I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to listen to and review one album from each year of my life, 1973 to 2022. The only qualification is that it has to be an album I’ve not reviewed previously.
1984
Top Grossing Albums of 1984:
- Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen
- Purple Rain – Prince and the Revolution
- Like A Virgin – Madonna
- Reckless – Bryan Adams
- 1984 – Van Halen
Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 1984:
- Can’t Slow Down – Lionel Richie
- She’s So Unusual – Cyndi Lauper
- Purple Rain – Prince & The Revolution
- Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen
- Private Dancer – Tina Turner
Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from 1984:
- Tonight – David Bowie
- How Will the Wolf Survive? – Los Lobos
- Double Nickels on the Dime – Minutemen
- Let It Be – The Replacements
- RUN-DMC – RUN-DMC
- Diamond Life – Sade
Album: Private Dancer
Artist: Tina Turner
Release Date: May 29, 1984
Label: Capitol
Favorite Tracks:
- I Might Have Been Queen
- What’s Love Got to Do with It
- Show Some Respect
- Better Be Good to Me
- Let’s Stay Together
- Steel Claw
- Private Dancer
Thoughts:
Tina Turner died last week so I thought it would be a good time to revisit her seminal 1984 album Private Dancer. Tina’s personal story of escaping the abuse of her husband (and boss) Ike Turner and emerging as a successful solo artist is something that can’t be separated from the greatness of this album. If you weren’t around in 1984 it’s hard to explain just how huge this album was and Tina’s quick rise to superstardom. A woman in her 40s suddenly becoming a rock star was something that just didn’t (and doesn’t) happen.
The first single off this album, a cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” was my introduction to Tina Turner (and I didn’t know who Al Green was until years later). It’s still one of my favorite of Tina’s songs and a terrific interpretation that I’d argue is better than the original. “What’s Love Got to Do with It” was Tina’s first and only Number One song and really one of the most perfect pop songs ever. I’ve always thought of the title track (written by Mark Knopfler and originally recorded but not released by Dire Straits) as a sympathetic story song from the point of view of a woman who works as an exotic dancer, but metaphorically it also works as a story of Tina’s experience with Ike and for the mistreatment that many women suffer in show business. My other favorite song on this album is “Better Be Good to Me” especially the soulful call-and-response she sings with the music towards the end.
This album sounds very 80s with keyboard synths and a soft rock vibe. A lot of artists from the 60s, Tina’s contemporaries, were trying to fit in to the New Wave/synthpop sound in the 80s and flopped. But Tina makes it work, most likely because her voice is so expressive and she never lets it get overwhelmed by the instrumentation. I’m glad I revisted this album because in my mind I know that Tina Turner was a great musical artist, but listening to it makes me realize she was even better than I remembered. She will be missed but I’m glad her voice will live on.
Rating: ****1/2
Panorama of the Mountains 