Celebrating Tina at the Record Store

Thank goodness for old Crates

So many good writers and music lovers have commemorated Tina Turner’s passing last week. It’s hard to describe the impact of her life on popular music, and I would have written, too, about my feelings, but I couldn’t find the right words. Sadness is all.

Except, knowing how an artist’s work becomes so much more in demand after their death, I was stunned to find in Cabin Floor Records this week, two vintage Ike and Tina LPs. I’ll be up front: each cost $4.00, and they’re both in what I would describe as Very Fine shape, sound wise. The sleeves are Good to Very Good, I suspect, since I’m not an official grader. When I flipped through the stacks and found this first one, I almost walked on by (foolish pride) because I couldn’t believe anything of this semi-rare nature would be lurking so near (so far) from me.

According to Discogs, this first find is a reissue of 1966’s The Ike and Tina Show (Vol. 2), originally released on the Loma label (product of Warner Bros-7 Arts) in the U.S. Here it is:

(My photo)

This reissue from 1969 is on the Harmony label (product of Columbia House—H-30400), and contains The Ike and Tina Turner Revue’s live takes on “All I Can Do Is Cry,” “You Must Believe Me,” “A Fool For You,” and “You’re No Good.”

I don’t know if it’s Tina’s finest moment, but if it’s not, it nevertheless has me on my knees.

The second Tina record I grabbed came from behind proprietor Joe’s counter. It had come in so recently, he hadn’t had time to put it in the regular stacks. I’m so glad I could save him the trouble. This one is Ike and Tina with the Ikettes: Come Together (Liberty LST-7637, 1970). Not only do they cover that Lennon/McCartney title song, but they also reimagine the Jagger/Richard hit of the previous year, “Honky Tonk Women.” And if you’ve never heard that rendition, well…

And if that isn’t enough, they also perform “I Want To Take You Higher,” “Why Can’t We Be Happy,” and “It Ain’t Right (Lovin’ To Be Lovin.’” And then there’s her take on a song by a 1969 band called Crow, “Evil Woman,” which Tina changes to “Evil Man,” and if only we could see her looking at Ike.

My pleasure at finding these is marred also by my failure to have bought them fifty+ years ago, or anytime since then. Shame, shame, shame.

Joe also had a fine copy of Loretta Lynn’s here’s Loretta singing “Wings Upon Your Horns” (Decca DL-75163, 1970). I paid $10 for this Very Fine recording which features the title track plus several other Lynn original compositions including “The Big Ole Hurt” and “Let’s Get Back Down to Earth.” She also covers Merle Haggard’s “I’d Rather be Gone.” My Loretta collection is getting fat, though I’m not far done.

Speaking of Merle, while I was in Canada, I found one at Hot Wax called Keep Moving On (you notice how movin’ and bein’ gone are thematic with Merle) on the Capitol label (ST-11365, 1975). This LP, costing $5 Canadian, includes the tracks “Movin’ On,” “These Mem’Ries We’re Making Tonight,” “Kentucky Gambler,” and “A Man’s Gotta Give Up a Lot.” [All these title are killing my gramer-ly tool]

I have been trying NOT to spend so much money on used LPs, individually, but what can you do when you find Very Fine+ copies of…

John Prine’s self-titled LP from 1971 (Atlantic SD-8296)? This is the record most people who know and love Prine hone in on when they think of him. It’s the first image of him I can ever remember, and sure, it contains the iconic “Angel From Montgomery,” “Illegal Smile,” and “Spanish Pipedream,” but I think cuts such as “Pretty Good,” “Six O’Clock News,” and “Flashback Blues” are their equals. It’s such a fine record, and I have a story coming soon, pairing it with a Neil young album from the same period.

So what if I spent $25 on a record I could have had for $3.99 back in ‘71? I wasn’t always smart when I was fifteen.

Finally, I also spent $12 to bolster my Dusty Springfield collection. Her LP Wishin’ & Hopin’ which appeared originally on the Mercury label was reissued in 1970 on Pickwick/33 (SPC-3232). According to Discogs, I overpaid a bit, but I couldn’t walk out of Horizon Records without it, which again points to how lucky and relatively wealthy (in spirit mainly) I am. There’s that title track plus the hits “I Only Want To Be With You,” and “You Don’t Own Me.” Still, I think my favorite track is side two’s “Summer Is Over,” a sentiment that plagued me back in the days of my adolescence as even in Alabama I never considered our summers long enough, though they sure were hot.

It’s funny when you consider Dusty’s wisdom for anyone wishing or hoping for a man. Funny when you consider Dusty, that is, and her concealed queerness.

That’s it for today, and I’m wishin’ and hopin’ you’re all well and that you find your own hidden treasures soon.