Ike & Tina Turner – Feel Good – Pure Pleasure Records 180g Vinyl LP

“Feel Good”, not Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly”, is the sound of early-’70s pimping – even when the tempo slows down, which happens rarely, it’s for a slow blues grind, not a ballad, and songs like Tina’s “Kay Got Laid (Joe Got Paid)” make no apologies for mythologizing pimps. This results in a supremely sleazy, utterly addictive record, one that’s relentless in its rhythms and fearless in its funk as Ike lays down nasty rock & roll guitar – check his solos on “Feel Good”, where he’s as elastic as rubber – and Tina tears it up with pure, unbridled passion. “Feel Good” is quintessentially ’70s – the fuzztoned funk practically conjures up platform shoes and mile-wide collars – but it doesn’t belong to any one sound, it casually draws from Southern soul, James Brown funk, black pride, “Superfly” style and juke joint R&B, a sound that is uniquely identified with Ike & Tina. And while this contains no flat-out classics like “Nutbush City Limits” or “Proud Mary” as an album “Feel Good” undoubtedly ranks among their very best: it’s a non-stop party.

Track Listings

Chopper
Kay Got Laid (Joe Got Paid)
Feel Good
I Like It
If You Can Hully Gully (I Can Hully Gully too)
Black Coffee
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
If I Knew Then (What I Know Now)
You Better Think of Something
Bolic