The biggest mystery: why on earth would world famous soul rock act record a gospel album that has nothing to do with their musical style?
Is it because of Aretha's smash hit with "Amazing Grace" album? Or did they wanted, like Dionne Warwick, Ruth Brown and so many other artists to "go back to the roots"? I doubt it,though Ike was a son of Baptist minister and Tina was raised healthy doses of Pentecostal meetings - they decidedly followed a path towards a white rock audience and were closer to Rolling Stones, "Honky Tonk Woman" and Delta Blues than traditional gospel music by Thomas A. Dorsey. Than again, what do we know - Thomas A. Dorsey was a blues pianist & composer who worked with Ma Rainey and was making a career out of it until he got a calling. Ike's good pal Little Richard was also rock artist who suddenly turned to preaching. Soul legend Al Green was just around the corner from leaving commercial music and turning to gospel.
In my opinion, the explanation was different - when he finally achieved commercial success, Ike Turner got himself "Bolic" recording studio and tinkered forever with covers, as they obviously worked. "Proud Mary" was a smash,but also pointed at dead end street - how long can one cover white hits and still stay relevant? He kept his wife locked up in marathon sessions, where she would sing everything from "Tweedle Dee" to "Ya Ya" to " "Stagger Lee" - all those covers by LaVern Baker, Sam Cooke and everybody under the sun. Black artists, white artists, anybody. Somewhere along the way perhaps a gospel song would get Turnerized treatment and it sounded good to somebody at recording company (United Artists) so this is where idea was born. The full page ad was placed at "Bilboard" saying "Have you been to church lately?" signaling the royal couple of black rock went back to the roots.
When you look at final results, though, it makes no difference is it gospel or chinese folk music - Ike was heavily into synthesizers (remember the one in "Nutbush City Limits?") and it doesn't really matter where the original material comes from, at the end the whole album sounds like out-takes from "Nutbush City Limits" or any of the albums recorded at "Bolic" at that time. The only new and interesting thing is that Ike himself takes singing duties on three (!) numbers as completely ignoring the fact that all that previous success was due to his talented wife - he goes so far that even places himself at the opening song "Father alone" and later wobbles trough "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" and "Take My Hand Precious Lord" because nobody dared to contradict him. As for Tina, she probably did what Ike told her to do and nobody can tell does she enjoy this or is she simply professional - with farting synthesizers behind her and Ikettes providing hand clapping and some spirited backing vocals, she sounds happy on upbeat numbers like "Glory Glory" but than meanders elsewhere. Perhaps it would have made a good single instead of spreading the idea on a whole LP.
Curiosity and anomaly in their discography, it's not really a gospel music but soul rock variation on traditional melodies. A decade later, in a completely new world, Tina would get a chance to sing gospel in "Color Purple" movie as Shug Avery character returns to her father's church and sing rousing gospel number "Maybe God Is Trying To Tell You Somethin'" - it's still one of those great what-if theories and possibilities where she could have showed two opposite sides of her character (sexy blues singer, equally energetic in devils and religious music, two sides of the coin, something that even Bessie Smith did,although curiously Mahalia Jackson and Dinah Washington strictly refused on religious basis) but she declined with some vague explanations that nobody questioned or understand at the time. The role,she claimed, was "too similar" to all the bad women Ike used to bring home - this is hard to understand since Shug Avery was a complex character with a heart of gold,who helps Whoopie Goldberg to raise her head. Is it lesbian undertones of the script or all-black cast that did not appeal to Tina who finally reached crossover plateau, who knows - until this day it keeps me wondering what fire and understanding she could have brought to a role. But she refused Spielberg and Hollywood never invited her back.
My thanks to a blogger here who actually inspired me to write this essay and who unknowingly also helped me to understand how to create Hyperlink. It's excellent and interesting blog with writing of the quality I can only dream of.It makes me feel at the same time inspired and embarrassed because I could never write as good as he does - but I can still do my best,considering english is not my first language and I am completely self-taught trough the music,movies and books no less.
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