Private Dancer

Tina Turner's voice is unbelievable. She's amazing. Unfortunately I don't like this 80s pop-rock production. Maybe I'd like this better presented with a different production.

Alright pop (I guess I'd the genre?). She can obviously sing but most didn't do anything for me. Some familiar songs though that I bobbed head along too, despite not being in the mood

awesome

Bass so processed it might even be a synth, drums so gated they might be triggered digital pads, guitars so chorused and compressed that... I'm ready to give up on the artifice of this opening sentence because that's all there is. What a time-capsule for 80s production techniques. Not quite as sonic iconic (soniconic?) as the gated 80s sound pioneered by Phil Collins and Hugh Padgham, but maybe better from an archeological perspective. This is something you dig up, maybe in a crate and sample a loop of. Like take some fragment of "I Can't Stand The Rain" pulled from the rubble, dusted off and chopped up — pure 80s in a way that doesn't disguise what pop record executives wanted in the mainstream ear. It's a high-gloss sheen that smooths so much of the texture of the music from prior decades away. While this is true across the entire album we have an A | B opportunity with "Let's Stay Together" Al Green's 1972 hit, the producers of that track leverage LinnDrum programming, Roland synths, and Fairlight CMI sampling like crazy scientists trying to time travel in a DeLorean. Take the solo from that song and put it in your combo PKE Meter/Voight-Kampff Machine/Tricorder for analysis of how that sound transforms the response of human bio-rhythms. You can hear the boardroom exclaim it's the sound of the new. This album is the soundtrack to New Coke. And, I've got a lot of respect for Ms. Turner; she has the voice and presence to carry a project like this. Outside of studying how the music sounds and thinking about what it could mean, and how we could put these techniques into play, she is the only reason this record survives in the way it does.

Excellent first half. Big fan! Second half is weaker, but will definitely listen again

Recognized one song. Was very 80s

This album had great range and great highs. The title track is the weakest on the album.

Tina is a queen - you can hear it in her voice. She is also a magnetic performer. This is her only album on the list, and I think that one album from her, this one, is accurate representation. All that said, it's above-average '80s pop-rock. I'm going to have to break it down for the rating. Influence 4. Quality 4. Hits 4. Intangibles 5. I am not a child of the '80s. 3.

Okay, about what I expected. Mid album 3/5

I was looking forward to this as I like soul and I like 80s music. It was really disappointing though and I've no idea how it go onto this list. Especially as it has a couple of bad cover versions on it. Heard it before? ❌ Listen again? ❌ Rating out of ten? 4️⃣

I was not expecting to be this into this record but here we are. I thought Tina turner? Like the fairly odd parents? What the hell. Not really but I dod think oh its just some dumb 80s pop music. And I mean yes it is but it has some elements worth noting. First and foremost the voice. Its kinda strange for this type of music. Pop is usually so clean and she does have that cleaness for the most part but when she gets up or down in her register it gets a little nasaly and that just sounds cool. Gives her some character. Going into this all I knew was what's love got to do with it and that song is good. But I got some more. Show some respect has the energy that I appreciate. Let's stay together is this kinda lovesick ballad that also gets some energy later. She writes some pretty cool songs. There are some real slow ones that are not my cup of tea but its mostly good. And the very synthy backing tracks are all very of the time in a good way. There are some sections that kick ass in a cheesy fun way. Its better than I thought thats for sure. I would have thought oh its just some dumb pop bullshit thats time is wayyy past. And that assement isnt entirely wrong but there is more here to dig your teeth into than one would expect. That makes it pretty good actually

#477 Excellent voice, and I actually appreciated some of the craft here, musically speaking, but this isn’t really my thing. Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Listen before you die? ❌ Fave track(s): Better Be Good to Me Rating: 4/10 ⭐️⭐️

A lot of fun, some good covers

80s classic

Classic Tina Turner. Almost a "Best of".

Classic power up with a bunch of classics

Man, this is pretty great. Some of it can sound pretty 80s dated but if you updated the instrument selection, it would still work. I was actually thinking how many of these would be great rock songs. But this is pretty stacked. What’s love. Private dancer. Stay together. And didn’t realize missy elliot took not standing the rain from this. Better be good to me has a great riff and vocals. Most respect Tina!

Didn’t like this album. Was going to round up based on: it’s Tina, What’s Love Got to Do With It, and Steel Claw (reminded me of a Meat Loaf track). But holy hats the cover combo of Help and 1984 is a truly atrocious end to an album. Help was particularly egregious. 2.5/5

Some really nice rock/soul/pop combos in here, and the production is top notch.

No private session used for Spotify. A lot of these songs were on heavy rotation in the mid 80's. Never was my jam and I felt I never had a need to listen to the album. It's hard to deny the impact this album had, but I won't go back to it. Al Green's original version of "Let's Stay Together" is superior, go listen to that one. Same sentiment for "I can't stand the rain".

Tina is an icon. Some fabulous work on this album showing she was a huge influence after being in the business for so long.

Solid covers. A little long. Tina has relent, but a knack for flair.

Tina Turner has a great voice and is a great performer? Who knew? 3.5/5

This is exactly what I expected from a Tina Turner album--let's move on.

Okay.

Classic pop from the 80s, Tina Turner always good.

Great rock album, very eighties with all the old fashioned electronic instruments but the tunes still hold up

Came to this a bit dismissive of her. Yes the voice is incredible, emotive and a sheer force. But it’s the big voice, big singles thing right. And sure it is very of it’s time, new and modern in 84 and now very dated to 84. But it’s a stunning album. For these very reasons, a time piece, full of sheer emotion. The hits are as good as ever, but it’s an album with some interesting covers. 4 Star

Never had the urge to listen to Tuna Turner, and I never will again I feel. This was fine, not my bag, and the production is definitely dated, but there’s no denying Tina’s pipes.

bellissimo, mi ha colpito cover I can't stand the rain

****wonderful album

Many songs had poor backing tracks and heavily relied on her voice to carry the quality, and it does. Private Dancer was a surprisingly different song that I associate with her, although it did become a little repetitive. 'Help' reminds me of karaoke songs in the 90s abroad. Hints of Rod Stewart in her voice here. Steel Claw was a great song, high energy and strong vocals.

Thank you Lord for the 1980s. This is a very strong, but not perfect, collection from Miss Turner. I was super surprised by 1984. I loved that one.

enjoyable

Synths, saxophone solos, and a meatloaf light rocker: classic early 80s music!

I hit play on today's album, "I Might Have Been Queen" came on, and as the rest of the album played out, the rest of my day played out as a training montage. This album is so 80's and I'm here for it.

The album is unfortunately plagued by the most awful 80's production and sub-par songwriting. (In the hands of these producers, even Help -- one of the coolest pre-Rubber Soul Beatles' songs -- becomes a saccharine-infused drag.) But it's got its moments. First of all, needless to say, the overall quality and energy of the vocals. Then, if you take away the horribly-sounding sax, the title track is pretty good. Steel Claw is a catchy rock song. 1984 sounds fine, although I would suggest anyone covering something from Diamond Dogs to go instead for the Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family... Plus one star because of the gorgeous black cat on the cover.

Never say down and properly listened to a Tina album before. Was a treat, just pure MUSIC bb. Will deffo be coming back for more.

The 3 hits are ok but as an album it falls flat. 2/5.

Not my preferred Tina.

When I lived in New York my apartment was above a popular restaurant and every Saturday night a lady would stand outside of that restaurant and sing "WhooOah, what's love got to do with it" very passionately. Not the whole song, just that one line over and over again. Somehow her wholehearted enthusiasm meant it never got annoying, just sweet and funny. I miss her and hope she is doing well. And so, although this is not my type of music, this album, and especially that song, has a special place in my heart. It's an album full of passion and wholehearted enthusiasm.

Girl's got pipes! A great example of 80s power pop/funk

Voz foda... E do nada começou a cantar Help, fiquei de cara uhahuahua. Já cantou Beatles, The Who, ela me ganhou demais huahuahuhua. Mas todas as músicas delas tem uma energia única, artista com identidade foda. Não tem como eu não dar 5.

Tina good, pervasive corny 80’s music bad

One of the core sounds of the 80's. Fantastic album.

Tina Freakin' Turner. A legend. Some big hitters on this album, Private Dancer, What's Love Got to Do with It, I Can't Stand the Rain. Tossing all three on the playlist. Some of the songs don't hit though so it's only a 4

Quite good. Catchy tunes here.

Coupla good singles, and the worst Beatles cover I’ve ever heard

She achieves the incredibly difficult Purple Rain effect in which an artist completely out-writes and out-performs the dated 80’s sounds of the time. Dare I say she recognizes what’s great about something like a drum machine snare and actively uses it to her advantage. More than anything though, Tina Turner’s voice is the engine powering this whole record. There is not a single bad cover on this record either! She commits on the vocal booth on every song, but especially on the covers here. I’m her age comes a clear reverence for the hits she covers, and a knowledge on how to do them justice. The “Let’s Stay Together” cover is unreal. Heavenly pads, soaring vocals, so much syncopated instrumentation bringing color and texture into the picture. “Steel Claw” digs its feet firmly into 80’s arena anthem rock/pop, and she somehow makes that work just as well. This is a Meatloaf song if ever Ive heard one, but I don’t mind it at all. Another earnest deliver from Turner makes it a really fun listen. The following cover of “Help” assured that Meatloaf philosophy — if you sell out hard enough with your performances and the belief in your theatrics, concepts like camp and cheesy musical theater tropes cease to exist. “1984” might be where the album dips in excellence a bit. I’m unsure if it’s actually a dip in quality or everything just becomes a bit predictable. Any one of these last few tracks could be a fine single, but some variation of them has already been heard on the front half of the record. Moments short of a true 5/5. Powerhouse vocals and fun instrumentals

Yo what are these covers at the end??!! I’m sure the original artists were stoked, but dang…

Was okay.

Tina's voice and emotion are fan-frickin-tastic! Timeless classics that weave in and out of Pop-R&B-Guitar driven rock. Aunt Entity giving that energy! #MadMaxBeyondThunderdome

Almost felt like a parody in parts for how 80s it is, but clear how influential she is. The covers were awesome and overall great vibe

Simply the best (not the best best but pretty good)

Cool comeback story. Unique gritty voice and energy. Schmaltzy 80s production

There are some great songs on this album. "What's Love Got to Do With It" is such an amazing song. Overall, though, the album lacks enough kick to make it 5 stars for me. It's very good, but it's mostly disjointed with some hits and some other good songs thrown in. Still worth listening to, and I likely will revisit in the future!

Alright, felt a bit cheesy but perfectly fine music. I like her voice but every song feels pretty similar, as if she's going for an epic banger every time

She’s an icon and I enjoyed every second. An upbeat and happy album

We owe Tina Turner so much. She and Ike helped create Rock, Soul and Funk. And she remained with Ike despite the abuse and poor repay. Here, in the 80s she's back helping stretch pop and soul to the next level. I just wish I enjoyed it more. I just want to listen to her 60s output again.

# Album Name: Private Dancer # Artist: Tina Turner # Rating: 5/5 # Comments: Great album. Not a huge TT fan but theres plenty of good tracks on here. Great voice. # Top Tunes: Whats love got to do with it / some respect / cant stand the rain / private dancer / lets stay together / steel claw # Would I listen to it again? Yes

Tina Turner is incredible, but this record is outrageously dated now. The voice just doesn't go with the 80s synths in my mind.

I hadn’t listened to this since the 1980s. Now I remember why. I can respect some incendiary Ike & Tina, but this is tepid and unlistenable.

How pop should sound when you primarily listen to rock. But in general pop should have more guitar on it. MJ did it. Turner here did it. Popstars today should take note. Utilise guitar more often.

Not my thing but really cool

Great album. Lots of good tracks. Nice voice.

The voice is the best part. Quite glossy sounding around it but nice album.

Okay Tina, I see you!

I remember when this was released; I remember how long her songs stayed at the top of the charts here in my country; I remember how much I loved and respected (I still do!) this magnificent lady! The world is a poorer place whenever artists like her pass away - let’s be grateful for the legacy they leave us! 10/10

I prefer her much rawer early work, but it's impossible to deny the quality of the songs here or how great her voice is, even if elements are pretty overproduced

I can show some respect for this.

Some classics. Some head scratchers. Music my mom would listen to. I feel you can hear her dancing Not my type of jam but clearly I’m not hindering its album sales. I for one would not have chosen Tina Turner as my private dancer….like ever…. Back in that day? Madonna, hands down Choice cut: Private Dancer

Help! And what’s love got to do with it and other great hits I didn’t know. 1984 goes hard

She's very yelly

80s pop-fest!

Altså det her slapper jo...? Til-og-med 80s lounge-coveret av Al Green mesterverket Let's Stay Together har en rett til å existere. Litt usikker på Help! som enda en pianoballade da. Og var det nødvendig med generisk 80s rock på Steel Claw? Skiva fikk vel også en finere form på den originale amerikanske utgaven som gikk ut på det episke sophisti-pop høydepunktet Private Dancer, i stedet for på en passable take på et Bowie-spor? Der blir man også spart for Help. Det lugger litt på B-siden, men ikke nok til å overdøve entusiasmen fra A-siden. Noen husker kanskje at jeg snakket ned om Tina Turner i påvente av å høre denne skiva. De ordene er herved spist.

Visste at Tina Turner var rå, men ikke så rå. Finfin 80-tallspop med innslag av rock (det er også noe eget å høre henne sammen med Bryan Adams, da skjønner man at hun også er en briljant rockevokalist om man ikke allerede skjønner det på Private Dancer). Har fått ny respekt for "What's Love Gonna Do With It", utrolig catchy låt. Det jeg trekker plata for er nok de verste 80-tallselementene, som på "1984" hvor det bikker over i å høres ut som vignetten til Ducktales.

good

If Tina Turner made music in any other decade, I would love her music. She is undeniably a once in a generation vocalist with such a strong and passionate voice. But I just can't look past the annoying, cheestly 80s production. Which applies to pretty much everying of hers I've ever heard. Truly could have been amazing, but ruined by the circumstances of when she was alive in the moet unfortunate way.

Solid pop.

I always thought What’s Love Got to Do With It was overplayed so I never payed much attention to Tina Turner’s music. Well, I’ve definitely been missing out. This was glorious. Top tracks: I Might Have Been Queen, Let’s Stay Together, I Wrote a Letter

Powerful original tracks mixed with unique-take covers make this solo debut album a masterpiece! Tina Turner's strong vocals are highlighted in the emotionally charged tracks like Be Good To Me and Privat Dancer, then she floats in like a feather in her near-gospel version of the Beatles classic hit Help! Simply amazing!

I feel incredibly stupid for thinking that What's Love Got to Do With It? was a Michael Jackson song this whole time. Anyways, I kind of lump Tina Turner in with Whitney Houston under "her singing voice is simultaneously the best and worst thing about her." I can only tolerate so much from either before I get tired of hearing good singing and want to go listen to something else, although that's WAY more true with Whitney Houston. Granted, I work at a Publix and 30% of what they play on the radio is the same four Whitney Houston songs over and over, so that definitely doesn't help. That being said, Tina Turner makes good stuff. There are lots of classics here and some surprisingly transformative cover songs. I never realized how many artists covered David Bowie at some point but I swear they're always the best songs on the albums they're from.

teška, teška srca dajem dvojku. turnerina vokalna izvedba je izvrsna, ali ovo nisu baš dobre pjesme i instrumentalne izvedbe i produkcija ne valjaju. naslovna pjesma primjerice sadrži izvrsnu vokalnu izvedbu i tekst bi mogao biti prolazan, ali je glazbeno toliko bezvezno, ima i neki instrumentalni intermeco koji je baš loš i koji nepotrebno produljuje pjesmu, pa potpuno usere dojam. šteta

Many badass songs. Maybe it's the 40th version, but also a lot of bad songs - or just styles I don't care for. 3-4 rats

Good cover of Al Green's let's stay together, and What's love got to do with it an obvious hit. Kinda meh other than those two

This album has multiple versions. My streaming services in 2026 only have a 30th anniversary edition and a 40th anniversary edition. The original release also had different lists of tracks between the US and International releases. I listened to the first 10 tracks of the 30th anniversary edition which is the same list as the original International edition. This album is a tower of power pop, a classic. What's Love Got to Do with It is an all timer, but there's other goodies here, too. Show some Respect, can't stand the rain, private dancer, Steel claw...

When the album came out, I even went to a concert on the accompanying tour. Tina had an impressive stage presence. It was a great concert. I’ve only just now listened to the entire album. Tina had a great voice, and there are a few tracks on the album that I love listening to over and over again. The others, however, don’t particularly impress me. 4/5

A couple of big hits paired with some mediocre covers. I Can’t Stand The Rain was a good take though.

80s pop music sounds so good the first few listens but eventually starts to feel weird and bloated. So maybe I'll like this album less in future but for now I like it. The covers are nice.

20 years into her career, Private Dancer (the song) was my first awareness of Tina Turner when it appeared on Now 4 (I was 8). Since then she was very much my parents’ ‘thing’. But since we’re in a period of revisiting albums by recently passed artists, I came to this with an open mind. Very much of its 1984 period, but also quite soulful. The hits and album tracks (I listened only to the original 10 track album length) blend well - it’s just tails off at the end with the Beatles cover and “1984”. Otherwise great.

Better than I expected and some interesting covers. Liking the 80s production on this (not usually my thing) and I Can't Stand The Rain is the standout for me.

My first encounter with Tina Turner was in this era and I think I missed her peak. Album is pure 80's. Every song sounds like the closing credits of every 80's movie. Too many covers.

Mary would not of been proud of this effort...

You simply couldn't escape this album in 1984, it dominated the airwaves and MTV. Someone finally determined what kind of music Tina was best at and wrote songs that fit her. This album made her relevant again and it was a true comeback success story. Oddly, I don't think I've ever listened to this album from start to finish. "What's Love Got To Do With It" is such a classic and it was the most overplayed track without a doubt. At 670M listens on Spotify, it's still popular today. The follow up, "Better Be Good To Me" was also a giant hit that year. Throw in the title song and solid tracks like her versions of "Let's Stay Together" & "Help", "I Might Have Been Queen" & "I Can't Stand The Rain". There's a theme and connection across the songs. Honestly there's not a bad track on this album ("Steel Claw" is close). It may not all be what I'd listen to on my own but it's really well done. 4 stars for overall quality of work, legacy, impact at the time, hits, etc.

This album is horrible on so many levels. The anodyne uninvolving music, the 1980s style over production, and most of all Turner's over the top vocals. Qobuz had the "International Version" of the album, which meant I heard her awful version of Help! and Bowie's 1984. Turner really doesn't have a varied repertoire of emotion in her voice. It's a real "production by numbers" album, and looking at the credits I wonder quite how much input Turner had here.

Man, I loved this. 4,45 I'd say. Close to a 5.

6.5/10 - Tina is fantastic. There are some hits on this record but a lot of the songs are too long and the album as a whole is too long. When Tina was on display it was very good, but some of the instrumentation was lacking.

There are some really great songs and her vocals are top notch. Some of the songs overstay their welcome though. 7/10

The review of "I'm not sure how much Tina Turner you're supposed to consume at one time" is cracking me up. I know some Tina Turner songs but this my first time experiencing a full album. This was a fun album and she definitely deserves the title "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".

too long