Reviews (page 6 of 9)
A little goes a long way here
Not bad
It is a pretty decent album, but not something I would listen to often. 3 stars or C+.
I feel a bit like this was one of the Oscars where someone who had done great things years ago, but had never won an award, gets an Oscar for a more recent work... though it's pretty clear to everyone that the more recent work isn't as inspired as the earlier work. She had a huge hit with "We Don't Need Another Hero" and the title track from this record was pretty big as well... but mostly I think this is an example of how a recording industry and a big label could force something into massive airplay. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but it's no "Proud Mary"!
I love Tina Turner's power ballads, but the pop stuff is a little too much. It definitely deserves a place on this list. Too many covers!
Tina Tuner has an incredible voice! I didn’t mind this album, not my usual thing but had to do lots of driving around to school holidays activities, so enjoyed this in the car for a change from my kids music tastes! I was going to give it an extra star for having a track called 1984 - which many people correctly say is the best year - but then I realised it was a Bowie cover, and then I realised a bunch of them were covers
What's love, I can't stand the rain (great song), Show Some Respect, Steel Claw (meatloaf-esque).
Some pretty good hits on here, but it’s so repetitive and 2 HOURS FOR WHAT
This album could have been 10 tracks of Steel Claw. That one goes hard!
This is very much an 80s album, through and through. The jangly Stratocaster throughout and gated drums are the calling card of that era. And while it’s not my favorite thing, the mellow synth lines underscoring everything bring it together like super glue. Tina Turner’s voice is the highlight of the album for me. Her performance is immensely powerful and yet reserved when it needs to be. Overall, nothing life changing but a very good pop record from the early 80s
Some songs are great, the rest meh. I enjoy listening to it more than the albums that have come before so far, but I don't want to give it a 4. I don't like her voice all that much.
Tina Turner :D edit: oppon listening to the album again, I've noticed that it's very repetitive. Even the songs that I already know and liked have the same repetion. So I'm changing my score from a 4 to a 3.
A textbook example of what people mean when they say 80s production hasn't aged well. The omnipresent background synths, the synth-drenched vocal mixing, every melodioc/harmonic instrument having its notes mirrored by synths... I think you see a common theme. If you manage to tune out the ridiculously synthesised parts, the rest of this LP is pretty solid. Tina Turner's voice is fun, memorable, soulful. The backing vocals, when they appear (which is more rarely than I'd like), are fairly good. The percussion, while sometimes bad, is also varied enough to maintain interest. In terms of specific tracks: What's Love Got To Do With It is the obvious lead single here, the chorus being as universally known as it is. I'm not a huge fan of the percussion and synths on the track, but the chorus (and other elements, such as the bass playing) more than make up for it. The feel is warm, fuzzy, groovy. I Can't Stand The Rain is one of the better showcases of synthesisers – that high staccato is actually pretty good – and the singing is top-notch here. I think Let's Stay Together wouldn't have appealed to me as much if its instrumental wasn't so ABBA-sounding. But it is, and I love it for that. On the flipside, the title track (Private Dancer) is not as good as its Spotify listens would suggest, propped up entirely by its piano part. The hook "I'm your private dancer, a dancer for money" is annoying and gets old well before the 7-minute mark. The cover of the Beatles' Help! is bizarre – not exactly bad, but definitely missing the furious, fast-paced charm of the original. And the melody is thrown away entirely. Good luck trying to sing along to Turner's version. The cover of 1984 is also fine (the muddled strings and backing vocals being key highlights) but again a significant step down from the original. 3/5 Key tracks: What's Love Got To Do With It, I Can't Stand The Rain, Let's Stay Together
Mostly just meh for me 3/5
mixed bag of classics and plastic 80s
To say this is a standard 80's pop album feels somewhat derogatory, however compared to the unique styles and genre clashes often heard in modern pop music this does sound intrinsically 80's. Maybe that is because this is one of the biggest 80's albums and it had such an impact, I don't know I wasn't there, but this is a good album. Fantastic vocal performances, catchy songs, nice production and instrumental choices. Yeah nothing bad about it to be honest, probably would have been more enthralled by it at the time but now I can listen to 100 Gecs and feel the same way right? Favourites - What's Love Got To Do With It, I Can't Stand The Rain, Private Dancer, Let's Stay Together
The album is a 2 for me, but her incredible voice and her being a tremendously inspirational individual makes it a 3.
A few bangers on this one, and I found it interesting that a lot of well known artists wrote a bunch of the tracks. Ultimately though I don't think the rest of the album holds up to the level of the hits Standouts What's Love Got To Do With It Private Dancer 3/5
Great voice, mostly forgettable songs.
Tina is undeniably a great singer and performer. This album however is most notable for showcasing the shortcomings of 80s arrangements and production. The covers of I Can't Stand the Rain and Let's Stay Together hurt me. The originals have that sweet sweet groove of the Hi Records band and Willie Mitchell production. The covers sound like they were recorded in a space capsule with a band made entirely of shoulder pads and triangular haircuts.
Further evidence that the 80s killed music. With one exception (Prince), everyone who started making music in the 70s (or, heck, the 60s) got measurably worse in the 80s. This album provides ample opportunity to dissect that 80s sound--is it the wimpy drums? The tinny guitars? The unnecessary synths? Somehow, Tina's voice survives. 2.5
Man, she could sing!
A few good songs, plus Tina Turner just brings pure energy.
Great voice but man the music is dated and bad
Some bangers in there
Tina has a voice that I didn't like when I was young, but now I appreciate much more. "What's Love Got To Do With It" is a classic but maybe a bit overplayed. The rest of the album is good but sounds a little dated to me. It was interesting to hear her take on "I Can't Stand The Rain".
A couple bonafide classics, a couple fun covers and a few tracks whose main positive is Turner's voice...all undermined by dated 80s production.
скучно. всего пара по-настоящему рок-хуков. Очень много соула в вокале. А саунд близнец первых сольных альбомов Планта.
Tina (and her story) are awesome. She has a few hits and a whole lotta 80's nostalgia in sound and style.
There's a couple all-time hits. Has more of a 80's Pop Rock sound with synths and such. Title track comes off as sort of a support for professions that more conservative type folks would side eye and disrespect. Not at all similar to the Motown sound from her early career. Fine album.
I expected something different, more R&B based, but really likes it anyways, loved the Jeff Beck solo :D
Decent album, but not really my style. I knew ‘What’s Love…’ for sure but I’ve probably heard some of the others at some point. Can’t fault it but didn’t love it, 3/5
No expectations going in, but was surprised at how good some of the songs were. Probably wouldn’t listen again though.
It’s okay. Never listened before but it was what I expected. Good legs, though.
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, got a bit annoying near the end though
I love her singing but the music isn't my thing. I'm not a huge synth fan and a lot of the songs are very repetitive. Honestly, it's just not my genre. I do like it when the saxophone shows up though. And her voice really is so good. Glad she was able to use this album to make a comeback. Fav song: Private Dancer Least fav: Let's Stay Together
One of the biggest comeback albums of all time. Super solid. Love the horns in Private Dancer. Solid cover of Al Green. But definitely more partial to Ike and Tina and pre-comeback Tina
Incredible vocal performance. The songs themselves don't always do it for me, though. Sounds incredible, but I don't connect with the songs on this like I do on 4 or 5 star albums.
not really my kind of music, but not bad
80’s production sounds and stuck in its time. Not very modern. That said, Tina Turner has a phenomenal singing voice, elevating mediocre material. Highlights. The hit What’s love got to do with it. Private dancer, the Mark Knopfler written song, Better be good to me. When the material is good, it’s good. When it’s mediocre, it lands a bit flat. Highly overrated. 3 stars. Would give it 2.5 if I could.
aight 😐👍
Love the hits. Leave the rest.
A stone cold classic. The 80s were ridiculous.
High 3
Before I rate this, can we all just appreciate that moment in the 80s when Tina Turner and Rod Stewart had the same hair cut? I like Tina Turner's voice a lot, but I don't think she was helped by this era of arrangement and production. I feel like if she had recorded this same set of songs in the 70s or 90s I would like it a lot more.
Tina Turner has an amazing voice, but this album is so 80s, and not tue good kind of 80s.
This is so, so very 80’s!!! Beyond the hits there are some huge and I mean huge misses…..The first 30 seconds of the Al Green cover “let’s stay together”. I thought this might be my favorite song and cover on the album — then the 80’s took over and by the end of the song, I was resolved that I would never listen to that cover ever again. But overall -- I mean it is still Tina Turner
Man Let's Stay Together is so good. The Al Green album was one of my absolute favorites so far 600 albums deep and I am so happy that Tina Turner is able to do the song justice. This is a lot more upbeat with some great funk and a sweet synth solo that I liked way more than most of the rest of the synth of this album. Tina's voice on this album is so much fun. Most of the music is kind of standard fare 80s pop, but I still liked it. What's Love Got to Do with It is undeniably great, and I liked I Can't Stand the Rain, but songs like Show Some Respect and Better Be Good don't really age well at all. I'm definitely interested in some older Turner, and this one gets a pass mainly from the ridiculous Al Green cover.
A bit too 80s for me, but Tina Turner is great. Overall three stars bc it was good but not something I’d revisit.
Weegees bloody love Tina turner. Can’t say I agree though. Some good songs but the whole album was just quite long. Specific rating- 3.2 Fav song- I might have been queen Least fav- let’s stay together (so much worse than the original)
Nothing special. Not terrible
Pretty alright, very much 80s sound
Iconic. Love her cover of Help
Not my thing
Great covers of great songs. She's an icon.
Surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I hate 'What's Love Got to Do with It', but everything else was great!
Private Dancer I listened to the 10 track international edition, rather than the 9 track US edition. I do like the 80s-ness of this, but I’m not sure it actually makes for a great album. When it works well, when the songs written for her and the song choices are good it’s very enjoyable, there’s a nice contrast between her distinctively fantastic 70s soul voice and the slick 80s production. I Might Have Been Queen, the excellent What’s Love Got To Do With It, I Can’t Stand the Rain, Let’s Stay Together and the great Private Dancer all work really well. But the flipside is that when the song choices aren’t great or the songs aren’t as good, it doesn’t work that well, and not even her voice can cover over the deficiencies. While some of the changes in the chorus are nice, Show Some Respect’s deliberate referencing of Nutbush City Limits just makes you want to listen to Nutbush City Limits. Better Be Good to me is ok, if a bit forgettable. And Steel Claw just isn’t a good song. I don’t mind the sound of 1984, and although I would give credit to her and Heaven 17 as Bowie fans for picking it, but you can’t escape the feeling that it was chosen because they were making the record in the year 1984. And the cover of Help is woeful - tempo, sound, instrumentation, everything - it just feels utterly pointless and devoid of any meaning or sense of interpretation. Overall a bit of a mixed bag, it’s all enjoyable enough in an 80s way, but with a few stand outs. Think that’s a solid 3 then. 💃💃💃 Playlist submission: What’s Love Got to Do With It
Alexa. Play me the most 80's thing you can. I've spent time trying to decide if this is a cynical ploy to make lots of money by TT's record company, or whether it has great artistic merit. But not too much time. Some 80s moments of pop brilliance. A great vocal. A couple of utter classics. A load of covers of varying quality, and a couple of forgettable albums fillers. But plaudits for the iconic album cover with Tina in fishnets and her black pussy front and centre.
I feel like I should have liked this more but I just thought it was ok.
1984, j'avais 14 ans, les hormones en vrac et une vision de la musique qui se dessinait violemment à grands coups de Doc Martens dans les portes. The Cure me retournait les neurones, The Smiths m'apprenait la mélancolie poétique et j'attendais la prochaine livraison de The The comme le messie. Dans ce paysage sonore personnel, Tina Turner, c'était... la musique des darons. Le truc qui passait sur NRJ entre deux pubs pour une marque de lessive, le son parfait pour les soirées de la classe moyenne qui voulait s'encanailler un peu. Pour moi, à l'époque, c'était l'antithèse absolue de la crédibilité. Un produit calibré, une machine à tubes pour adultes. Et putain, quelle machine. Il faut remettre les choses dans leur contexte, car "Private Dancer" n'est pas juste un album, c'est une putain de résurrection en mondovision. C'est le retour de la lionne. La meuf avait 44 balais, un âge où, dans le business musical des années 80, on vous mettait gentiment au rebut avec une pension et une tape sur l'épaule. Elle sortait d'années de galère, d'un divorce d'une violence inouïe avec cet enfoiré d'Ike Turner, et elle était considérée comme une relique du R&B des sixties. Personne, absolument PERSONNE, n'aurait misé un kopeck sur son retour. Et puis "Private Dancer" est arrivé et ce fut la plus grande success-story de la décennie, un gigantesque "allez vous faire foutre" musical et commercial à toute une industrie qui l'avait enterrée. Cet album, c'est la preuve par le son qu'on peut se réinventer, exploser les codes et devenir une icône planétaire quand tout le monde vous croit finie. C'est l'histoire d'une femme qui reprend le contrôle de sa vie, de son art, de son image. Une histoire de résilience, de force, d'indépendance. Alors, pourquoi ce 3/5 un peu chiche, me direz-vous ? Pour une raison simple, cruelle, mais incontournable : la production. Bordel de merde, cet album est un catalogue de tout ce qui a mal vieilli dans les années 80. La production a vieilli comme un yaourt oublié au fond du frigo. C'est une orgie de synthés baveux, de boîtes à rythmes froides et claquantes (la fameuse LinnDrum), de guitares clean avec un chorus à vous filer la nausée, et surtout... surtout... ce saxophone. Ce putain de saxophone dégoulinant de réverb' qui vient ponctuer chaque fin de phrase comme un type lourd qui essaie de vous draguer dans un bar d'aéroport. C'est le son de l'époque, celui de Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler a d'ailleurs écrit et joue sur la chanson-titre), de la pop FM bodybuildée, du "smooth jazz" qui s'infiltrait partout. Aujourd'hui, ça sonne terriblement daté, c'est un artefact, une capsule temporelle qui pique un peu les oreilles. Mais au milieu de ce marécage de claviers en plastique, il y a LA voix. La voix de Tina et là, on ferme sa gueule car à 44 ans, elle n'a rien perdu de sa puissance. Au contraire, elle a gagné une profondeur, une fêlure, une texture que les années de galère ont sculptée. C'est une voix écorchée, viscérale, qui peut passer de la caresse la plus sensuelle au hurlement le plus primal en une fraction de seconde. Elle ne chante pas les chansons, elle les vit. Elle prend des tubes potentiels écrits par des mercenaires du songwriting et elle se les approprie avec une autorité bluffante. C'est elle, et uniquement elle, qui sauve l'album de la naphtaline car elle injecte une âme et une urgence folles dans des arrangements qui, sans elle, ne seraient que de la pop synthétique de luxe. On s'est fait matraquer le cerveau avec les singles, et il y en a eu une chiée. "What's Love Got to Do with It?", avec son petit gimmick reggae-pop, est devenu un hymne planétaire sur le cynisme amoureux. "Better Be Good to Me" est un rock FM efficace. La chanson-titre, "Private Dancer", est une ballade narrative étrange, un peu glauque, magnifiée par son interprétation. Elle reprend même "Help!" des Beatles en la ralentissant, en la transformant en une complainte soul déchirante. C'est un best-of avant l'heure, un album construit pour tout défoncer sur les ondes, et la mission est plus que réussie. Au final, "Private Dancer" est un cas d'école. C'est un album historiquement monumental mais musicalement prisonnier de son époque. C'est le témoignage d'un triomphe humain et artistique absolument incroyable, mais enveloppé dans un papier cadeau sonore qui a jauni et pris la poussière. C'est un album que je respecte infiniment plus que je ne l'écoute pour le plaisir. C'est un 5/5 pour l'histoire, pour la performance vocale, pour la revanche d'une tigresse. Mais c'est un 1/5 pour la production typique de ces années-là. La moyenne donne donc un 3/5, et c'est bien payé. Respect éternel pour la femme et l'artiste, mais un respect un peu plus... daté pour l'emballage sonore.
OK album, sounds just like I expected it would
this was fun!
Very dated. Couple good songs aside from the hits. Solid record. Probably wouldn’t go back and listen.
Enjoyable
It was a good album. The covers of Help and Let's Stay Together were kind of interesting. Not too bad of an album
It's ok. Nice arrangements, nice production and great vocals. I always thought this was from the 90s. I've never really been interested in her but listening to this is actually ok. Doesn't sound outdated at all to my ears. Despite being pop music from the 80s. At the end. Is not the kind of music I really like but I'm glad I got the chance to listen to this with attention for the first time.
80s hair metal as distilled I think than it ever could be. Bangers here.
I can't think of an album that typifies the '80's more than this one. Production, videos, the album sleeve screams 1984. That said, Tina was in fine form vocally. Good choice of songs that she covered too. I can't say that I go back to it often, but its one of Tina's best.
She's some voice, but by and large this isn't my sort of thing. The exception is Private Dancer itself, which evokes seedy dark rooms and desire for a world beyond them, for which Tina Turner is the perfect voice. Apparently, Dire Straits got as far as recording the instruments for "Private Dancer" before Mark Knopfler decided the lyrics weren't suitable for a male singer. My man, you wrote the song, what were you thinking about? Never has a set of words more required a female vocalist. I never knew the Knopfler connection until this listen through, and it's so clearly a Dire Straits song.
At one point in her career, Tina Turners’s legs were insured at over a million dollars. I’m not even sure what it means, but it is more interesting than most of this album. Like most 80’s era comebacks, great talent is muddled by 80’s production value. I feel like Tina has a lot to say that is valuable and good, but I wish that the comeback had allowed for more of her talent to be highlighted.
I sort of get it, but it's really not my cup of tea.
Wow, what a thing! And the collaboration with David Bowie was totally off my radar. Great job, Tina ❤️
I like Tina Turner but this album is only a 3 for me. Maybe it's the time in which it was made.
I could spend a half an hour dancing around the kitchen to this most of this album. But that said, they’re not all that interesting of tracks, most sound essentially the same and don’t have outstanding lyrics. The first two were probably the best. I’d low key categorize this with ABBA in my mind.
I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised by this album. Not to say it was the best thing I’ve ever heard but it was significantly better than what I was expecting going into an 80s pop album. It was enjoyable and had some really good hits. Also it was nice to have another woman represented on this list so dominantly plagued by men.
6/10 Favorite Tracks: I Might Have Been Queen, What's Love Got To Do With It, Show Some Respect Least Favorite Tracks:
Tina herself is clearly very skilled, but something here just fell a little flat for me. It got too repetitive and I was tired of the album pretty quickly. Favorite: I Can't Stand the Rain
Tina Turner is an incredible performer. What a rockstar! A lot of this music sounds dated to my modern ears but she’s a powerhouse singer. She does some great covers too. Her version of “Let’s Stay Together” is excellent. And she transforms The Beatles’ “Help!” into a power ballad, and it sounds fantastic.
A confident, high flying album by an incredible performer. "What's Love Got To Do With It" is the big track here with play counts that dwarf the others on the album with more than the rest combined. The main melody has such a great conversational rhythm to it that makes it incredibly catchy, and the band is super strong behind her- with a simple yet tight bass and drum groove, and some interesting chord progressions that pop in and out. This is one of the better songs of the 1980's, but for me it's always seemed more like an early 90's (or atleast very late 80's) song. I don't really know why, but it could be because the production is so cohesive and refined, which is a shift that happened closer to the 90s. "Private Dancer" is a popular one too but I always just thought it was OK. I think the lyrics are a bit straightforward and kind of bland. It's a shame because it's a great topic but it just doesn't give enough. At least the guitar solo rips.
Tine Turner is an incredible singer and some of her best work is to be found on this album, it's just unfortunate that the surrounding material doesn't live up to those same heights.
Nice.
One of the best voices in the biz, buttttt... This album is an absolute relic. WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO - GOT TO DO WITH It gets a whole point by itself however!
Slightly surprised by how EIGHTIES this sounds.. I thought Tina Turner was a timeless artist but I'm not sure about this. The drums are tinny and I'm not a fan of a lot the keyboard / synth sounds either. Just comes across as really sonically dated due to the production. I wrote that before the slightly cheesy saxophone of the title track as well Vocals are amazing of course and the lyrics are ok. I'll give 3* just about for the power of her voice and the triumph of being able to come back after the trauma of her relationship with Ike.
About the most fun you can have listening to an album you don't like and hope to never hear again.
6/10
Sounds incredibly dated. A big voice needs big music, which eventually does come. Unfortunately, the elevator music in a lot of this album doesn’t do nearly enough to showcase Tina Turner’s ample talents.
I remember young teenage me thinking Private Dancer sure had a lot of pathos. Now I'm not as sure. As always, it is hard to listen to the major hits objectively, since they are so familiar. Tina is great but listening with modern ears the music itself is mostly just painful. Is this an important album? Yes! Does it hold up? Almost. Such is Tina's power that she manages to drag this album just over the line into "listenable" territory.
2 incredible songs and a bunch of other songs. Bumping to my 3 stars because this album was sampled by mouth Eazy E and Missy Elliot.
Funky, groovy, soulful. I love Tina’s powerful, raspy voice. Her lower register and higher register are equally strong.
What's love got to do with it, and we don't need another hero are tunes that anybody growing up in the 80s and 90s will have heard a million times, and probably still love! The rest of album is carried by Tina's powerful voice and force if personality.
could i write poetry to this? n Tina is an icon tho
some fun songs, not biggest stand-out
Enjoyable sometimes. Great vocals. Questionable arrangement.
This is a lively album featuring Tina Turner's powerful vocals.
Some real jams on here Grandma loved it
Enjoyable.
Tina turner is just timeless. This album is full of bangers and even if you don’t like it, it’s a must listen for general knowledge.
Super 80s but she rules and some of the covers were great.
It's pretty good, but I'm not drawn to it.
RIP Tina
Always enjoyed Tina - she developed her own sound and there's good stuff on this.
Tina is assuredly a wonderful singer and the ability to have so many hands on deck for the making of this album without it sounding completely like a mess is astounding, but in the end it's just a bunch of covers or songs written to be sung by a singer, not to be great art on their own imho. Jeff Beck's solos were funny and weird and welcome as well. Every guitarist sounded the same as the other so that was pretty funny. Overall great start; mediocre finish. RIP legend.
The title track on this goes so crazy, I love her voice so much and I am tired of what's love got to do with it. On first listen everyone called it aggressively 80s and I didn't know what that meant but upon clicking the album one more time i get it and it's a bit distracting but you know... --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- I love you reader! unless you're homophobic :(
Very close to a 4 and objectively a classic, her voice and much of the instrumentation just struck me the wrong way in the headspace I was in listening to it. Perhaps my favorite Marvin Gaye cover.
The original songs are good 80s. The covers are bad 80s.
Very eighties in sound and very dated, but frankly, it still manages to pull off more than one good song!
På grænsen til 4. Ud over titelnummeret synes jeg, at alle originalnumrene lyder vildt godt! Pusten går bare lidt af det, når man lige propper 3 covers i anden halvdel, ingen af dem på niveau med den originale
Banger fra fars cd samling, kan godt lide hvor no chill det er og synes at produktionen er et sjældent W for den her æra af 80er-pop. Flere plader burde have en god kat på coveret
tina turner the clocks back
Some good songs but a full album of Tina is a bit much
"Private Dancer" signaled a sort of turning point and revitalization in Tina Turner's music career. We don't have to get into her early career with her former spouse, instead focusing on the sound & success of this album. This is what the 80's sounds like, rolled up into one album. (That's good or bad depending on who you ask) Pop, with the occasional guitar riffs blended in, mixed with some jazz and R&B throughout. All the while, Turner sounds strong and liberated via her raspy voice and lyrics. I can't speak for her level of stardom prior to this album's release, but this certainly launched her into the stratosphere and into diva status. This rolled into her subsequent albums, as the next few seem to have at least one instantly recognizable hit. I did find the cover songs to be subpar for the most part (with the exception of "I Can't Stand the Rain", which is probably the best track on the album). Fun 80's album that gets dragged down a bit by the few covers. But the good ones are GOOD.
Her backing band wanted nothing to do with her Michael Jackson impersonation - they wanted to unleash the sickest, funkiest grooves ever. This was okay. She's got a few good jams.
Solid pop album Standout songs: Lets stay together Better be good to me
Not really my thing, but some good ones here when I get passed the very 80s style.
Alright
This album started off AMAZINGLY strongly until the title track presented itself like a blood-sucking vampire and killed the energy. Following that, it was like being upset in a nightclub, the party still takes place around you, you sober up a bit and try to get back into the groove, occasionally getting another drink, and giving it your best dance even though you keep being pulled back to being upset. It just doesn't feel the same after track 5.
Fun, funky and full of expression. Tina is a legend and will forever be timeless. She brings such passion and energy to each song, making it a very uplifting experience. Good record.
WHAT’S LOVE be glad you aren’t in the car with me because some songs must be belted I Can’t Stand the Rain— oh fuck this is a jam I understand that covering a song is a show of respect, but just let Al Green do it. Better Be Good to Me was in the movie IF, and you should see that movie if only for the scene with that song.
Favorite Track: What's Love Got To Do With It?
Better than I expected.
A great use of her voice and what she can do with it. I do not care for the instrumentation. The original I Can't Stand the Rain by Ann Peebles is much better. If I film a montage in the future, I hope I can use Steel Claw to accompany it. 1984 is ... interesting, oh it's Bowie.
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.
There’s something heartwarming about the knowledge that TT’d renaissance was eased along the way by the blokes from Heaven 17. (See also ‘The Hardline According to TTD’A’, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis X The Human League) (I wonder whether Northern Soul might have nurtured , unconsciously or not, this fertile valley.)
I can see it, and I like how it’s so much less insipid overall than Taylor Swift types - here there are some things to say, in a voice that can actually sing. All this said, it’s not one for me.
3.5 stars. Great voice, some great tracks and some duds and just a bit too 80's cheesy overall. Not a fan of end of album which gets too glam-rockish. Standout is "Better Be Good To Me" along with the catchy pop hit "What's Love Got To Do With It".
Well, so as a kid I hated What’s Love Got to do with It, but I like it much better now. She’s got an interesting voice, in a good way. Some of the music itself was not that interesting to me, but not terrible.
Tina's voice is timeless and the lyrics are solid and work with her vocals but the music and production are incredibly dated. As a teenage metal head/punk rock kid I hated this album. As an adult I can appreciate it for what it is but it is so incredibly dated. 5 for Tina and 1 for the rest equals a generous 3
I would struggle at a Tina cover band concert but would be clapping along with all the old ladies to a few of these.... she was a pioneer so hats off and loved some sax
80s style 2.5/5
Oh wow. All this time I thought ‘What’s Love Got to Do with It’ was by Michael Jackson. Shows what I know. This was good, even if it’s not really my kind of music. Tina Turner is good
The flute sounding synth in “What’s Love Got To Do With It” instantly connects me to my 7 year old self. This album is very much steeped in the 80’s synth world. Tina shines above it all with some incredible vocal performances. I give this one a 3.5.
Tina's voice is on point: emotional, weary, and raspy. After leaving an abusive relationship, Tina sings of a yearning for love and respect but not trusting it fully, a theme that heart-breakingly resonates throughout the album. The hits I recall from this album are "What's Love Got To Do With It", "Private Dancer", and "Better Be Good To Me", but there are other notable songs here as well such as "I Can't Stand The Rain", "Steel Claw", and some well-performed renditions of cover songs. Stylistically, the album moves through a couple of genres (mostly pop, upbeat soft rock, and R&B) and yet remains cohesive as an album. Overall, the production is a compilation of 80's clichés; programmed drums, synthesized horns, warm pads, mildly distorted guitar chords and common arpeggios, and orchestral hits. These same songs and instrumental lines played more organically would hold up better with time. The sound is too dated to be classically timeless; you have to be willing to revisit the 80's when you put this one on. It makes me wonder how The Killers, MGMT, and Radiohead breathe so much life and emotion into their electronic productions, avoiding the pitfalls of feeling so robotic and distant. Tina delivers on the album, but the production generally doesn't rise to her greatness.
Tina Turner has such a raw soulful and bluesy voice that truly gets showcased throughout the album. The sounds on the album, everything going on in the background makes it sound dated though. I know there are other albums that have 'that 80s sound' but somehow they don't sound dated like this one. Tina shines powerfully through the time stamp though.
Deep respect and love for Tina Turner. However, that is the most 80's sounding album, and it has not aged well.
Not for me thanks
I could really have done without all the covers, but the highlights go *just* hard enough for this to edge or to three stars.
Tina Turner does the same thing as the other popular artists of her time, but not quite as well.
Schöne Klassiker.
I like the melodies and singing, but it’s just so 80’s sounding, and that cover of Help is more like the lyrics of the original song over a completely different melody.
couple bangers
there is some great classic songs on here.
Still incredible, but doesnt hold up as well as I thought it would
Delightfully fucking weird
3.5
too 80's can't give it more than 3
Love the hits but didn’t love this as much as I wanted to. I remember everyone having this album in school - not me, though. But it brings back fun memories of going dancing and Tina belting out her hits.
The hits were great, the covers were not and the rest was ok. I am more an admirer of Tina as a person than a fan of her singing.
This album is hopelessly tethered to questionable '80s production aesthetics, and it doesn't help that the majority of the material is just OK. But damn, Tina Turner is singing like she means it, and her voice is the one thing that transcends the production and the material. She's singing at a 5 and swimming against the current of the material and production. Except on "What's Love Got to Do With It." That sounds like a hit. I wrote a retrospective of Tina Turner last year (she died in May of 2023), and this album has a pretty dramatic story. It was her first release as a solo artist after her tumultuous divorce from Ike Turner, and probably her one shot at putting a solo career on track, and she ultimately had to pull the whole thing together (and record it) in two weeks. So, I suppose the choices were born of trying to sound as relevant and current at the time, and I guess she really was singing like it was her last chance. Good for her on achieving massive success with this, but it doesn't exactly hold up as a great body of songs, IMO.
Better Be Good to Me was the standout song on this album for me. All the others sounded trite. I guess it's one to listen to b/c it's Tina's big comeback?
Pop refinado da msm qualidade que MJ
I liked this album more than I thought I would
Hark - a new contender for the most 80s sounding album on the list! For better (WLGTDWI, Steel Claw!) and for worse (that cover of Help - ewww).
3.5
It's very 80s, and not for me. But a few classic bangers on here.
So 80s
decent
2.5/5. This is fine. I imagine this was pretty popular back then. Not really into this, though. I found it a little boring.
Are these just all covers?
A great voice, but other than the hits, the rest is sort of forgettable. Tina is a fantastic singer, but I was kind of bored, especially with the cheesy 80's music.
Tina Turner's big break after breaking off from Ike Turner. She obviously deserves the world after everything she went through, but her powerful approach to soul proved to be a winning move. A lot of the album is dragged down by the typical '80s pop production, but Tina Turner's charisma and incredible voice make these songs stand out. Her rendition of the Beatles' "Help" on the rerelease is perhaps the weakest choice, but it wasn't on the original tracklist so I'll try to ignore that. Overall it's an enjoyable experience that I feel would be improved with better songs for Tina to sing.
Rock star! I enjoyed this album and I was surprised to -- I appreciate how revolutionary this music and this artist would have been at the time. I also have a little nostalgic spot for the extreme '80s-ness of this album, complete with MIDI. :)
This album sounded fairly dated and was difficult to get into. Some hit songs but overall it doesn’t hold up well.
Show Some Respect for this album.
I love Tina Turner and this has some nice songs on it, that have not aged well. Better Be Good to ME still sounds great but some of the covers just feel like she is vamping rather than exuding emotion.
I was only slightly disappointed that the Nutbush wasn't on this album. But there were definitely a few on here that came close. For her fifth solo album she had cemented herself as one of the largest artists of the 80s. Best: What's Love Got to Do With It Worst: Private Dancer Note: Spotify had the extended version of the album, I only listened to the original 10 tracks.
Noteworthy songs - 808080808 Magical Dream - Kinda catchy synth, but the rest is bland. Ancodia - Good background noise. Cobra Bora - Actually kind of cool, reminds me of Bomberman Hero. Pacific 202 - N64 vibes, but melody isn't great. Donkey Doctor - Nothing too special, weird ending. 808080808 - Really cool beginning. A little slow in the middle but stays interesting enough. Sunrise - Nothing remarkable. The Fat Shadow - Eerie. Very short.
Great album for the mid 80s but it’s pretty dated now. Second part of the album is a little bit mailed in. It’s ok
Big 80s sound. Some of lyrics are a little on the nose, but a pretty fun listen overall. Particularly liked the cover of Help! More impassioned take on a classic.
More covers than I was expecting. But she has earned her stripes, she can do now wrong.
148/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
Good listen but did she really do anything that original? The best songs were not even hers
Can you dance to it? Yes Can you rock to it? Yes What's cheese got to do with it?
So 80s My dad grew up in north St. Louis and saw Tina a lot when she was coming up. Talked about raucous shows. Missed that here as it just sound like corporate 80s rock. Given her story, I wish they made the backing fit her story and a lot of the lyrics. Vocals are great, just feel it contrasts with the music not in a good way.
it goes without saying that tina turner has an incredible voice. her voice is the reason you listen to this album. the production is violently mid-1980s and has not held up particularly well. it sounds really clunky and cheesy. there are a handful of old overs on here that i don't think are amazing covers, just sort of whatever. nothing here stood out to me as great, but was solid enough. pretty middle of the road.
Good record, good songs, awesome singer - but not my cup of tea. Would deserve more if it was but for my appetite I’ve had my fill of this album. Still a good one mind you.
There's a certain kind of synth from the early 80s that is at once very playful, but also sounds silly? It's tough to take Tina seriously with this sound on the first track. Oddly enough a lot of it seems to come from Rupert Hine as a producer I have just found out. I might be bias because I love the film Better Off Dead, which he produced a lot of the music on the soundtrack.
That was a good dose of 80s pop with some very iconic instrumentals and singing. It was mainly easy listening, but by the end it felt longer than 44 minutes.
Not an artist I listen to other than very casually. This was a nice change of pace.
Good pop music, not my style. I enjoyed the instrumentals and her voice sounded good most of the time.
She has a wonderful, powerful voice, but I don’t love the instrumentation here—too 80s and not super interesting
Not exactly my cup of tea, but alright. I think if I had heard this on a different day I might have liked it much more, but it just came at the wrong time for me to get fully into. Such is life
An ok album. The cover of I Cant Stand the Rain is fun, but on the flip side the cover of HELP is atrocious!
I’m not sure if timeless is how I’d describe it. Still fun.
This is a lengthy one. I think the rating here reflects more on the mood that I was in when listening to it, I was really struggling with enjoying it.
I was a kid when this came out and back then I thought her hair was weird. Decades later I think it's even worse. It looks like she scalped a sasquatch and stuck it on her head. The music itself has not aged particularly well because of the 80's production. Luckily it has her powerful, raspy voice to elevate it.
Some good stuff, but not a genre I enjoy.
Tante Tina... ze stelt nooit teleur, maar toch te 80's gelikt voor mij
Super 80s that I actually quite liked it. The more cheesy 80s songs were the better ones. No need for the Al Green or Beatles covers and pretty naff ender. But other than that I somewhat guiltily enjoyed it.
Good and of course uniquely Tina. But a bit dated.
71/100
ok album not for me really but cant deny is good 3.3/5
I started off thinking "This is fun!" It's got that very eighties sound. It reminded me of Huey Lewis and the News and that type of thing. It has a couple of classic songs that Tina Turner is best known for, like "I can't stand the rain," "What's love got to do with it," and "Private dancer". And Tina, obviously has a great voice. But... are these all covers? When it gets to the ones I know best from the originals like "Let's Stay Together" or "Help!" they just sound very very silly with the 80s MOR Rock treatment. On Spotify, this seems to be another secret expanded edition. The original U.S. version had 9 songs and the International one has 10. This version has 14 and then another 3 Extended 12" remixes of the hits. Unusually, it seems to have been reordered too, so it's hard to tell if the shorter version of the album would have not outstayed it's welcome. Having said that, I'm now getting toward the end and there's some better tracks so who knows. ...Oh! I've just noticed it says "20th anniversary edition" in tiny writing on the cover. Also I wondered why the guitar was so good and I've just read Jeff Beck plays on the album, so that explains that. I'll give it 3 stars but you have to be in the right mood and / or skip some tracks.
One of my dads favourites, a solid 3.
Without the reverb drums and with more 70s keyboards, it would be a great album... It's what the 80s have...
B-puoli nostattaa bileet. Harmi vaan, että edes kokonaisen levyn kuunteleminen ei saa mua tykkäämään Turnerin äänestä. Se on hieno, mutta ei jotenkin tarpeeksi… monipuolinen? Biisit on myös niin kasaria, että kalahtelu alkaa kaikua korvissa. Mutta: mukanakarjumisbileet!
Todellinen LP: kokonaisuudessa on väistämättömyyden tuntua siitä huolimatta, että mukaan on valikoitu tuttuja covereita. Hittibiisi on Oikeasti Hyvä ja nimibiisi oman naiiviutensa tyylikkäästi ylittävä. Osa biiseistä kompastelee kummalliseen, konemaiseen tarkkuuteen, jota ainakin osa tuottajista on halunnut painottaa. Mutta on ilahduttavaa kuulla, miten artisti värittää Beatlesin uudelleen. 3+
Some good, some okay, some bad, all 80s
Love Tina Turner! This isn't her best, but it's still damn good!
Nice performance, if I was in the mood I would give it 5 otherwise it would be 3
Hard to assess. Not my wheelhouse, not my decade I suppose. But jeez you listen to this thing and it sounds like every song was a hit single. And though I don’t love the ultra polished 80s production sound, it does serve Tina Turner’s delivery pretty good. I bet a lot of this stuff sounded great live, too.
3 stars
To paraphrase the lyrics of the title-track, "any old music will do" to illustrate the comeback of an artist who probably deserves to return under the spotlight after being treated like shit by her partner (both professional and domestic). And this whereas her talents as a performer were clearly pivotal for the success of their common past endeavors. Fortunately for her, Tina Turner managed to find allies from within the industry to relaunch her career as a solo act some years after her painful divorce from Ike. And this record is when her efforts paid off at last. Of course, the music on *Private Dancer* wasn't "old" at the time, it sounds terribly old *now*. But you still have the feeling that "any music", as long as it fit with the cheesy commercial aesthetics of the day, would have done here. There's a case to be made about how hackneyed and ridiculous some of the production choices are on this thing. Any lover of this album consciously ommiting to point that out today is not giving you the full picture. The eighties were quite a horrible moment for mainstream music at large. Let's *never* forget that. *That said*, and quite surprisingly given that I had already tried to enjoy this record before (to no avail), I feel far more benevolent to most of those songs this morning, as I spent some more time with them. Is it because Tina passed away?--may she rest in power. Is it because I imagined that late-career Talking Heads were playing the instruments behind her on the admittedly slightly underwhelming opener "I Might Have Been Queen -- Soul Survivor"? And that, somehow, it made the song a little more interesting? Or is it because, actually, the overall energy of Tina's performance in this opener, as well as in the midtempo plea "Better Be Good To Me" and the very lively and fast-paced rocker "Steel Claw", indeed manages to make the cheesefest of the production somewhat irrelevant. Those compositions are also well-crafted overall, with some interesting chord sequences and salvageable arrangements. One can dream about what an updated remix of those songs could sound like, as one reviewer has pertfully remarked here... We haven't even addressed the real highlights of this album, and I already have positive things to say. Now, with "What's Love Got To Do With This?", you gotta admit that the song is a soulful hit for a reason--and one aptly showing Tina settling the score with her difficult past. And "Private Dancer", written by Dire Straits' Mark Knowfler, is another pivotal moment giving its distinctive appeal to the whole LP: by telling the inner monologue of a stripper, one feels like Tina is offering a metaphor for what she does here as an artist--probably selling parts of her soul for money (and getting her rightful place again within the industry), a situation underlined by the sadness conveyed by the chord progression on the bridge, and then still looking dignified and vindicated enough to do so in a somewhat graceful manner. And Jeff Beck's wincing guitar solo at the end, as strange as it might sound for some ears, actually emphasizes this interesting ambiguity... This LP also has its significant share of covers. And apart from "Help", which just literally murders (and even *slaughters*) what makes the Beatles song great in the first place, those covers are very nice as well. "I Can't Stand The Rain" offers an excellent new-wave-tinged version of Ann Peebles' progressive-soul sleeper hit, and Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" and David Bowie's "1984" get the slick eighties treatment to great effects. So the only real dud here (apart from "Help") is "Show Some Respect"--sounding too thin, too dry, and too bland harmonically speaking to deserve being showed what it asks for. But apart from that, let's call this reviewer pleasantly surprised this morning. Still erring on the side of caution here, because I feel like my feelings could change again, but I'm glad most of those tracks "clicked" for me at last, in spite of their horrid production values. Plus, given that Tina didn't write her own songs here, there's no way I can *automatically* include this record in my own list of 1001 keepers. Yet I leave the door open for it, at least as a culturally relevant milestone for mainstream pop music. Knowing how Tina never took "no" for an answer when she eventually managed to shackle her chains, chances are that this LP might blow those doors into oblivion in the foreseeable future anyway. :) 3/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums. 8/10 for more general purposes (5+3). Number of albums left to review: 193 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 348 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 203 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 256
"Private Dancer" is the fifth solo studio album by Tina Turner, sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll." This pop rock album was a commercial success and affirmed her career as a solo artist. This was an exceptionally popular album, notably for gifting the world "What's Love Got To Do With It." The greatest downside to this recorded album is that the listener does not appreciate the full experience of Turner's unstoppable energy in her live performances.
La voix est cool mais le reste musical est genre bof
Decent
Tina! Great voice, production not the so much Fav song: let’s stay together
5.5/10 The Help! cover is terrible. Highlights: What's Love Got to Do with It Private Dancer
Tina Turner is kind of GOATed for What’s Love Got To Do With It alone Incredibly sly, sneaky fun production, one-of-a-kind voice, great combo. There’s something so cool about her super beat-up, chain-smoking badass hurt voice over this super cheesy, silly New Romantics kind of shit. Whoever decided to do that is kind of a genius. Kind of new-wavey? Do I feel some Culture Club? Except I don’t hate it? Tina could sing anything and I’ll pay attention. Kind of like an Amy Winehouse, she just gives the song authority. And she respects the song! A lot of these songs would kind of suck without her singing it, with her singing it it’s a BOP! “Show some Respect,” great example. You can imagine the lame version of that, it’s too easy. Embarrassed to say that I unfairly judged a book by its cover. I kinda loved this! Minus some silly, superfluous covers. This is a super weird album, in a good way. Truly, could only have been made in the 80’s. Nobody would dare do this today, take a voice as unbelievably soulful as this and give it the slicked-back 80’s treatment. -1 for double album. -1 for a kind of confusing series of covers and less exciting ones toward the end. Felt more lost and meandering. But, as Charlie mentioned, it looks like we’re listening to a bloated “deluxe” edition on Spotify, and there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to hear the original LP as intended. I imagine even the 40-minute version would dip in interesting-ness toward the back half. Was very close to a 4 honestly, but yeah, this back half is confusing enough to temper my excitement. 3/5
this was a fine listen overall, though a lot of the songs sounded generically 80s to me. tina turner is an icon who'd been through so much (RIP) and what's love got to do with it is definitely an enduring and classic song forty years later. my favorite part of this album was when it shook things up a bit toward the end. steel claw, the very transformative cover of Help!, and 1984 were all rock solid tracks for me. i plan to come back to these later on, i just wish the others were more interesting. favorites: what's love got to do with it, steel claw, help!, 1984
The album is OK, but nothing special. Contains her hits "What's Love Got to Do with It" and "Private Dancer", plus passable covers of Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand the Rain", Al Green's "Let's Stay Together", and David Bowie's "1984".
Some nice Songs.
Some cool interpretations of classics but more importantly a powerhouse of a voice.
3/5 Rocking Tina Turner, good album.
The album that solidified Tina as a solo act.
I enjoyed listening to this! Over Christmas we were at Luke's mum's and watched a Tina Turner concert on telly and it was spectacular! She was pretty old at the time and was all over that stage. I don't know Tina Tuner stuff that well but I get it, the energy and fun was excellent. Luke's mum really enjoyed it and that's a nice memory now. So listening to this album was easy to picture what it's all about. The music is not my thing, but I respect it
Proof that an album can sound extremely dated and still be relevant. Tina Turner's Private Dancer was her reemergence after the very public fall with her split from abusing husband Ike Turner. This album slapped back in 1984, but unlike fellow 1984 album release alums Bruce Springsteen's Born In The USA, Van Halen's 1984, Prince, and Madonna's contributions as well, this is the one that doesn't necessarily fit. Tina was known to use a lot of filler tracks and cover which she doesn't shy away from here with a great cover of Al Green's 'Let's Stay Together', but some 40 years later, this album sound dated and a little tired. 3.5/5
It sounds so 80s which might not be a good thing
Fun. Tina Rules.
not a big fan, but it is a good album - 3.5
Besides the hits I don't know much about Tina Turner. To be honest I was nervous about what the cover of "I Can't Stand the Rain" because I love that original song so much, but it was kind of an interesting and fun cover. I am not sure I love this album overall. When it's good and catchy it is REALLY good and catchy, but that is not all the time. "Better Be Good to Me" is a waste of a track. "Let's Stay Together" is a bad cover. Too many covers on this record. I don't know, man, when this record is good it's good, so it makes it more annoying when it's boring. I know what you can do, Tina! Do it!
There’s definitely a lot to like here, some really great songs. They’re just dripping with that 80’s vibe that kind of turns me off. I’d love to hear these reworked with arrangements from either a prior or future era, something a little cleaner. As is, it’s very listenable and fun. The covers are exceptional. “Let’s Stay Together” is almost as good as the original. The gospel-inspired cover of “Help!” feels like an incredible inspired and original take a classic song. The originals are good, too. Obviously “What’s Love Got to Do With It” is the headliner here despite not being the title track. That belongs to “Private Dancer,” which, while long, earns its length for its excellent instrumentals and guitar solo. This was probably a transition album for her, moving away from Ike and changing her sound to match the times. I can respect that and know that transition often means some stumbles. But I don’t think there are many stumbles here. And for once I don’t think this is an instance where this album was included because of one hit song. This earned its spot. 3 stars. Standout tracks: What’s Love Got to Do With It, I Can’t Stand the Rain, Private Dancer, Let’s Stay Together, Steel Claw
Female Jeff Buckley
Hard not to root for TT, but the awful Ultimate-'80s effects undercut the case for timelessness. "What's Love" and title cut are perfectly pleasant (one would like to have seen TT doing them at the Cafe Carlisle with just piano accompaniment), and "Better Be Good to Me" has its merits. But the production and "instrumentation" (if it can even be called that) on "Can't Stand the Rain" manifests nearly everything that was wrong with this musical era. "Let's Stay Together" has only sightly less cheesy synth effects and, while not unenjoyable, isn't exactly an interpretation for the ages. The same could be said for "Help!" and "Ball of Confusion." Frankly, TT's voice and vocal style – mostly guttural but filligree-ing here and there – isn't perfectly aligned to one's taste. One can feel happy for TT's success which, one supposes, might be deserved, and still find this musically iffy and mostly forgettable.
So really liked most of the songs and Tina Turner’s ballsy soulful vocals….but not going to lie I didn’t love the dated 80s production. The best songs were definitely the ones with minimal additions to Tina Turner’s vocals
Need to fully listen to it.
Tina Turner - hmm.. I like the "blues years" - the early years. Private dancer is much too much commerce for me. Some songs are great, some not. Therefor 3 stars.
Sort of surprised at how I didn’t love her vocal tone, the brassiness made it hard to understand at times.
Enjoyable
Album con diversi successi di Tina. Non lo riascolterei, ma è stato abbastanza gradevole
Of course TT is a great singer, but these are just typical 80 s pop songs with a few covers
Good singer, mwah music
Amazing singer. Couple of bangers I'd put on a playlist but I don't think I'll revisit it as a full album.
Full on power pop
Pretty obnoxious that the 30th Anniversary Issue completely re-sequenced the original. Album opens with I Might Have Been Queen, which puts 80s pop tropes on full display. Heavy cheese in the synth instrumental with a funky lean. Her voice is smokey, scratchy, and powerful emerging from the depths of the instrumental. What's Love Got to Do with It is the one that everyone knows. I find the instrumental very peculiar almost dubby in atmosphere with western "wah" elements that remind me of some later Talking Heads. That said, it is an easy going song that hooks you in. I can see why it gained the popularity that it received. Show Some Respect drops into a more funk-rock stomp. Fine, but doesn't do a ton for me. I Can't Stand the Rain, on the other hand, grabbed my attention instantly with the stark high pitched intro and never let me go. This instrumental is sick, and her vocals are so commanding. Early standout; love the layering. Reminds me a LOT of Charlotte Adigery and Bolis Pupul's latest work Topical Dancer. Original album drops into Better Be Good to Me, which is a straight forward 80s pop-rock entry. Once again this song is tapping into a desire for respect. Side two starts with Let's Stay Together, which is another familiar one. However, I feel like I've mostly heard other versions / covers. I actually love the instrumental here. It has such a dreamy feel about it with the silky guitar and hand percussion. Some weird off-key synth through the mid-section, but I don't mind. 80s pop is generally not what I go in for, but this album was pretty enjoyable. At its best it is great (Let's Stay Together, I Can't Stand the Rain). At its worst it is forgettable (Show Some Respect, I Might Have Been Queen). I would say this is a solid 3 for me. Not something I'll listen to straight through, but some jams I would love to come back for. Songs Added to Playlists: - I Can't Stand the Rain (Sunny-vibes) - Let's Stay Together (Sunny-vibes)
This album was all over the place, which makes sense because each song was written by a different person. I really liked the uptempo songs like Steel Claw, that song was a jam. But some of the songs were a little too slow for me. Mark Knopfler wrote Private Dancer with Jeff Beck having a solo on it which is pretty cool. And 1984 was written by Bowie which also checks out because of the style of the song sounds like it could be one of his. I'd say this is a 3.49
Great voice sometimes overcome by over produced 80s nonsense.
A lot of stereotypical 80s production. Most of the non-hit/non-cover songs sound like they could be used for the montage scene in an 80s comedy. But good hooks and vocals.
Surprisingly good. 3.5
I know plenty of songs from here but overall if you think about it, that's pretty average music, especially with production and sound - mainstream success didn't help in this case.
It aight. - 6/10
What’s Dean got to do with it! Why, it’s time to Tina Turner the clocks ahead. Happy daylight savings! Album was fine, kind of long
Pretty good! I kinda felt like the songs were trying too hard sometimes? Idk, like it didn’t feel that natural and groovy? But enjoyable. 6.5/10
Mid 5.5/10
Ganz gut. Klingt nach Drumcomputer. Drei Sterne weil Tina einfach gut war.
Enjoyable 80s crossover pop.
I’m familiar with the hits, which I still find catchy. Otherwise, not my style.
a much better album than I expected. From cheese 80. To classic r&b.
Show Some Respect - love this one. Help - Beatles cover, very good.
Ieder zijn ding. De hitjes zijn leuk, de rest wat minder maar me goed vermaakt.
Good album from someone I'd never known much about!
Solid but not my style.
Already knew many of the songs from this album, very iconic
Good but even, the hits still kill but the rest doesn't meet at the same level.
Not typically a fan of 80's music, but Tina Turner's great voice drew me in. Wish the backing instruments were more powerful. I ended up liking her version of Let's Stay Together more than What's Love Got to Do with It.
Brings me back! I actually remember it being better than it is now
Oh lord åttitallet har aldri åttitallet på en så åttitals måte. Her får vi honkey tonk live musiker vibes, med skikkelig yrkesmusikere. Folk skal få igjen for penga de har betalt for albumet. Det skal ikke være stor kunst, det skal være musikk til folket med full pupp, trøkk og blås i alle sylindre. Liker du ikke synth pop? Her, ta litt beatles, eller kansje noen andre slagere sunget på toppen av alle klaffene av en blues / soulsanger i verdensklasse. Gir det meningen som et album? nei... Er det noen rævva låter? Definitivt. Men hva har det å si vi har jo 19 forsøk på noe fett.
Tina sounds like my aunt who smokes too much doing karaoke. That doesn't mean it was bad, but that is how it sounded. Favorite track was 1984.
This album has the exact save issues that I have with Michael Jackson's Bad, where the production is so cheesy and dated that it really hurts a good chunk of songs as I can hear a solid base for a lot of the songs here, but the style of the time made it so every song oozes the same gratituous-ness that seeped from every 80s pop record. I suppose this was a tiny bit before that production style really took off into the stratosphere in the late 80s, but that doesn't make it any less out of touch by modern standards. I think Tina Turner's voice does carry this project mostly, as while it isn't anything I adore, it's aged in a way on here where it feels mature and natural, but at the end of the day this feels like an album to make money for all parties involved, and it sure did.
Pretty good, the lineup on this album goes kinda crazy. Probably won't listen to it again but was still an enjoyable experience for the listen. Will I listen to again: 5%
There are a few great songs on here, and some incredible singing. The first half is pretty flawless IMO. But there are a couple of duds on the second half (Steel Claw and 1984), and the production overall is way too polished for my taste.
Yeah I like her
I get the feeling that this is really good music for the genre. It just doesn't quite connect with me though. The Beatles cover didn't "Help" either ell oh ell
Still a standout performance almost 40 years late
My first Tina Turner album, and it's not bad at all. It's got the big one, "What's Love," and it's also got a BeeGee's cover, which I would've never expected. A couple other tracks I really liked, though the production on some songs is very dated in a way that I just don't connect with. That said, it was still a fine listen. I've got no problem with this one being here. Favorite tracks: What's Love Got to Do With It, I Can't Stand the Rain, Better Be Good to Me. Album art: Tina sitting on a folding chair (odd choice), with a little black cat in front of her. Nothing really special, but it's effective for some reason. I do like this one. 3/5
What I love best is that she is truly versatile. RIP
This is a 3 star that should be a 5. Positives: didn't realise how good What's Love Got To Do With It is. Its way more subtle that I remember. Private dancer is good etx The big issue for me is the amount of covers. The cover of Let's Stay Together was a big disappointment, unnecessary solos in it and Help! If the album was by Prince, Peter Gabriel or Madonna it would get higher marks. I don't think I like Tina's voice as much High 3/5
Enjoyed some of the songs
I had forgotten about Better Be Good to Me. Good tune.
the album that cemented her stardom. Cross over success. probably better in context. 3.5
Fun, 80s drum heaven. Bit too of its time.
Mid!
Famous tracks: What's Love Got To Do With It (but not a great song); Private Dancer (surprisingly long at 7:14, and includes some sultry sax, written by Mark Knopfler); Better Be Good To Me (good song, with a ~ rock feel); Interesting covers: I Can't Stand The Rain Let's Stay Together (Al Green) Help! (Beatles, but in a motown / gospel feel, with Jeff Beck on guitar)
A fun thematic album. Enjoyed it for the most part.
Good album. RIP Tina Turner. Shes really one of a kind. Her music doesnt stick to me that strong but nothing than respect for her!
Poppy 80's album with a hint of rock.
Prob a 2.5. I found myself vibing with this more than expected (especially I Can't Stand the Rain) but I'm not about to throw on some Tina anytime soon
Voz femenina con carácter, a ratos desgarradora. Con mucha fuerza. Más de un tema conocido. Rock con esencia
Tina is obviously a talented singer and there are some good songs here but I honestly doubt I'd listen to it on my own. I'd give it a 3 I guess. Feels weird but that's how it is.
there's a few great iconic songs, but idk that i love it in full as an album
Not my thing
A lot of this album sounds really dated. But, it's a testament to her inluence that the rest sounds classic. I could do without The Beatle cover and I can think of at least 50 Bowie songs I would've rather heard her take a stab at (but it was 1984 after all). I think it's cool that, while listening to this album, it stated to rain about the time that "I Can't Stand The Rain" came on...and turned into a hailstorm - A fitting metaphor for Tina's voice.
I love Tina Turner as the next man but this one of this pop records where some singles are great but not so much the rest. The title track, "Better Be Good To Me" or "What's Love Got to Do with It" stand out, the rest is alright. Got to say that I have my issues with ranking artists high who 'just' sing these songs but don't write or produce them.
I didn't know that "What Love Got To Do" is from 1984, that's basically 40 years! Time flies by, I guess. Tina Turner and a long set of pop songs from 80s. Pretty pleasant listening session, boring at times and repetitive, but Tina's voice is a real sight to behold. Couple songs are nice to listen from time to time in a radio, but overall it's not an album I would like to listen again. Nice piece of history, nothing else.
Naast de klassiekers staan er nog meer lekkere nummertjes op dit album, maar het verveelt mij wel redelijk snel.
Not a fan of this genre so im kinda biased, 3 stars
Aged 40 years, Private Dancer is stamped with its (over)production. The selection of songs, though, covers flying over my head, rides in sync on the back of Turner's vocal performance. The way she elevates the material (incl. slightly charming organ) is arresting.
Immediately, I understand where the criticisms are coming from. I don't dislike the iconic "80s" sound, with it's simple, but punchy drums and droning synth, but I can understand why an entire album of this would be rough. Thankfully, Turner's voice does enough heavy lifting that it isn't the most distracting example of underwhelming background music. "I Can't Stand the Rain" is a good example of how her voice can work well in tandem with the background, the rhythm reminiscent of rainfall to my ears. A perfectly average album, but the standouts are real knocks in the park. I totally get why her hits are hits!
One of the most 80s albums the 80s ever 80d. Still the singles are strong enough to carry the over production. Better Be Good To Me is a standout. Not sure about the covers. I'm glad I never heard Dire Straits do Private Dancer even though Mark Knopfler wrote it. Overall, it's fine and bonus points for Tina surviving and thriving after she left Ike.
The extra tracks are usually a waste of life but "I wrote a letter" is actually a good song.
Cute kitten on the cover
I can't stand the rain is an amazing track, but the album is unfortunately MOR.
Without doubt Tina had a powerful voice and vocal range, and was a true entertainer who commanded the stage with raw energy and sexual prowess. The Private Dancer album was her first resurrection of her as an artist in her own right, I remember it coming out back in the day, and it was played everywhere, non stop, the album was a hit. There are no real bad tracks on the album, and there are a few iconic Tina tracks in there, but the thing that kills the album, which you kinda didn't notice so much back in the mid 80s, was the falseness of the music, the 80s style synth overlays of instrument layers, it just lacks the power and feeling from real instruments played by real people, and it takes away from the power of Tina's vocals. The synth style instruments are just a lack lustre, over produced sound that are very cringe now when you re-listen to the album.
Hard to deny it's a good album for what it is. Not for me though. I like the music but I was never a fan ofTina Turner's voice
I had no idea there was so many covers on this album. Or that Mark Knopfler wrote the title track. Tina's version of Let's Stay Together was the first time I heard this song. It remains a favourite to this day. The 80's production dates the album. But still a decent voice and a great choice of songs. Even 1984 is half decent.
Les arrangements vieillissent un peu mal, mais je peux entendre ce qui était audacieux à l’époque. La puissance vocale de Turner est indéniable
Decent pop
It's actually the first Tina Turner album I've listened to. It is a good album, though I felt the first part was stronger than the second one which fell a bit flat. Tina's voice was extremely powerful, the music here was just secondary. I enjoyed it quite a bit overall.
Well it's got the voice and the tunes. It also has a 80s production that really sucks balls and I find it really hard to get past.
In this case the classics elevate the datedness some of the tracks.
Great performer but tedious album.