That same song opens disc one and sets the pace for most of the ‘60s tunes. With Ike’s band thumping solid beats filled out by thick bass lines, skipping drums, a rollickin’ piano, and bluesy guitar licks bent to Hell, the hits kept on a comin’. But it is Tina’s gritty growl backed by The Ikettes that sets the sound apart.
More hits follow in the mold of Ike’s formulaic sound, which broken down in these early days of soul can be best described as New Orleans Boogie revamped and Tina-fied. “I Idolize You,” “It’s Gonna work Out Fine,” “Poor Fool,” “Tra La La La La,” and “I’m Blue (The Gong-Gong Song)” by The Ikettes are the best examples of this sound. At times it’s easy to see the influence of Brother Ray Charles and The Godfather James Brown. On “It’s Gonna Work Out” guitar hero Mickey Baker of Mickey and Sylvia (“Love Is Strange”) fame is doing male vocals not Ike.
“You Should Have Treated Me Right” and “Good Good Lovin’” are good samples of Ike reaching to the past for inspiration. “Should Have Treated Me Right” screams Ray and The Raylettes, while “Loving’” has Ike pumpin’ the 88s like Huey “Piano” Smith and reworking a hit from the early ‘50s. Disc one does rounds out with some hints of things to come. The retelling of “Stagger Lee And Billy,” “Two Is A Couple,” and “I’m Gonna Do All I Can (To Do Right By My Man)” are signs of the future and another push in a new direction.
The disc ends with a live version of one of the couples more revered songs, “River Deep, Mountain High” written and produced by Phil Spector. It’s a live version because due to contractual reasons the studio take is unavailable to Time Life. The song is key to the Ike and Tina story for the fact that it drove Ike crazy that he didn’t have a thing to do with its recording while Tina was becoming the obvious main attraction of the Ike & Tina Revue and moving away from his abusive ways.
Disc Two is where it’s really at; it’s late ‘69. Opening with a solid blues number “The Hunter” that has Ike bending chords every which way he can and leaving the fret board smokin’ after his solos. Track two is a moving cover of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and Tina lays it down like a woman who knows the hurt of the situation well.
“Bold Soul Sister” is solid funk that mixes James Brown’s attitude with The Meters’ grooves and Tina asserts herself as a “B.S.S.” and woman that won’t take no crap! Her personnel ball of freedom is set in motion. Gliding into track four with ease and showing that they can make any song their own, the super duo takes on The Beatles’ blues tribute “Come Together.”
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