll Widow was the b-side to Help, Don't Rush The Good Things was the b-side to What's Love, and When I Was Young was the b-side to Better Be Good To Me. (When I Was Young was included on her box set The Collected Recordings, along with her live cover of Prince's Let's Pretend We're Married, which was the b-side to I Can't Stand The Rain and Show Some Respect. The b-side to Private Dancer, Keep Your Hands Off My Baby, has yet to be released on CD.) In addition, three 12'' extended versions have been included, although I'm told they're slightly shortened - What's Love, Be Good, and The Rain. Their inclusion along with the b-sides is absolutely welcome here.



If you love Tina and/or love the Private Dancer album and you've not yet picked up this album, absolutely do so. It's worth every penny to have this album in sparkling digitally remastered sound with a generous helping of bonus tracks. It's one of the handful of classic timeless albums to come from a decade generally considered to completely forgettable and disposable."

Her Autobiographical Masterpiece -- Tina's A Soul Survivor !

Peter | East of Los Angeles | 06/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow, this CD has really withstood the test of time. Even after 25 years and hundreds of listens later, almost every track here still holds up remarkably well. Every Tina fan knows this album was hastily put together after Tina hit the Top 20 in late 1983 with the remake of Al Green classic "Let's Stay Together". Capitol Records wanted an album put together in less than 2 months and Tina and Company DELIVERED !!



It's nothing short of a miracle listening to this CD and experience the quality of songwriting, production, and of course Tina's powerful sand-blasted vocals on every track. This CD does not sound or feel like it was rushed in the studio. Its musicality and cohesion is nothing short of AMAZING! The 2000 remastered extended version is even better with not only improved sound, restoring all the tracks that were left off the original 1984 release, and adding some club tracks of "What's Love....". What more could the Tina Fan ask for? It's too good to be true.



The cards were certainly stacked in Tina's favor with some outstanding songwriting contributions from Tina's "famous" British friends like Mark Knofler (Dire Straits), David Bowie, plus a remake of the Beatles classic "Help". Tina sings with renewed vigor and has never sounded better. Most listeners will agree that her vocals certainly improved with age. Her vocals during the Ike years cannot touch the one here on "Private Dancer". Her phrasing cuts like a knife on every track. You can understand what she's saying, and more important, FEEL what she's feeling.



Of course it's no mere coincidence the songs have an autobiographical context (perhaps the songwriters intended it that way). Just look at the song titles: "Better Be Good To Me" (to Ike), "I Might Have Been Queen" (if her career had not taken a bad detour after putting up with Ike for over 15 years) "Show Some Respect" (yes, Ike, that's meant for YOU!) and "Help" (need I say more on this one?). Just like the opening lines on "I Might Have Been Queen"......."I'm a soul survivor".



An amazing album from start to finish. I don't think the quality of songwriting or production ever quite scaled these heights again after "Private Dancer", though Tina's singing remained consistent during her Capitol years. What's amazing about Tina's singing here and on her other subsequent releases is that she never succumbs to sappiness, but still manages to invoke her songs with FEELING.



Sadly, and I still cannot understand to this day and maybe someone could clue me in how Lionel Richie's CD "All Night Long" beat out Tina's "Private Dancer", Prince's "Purple Rain", the Boss's "Dancing in the Dark", and Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Wanna Have Fun" CD's for "Album of the Year" honors at the Grammys that year...??? HUH?? Can somebody explain how THAT happened??"

"Amazing"

Terry Richard | Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada | 04/02/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are records and then there is "Private Dancer", Tina Turner's remarkable comeback album that was originally released in 1984 and catapulted her into superstardom. Critics fell over themselves praising "Private Dancer" upon its release. The album's sound is very much 1980's, but the songs have never become outdated. This collection belongs in everyone's CD collection. The album went 5X platinum in the United States alone, and has sold over 20,000,000 copies worldwide. Seven tracks were released as singles including "Better Be good To Me", "Let's Stay Together (the album's first single), "I Might Have Been Queen", "the title cut, and the blockbuster "What's Love Got To Do With It?", Tina's only #1 song in America, staying at the top for three straight weeks, and becoming the title to the movie about her life. Tina received four Grammys, including Best Female Vocal Performance(Pop) for "What's Love...", Best Rock Female Performance for "Better Be Good To Me", and "What's Love..." received both the Record and Song of the Year Grammys. This collection features all tracks digitally restored and enhanced and comes with bonus tracks including rare songs only released as B-Sides to singles from the "Private Dancer" recording sessions including "I Wrote A Letter", "Rock and Roll Window", and "Don't Rush The Good Things". There are also extended versions of "What's Love Got To Do With It", "Better Be Good To Me", and "I Can't Stand The Rain". "Private Dancer" is Tina's fourth studio album after "Tina Turns The Country On" (1974), "Acid Queen" (1975), "Rough" (1978), and "Love Explosion" (1979), all of which were poor sellers and didn't chart."