Private Dancer
Tina Turner
1984
Album Summary
Private Dancer is the fifth solo studio album by Tina Turner. It was released on May 29, 1984, through Capitol Records and was her first album released through the label. After several challenging years of going solo after divorcing Ike Turner, Private Dancer propelled Turner into becoming a viable solo star, as well as one of the most marketable crossover singers in the recording industry. It became a worldwide commercial success, earning multi-platinum certifications, and remains her best-selling album in North America to date. In 2020, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
WikipediaThe musical instruments on this album are meaningless background noise. Tina’s voice is the main instrument and oh man is it powerful. Unfortunately the album is more than just her voice.
An interesting and cool album. I’m not sure how much Tina Turner you’re supposed to consume at one time, but by the end of it I was feeling overwhelmed. Very aggressive. I can’t stand the rain is phenomenal.
Okay, Aunty Entity. Aunty Entity, okay. This record is painfully 80s. It's so 80s, it goes to work with a Lisa Frank trapper keeper tucked under its arm. It's a plastic imitation of real music with a rough coat of paint slapped over top to give it the impression of edginess. Not good.
Love Anna Mae Bullock. Feisty, exciting, unique voice. Such energy and passion. Reminded me of the days when I could really dance the night away! Only wish I had had the chance to see her live back then. Her version of Help very evocative what it feels like to be getting older. Nice bit of sax too.
"WHO RUNS BARTERTOWN!?" TINA FUCKIN' TURNER, that's who! –– | –– I was dreading this album when I saw it come in last night. The '80s have a special place in my trashcan. I was relieved, however that the saxophone didn't make an entrance until track five—'Private Dancer' which I immediately hated. However, I think that if you can remove that wretched instrument from this song, you can find the beauty in the juxtaposition of Tina's strong, survive-at-all-costs voice singing those lyrics. A quick note on the saxophone. Byrd, Coletrane and James Bond– theyr're all great ... In the late '90's and early 2000's there was this belief that any crappy movie could be made better if only Sean Connery was in it. Studios figured this out and it worked for a bit until audiences eventually realized that Sean Connery equals suckfest, making him redundant and leaving us with movies like LXG. In the '80's the same thing happened with the saxophone. Anyway, Tina - an empirical 'YES!' The music backing up Tina... that's a harder sell. The flat drum machines, the stiff-lo-tech-robot percussion and errant guitar strum sprinkled through tracks is pure Connery. Is it possible to remix this without all that 80's baggage? If so, I'm on board. Just do me one favor and keep 'I Can't Stand the Rain.' Somehow, in ways I can't explain, this song just works as-is.
I've heard the big hits, but never sit down and listened to Tina Turner. Not sure what to expect at all. Holy cow, this is good. Her voice is great and the songs allow her to showcase a full range of emotional power. The music is brashly 1980s with schmaltzy sax and synth. But it works really well, and the whole album rocks out, with little touches of funk, soul, R&B, etc. Even the cover songs (Beatles, Al Green, David Bowie) cohere with the album as a whole. 5/5, glad I gave this a chance!
Great album overall. Some songs seem to blend together, but the standouts are great songs with so much replay value. The pop and rock genre are perfectly molded with Turner's vocals, creating a fresh and sweet sound that is sonically pleasing. The change of sound from her past songs is welcomed and at some points in the album, invited. Her raspy vocals still provide a strong and seamless album that is enjoyable to listen to.
An incredilbe voice with identity and power... cruelly unwind by that horrible 80's production... the title song sucks and that guitar on steel claw sounds like a chihuahua in distress.
It’s fine. Private Dancer and What’s Love Got To Do With It are the best songs. Tina’s voice is amazing, but the sound/music doesn’t really seem to age well.
I love Tina Turner. Love her. I own many Tina Turner records. But it's the r'n'b and funk output of the 60s and 70s that really do it for me. I do not in any way begrudge her the massive success she found in the 80s as a solo artist. She wanted to make it as big as Bowie and the Stones, and she did. Because she is awesome. She really wrote the book on female rock performance, and is is one of the rock and roll greats of any gender. Full stop. And this is the album that really did it for her, pushing her into success in a way she never had before. But... what is required for mainstream success buffs off many of the edges that made her a really compelling force of nature. Many reviews refer to the slick production (Which it sure is, and terribly 80s, and not all of it has dated well) and her raspy voice. But I am familiar with her earlier material, and the rasp is downplayed quite a lot. She never really tears it up (although she gets closer on some of the b-sides). Seven hit singles from one album is a pretty amazing strike-rate, and she makes some otherwise middle-of-the-road material compelling. I love you, Tina, and I play your records all the time. Just not this one. (As a side note, I am getting a bit tired of 1001 albums throwing out albums because they are the commercial breakthrough, or big selling (particularly in the UK), but not necessarily the albums that was influential, ground-breaking or representative of what that artist really had to offer. This is a good case in point.)
I love her raw raspy voice and I'm curious how she would sound singing other genres or more contemporary music. I like her version of Al Greene's "Let's Stay Together" - such a great song; I could still do without the cheesy synthesizer sounds. It's hard to get past some of these 80's synthesizer and keyboard sounds - they make me start dancing really weird and jerky, and I feel cheesiness. However, I do love some 80's songs, like by The Cure or The Smiths, so sometimes I like those sounds. Maybe it's nostalgic? I didn't know that Missy Elliot had sampled her song, "I can't stand the rain" - that's such a good line/tune. Ooh we got some elevator music now. And "1984" sounds like it's from a musical and it's kinda chaotic - nope, don't like it.
I always miss my Dad when I hear this album. The transformative power of music.
A fantastic pop album that stands to this day with career defining songs from her well known comeback.
LOVED IT back in the day and today. < > Not the best running music though ;-)
9/10. A couple of really good songs, and some other pretty good ones. My one complaint is that I really would have like "I Can't Stand the Rain" way more were it not for the weird sounds that reminded me of the Ghostbusters theme and really killed the mood.
Numerous great songs and even the ones I didn't love were still good! No bad songs.
An incredible album by an incredible woman! A perfect first challenge choice!
I forgot how much I like Tina’s voice. I wouldn’t skip any song on this album with the exception of 1984, which just made me laugh with how 80s it was (so maybe I wouldn’t skip that one either).
This album is pure energy in your ears for an all too short 50 minutes. Turner brings everything to a series of upbeat jams that are absolutely electric. Powerhouse ballad after powerhouse ballad. Her cover of Bowie's 1984 might... even... be better than Bowie's? That might be sacrilege but that's what I'm feeling right now. Days like this are when I am SO happy I found this website, and SO happy I have discovered so many all time great works of art.
Pop-infused R&B with the likes of record powerhouse 'What's Love Got to Do with It', 'Private Dancer' (album) is soulful, profound, and tasteful. Tina Turner's commendable vocals is full-bodied and flavorful, geared for many genres - the uptempo rock records are upheld by Turner's stamina, while the smooth jazz and ballads retain her radiance. Casual listening promises an extremely effortless and gratifying listen; critical listening reveals a guaranteed above-average production and delivery.
For me, this album is like Thriller - I'd never heard the album as a whole before, but I'd heard almost all the tracks as singles. It's fire! This is how you make a comeback. Tina mixes up new tracks that capture her newfound cougar status with well-picked covers. As well, the music is on trend with 80s synthpop but also lets her completely rock out. So many good tracks and such a solid album!
It's always amazing to hear Tina sing. What a legend. It's also always shocking to hear how much 'What's Love Got To Do With It' is an abuse song. 1984 really hits home about how not much has changed for being black in America. Sigh. Not sure if you all listened to the remastered version, but it includes a version of the Beatles 'Help' and a duet with David Bowie that are just beautiful.
Wow. Full of hits on this and the sound was sometimes SO 1984 that it was wild. I loved this album and the covers were all great.
In late 1984 on a long school trip I forgot to pack any extra cassettes for my Walkman knock-off. At a truck stop I perused the limited selection and saw a single copy of this album. On impulse I bought PRIVATE DANCER despite knowing very little about Tina Turner. This was not something I would have ever imagined adding my my collection. By the end of side one, the universe had assigned me my diva and I had met the musical love of my life. PRIVATE DANCER overflows with fire and passion. Every song on this album is a monster. The cover songs feel like completely new tracks as Tina works them into her style. The polished 80s production serves to highlight Tina’s raw, primal energy that still makes me stop what I’m doing to listen. PRIVATE DANCER is my musical cornerstone and likely the greatest album I will ever hear.
That was a pleasant surprise. Even the singles sounded better, not as produced. That cover of 1984 was excellent, paying homage to Bowie's version by going a little further than he did.
Such an amazing album. Theres all kinds of history and reasons why this is an incredibly empowering album and a triumph for an artist as well, but the short version is that its just a fantastic album. 5/5
Not many examples of rock and soul being fused so seamlessly, and the special sauce of course is Turner's truly one of a kind vocals. Pop masterpiece.
My apologies Tina, I was not familiar with your game. I’m a slag for a poorly produced 80s Disco album. Best song: Let’s stay together Worst song: 1984
I was really surprised. Expected this to be cheesy 80s schlock and it wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong. It was 80s sounds, but not total cheese. I’m the right setting this is a really good listen.
This album really grew on my with every listen. First 6 songs are all bangers and the others songs are quite good as well. Really liked Show some respect and I can't stand the rain. Funny to hear the Dire Straits influences on Private Dancer as well!
It's one o already have. It is really good. The original songs are by and large all classics - 20 years into her career, she decided that somewhere between Prince and The Human League was a cool move. Could you imagine Oasis pivoting to post punk and PC music in 2010? It's a baller move, and it mostly works - only time and advances in electronic music have aged it a little. And all 4 covers are great choices. Help stripped back to become an accusation to those who did nothing to help her, Ann Peebles jazzed up with bleeps, and not the most obvious Bowie track. Should be a four because of the over quantised production, but my enjoyment of it gets it top marks!
I've never heard this album in full, but I've heard the hits... hory shet what a lesson in 80s pop/rock. It's big, loud, confident, well produced and what a great performance. This is an easy 4, maybe even a 5.
Another one of these perfect 80s albums that only got better over time. I like everything about it: TT's vocals, the strong song writing, the slick production, it is all simply perfect. Standout song is of course Better Be Good To Me. Best song of the 80s? It has these Miami Vice vibes - it is even better placed on that first classic MV soundtrack album (as with every song on that soundtrack).
The production on these songs is so 80's, and I mean that in the best possible sense.
Är väl nästan oförskämt om jag inte ger den här en femma. Vilken hitparad.
Never realized 1984 was a Bowie track written in the 70s for a George Orwell-themed musical. I'm surprised to say I think it's the weakest track on an excellent album.
6/11 Incredible songstress over classic 80's production. Standout Tracks: I Might Have Been Queen, Show Some Respect, I Can't Stand the Rain, Steel Claw
Good pop album with an edge from a legendary artist with a unique voice. Despite this not being my personal favorite genre and only steel claw popped out as a great song i liked, it was an overall good album that deserves its rating
Many bops on this shit. Good to workout to, very groovy and picks up ur mood for sure
Die meisten der immerhin 7 Singles dieses Albums kenne ich seit dem Release in den 80ern. Und hatte damit seither eben die 80er und ihren Sound verknüpft. Und dabei nie wirklich bemerkt, was für ein un-glaub-lich-es Organ Tina Turner eigentlich hat. I Can't Stand the Rain!
fun one. interesting takes on some classic tracks. fav track: let's stay together
Great album, all the hits, and found some samples to other songs I didn’t know were a thing.
Let's Stay Together Publicado: 19 de noviembre de 1983 Help Publicado: 25 de febrero de 1984 What's Love Got to Do with It Publicado: 16 de junio de 1984 Better Be Good To Me Publicado: 15 de septiembre de 1984 Private Dancer Publicado: 17 de febrero de 1985 I Can't Stand the Rain Publicado: 2 de marzo de 1985 Show Some Respect Publicado: 4 de mayo de 1985
One of greatest comebacks of all time. And an amazing 80s rock record.
Deze luisterde ik in de auto, zodat ik ongegeneerd kon meezingen. Goed album
It's Super Groovy. She has a lot of vibrato. Some of the lyrics were kinda jarring.
I knew most of the songs from my youth, but I hadn't heard many of the covers. The Beatles cover was great.