Fascinating peak inside of hot & sweaty club where Turners whipped audiences in frenzy during their early 1960s days before they crossed over to rock market. Later released under countless different incarnations and covers, it might be little confusing for record collectors accustomed to their "Proud Mary" period but its important to understand this is journey in a time machine, into what was than known as "chitlin circuit" with predominantly Afro-American public and repertoire adjusted to them - lacking their own hits, Turners enthusiastically covered songs by Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and Etta James amongst others, with audience responding wildly to eruption on the stage.
Always cunning and competitive opportunist, Ike Turner probably noticed huge success of similar live album by James Brown ("James Brown Live At The Apollo") so this two-volume release was no brainer - all you need is a recording equipment, good audience and you let the girls do the business. As expected, there are some cameos by members of the revue, so velvet voiced Jimmy Thomas and Ikettes girls Vanetta Fields and Jessie Smith get their own solo spots, but they are naturally eclipsed by overpowering presence of Tina Turner who is loudest, sassiest and by far the most charismatic of everybody around. Encouraged to scream, shout and sermonise, she is perhaps not a subtlest of singers at this point and her voice is best described as battle cry of amazon warrior queen, but she is darn effective and every inch female counterpart of James Brown. This is what Phil Spector probably heard before he decided that Tina is what he needed for his next, monolithic project, however it was to be worlds away from this music and it would took Turners further into another direction. As historical document, its a extremely interesting testament of music of a bygone era, raw and passionate r&b that is spiritually much closer to Stax than slick Motown, therefore probably more of interest for soul purists.
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