Here is a fascinating 81 minute documentary/travelogue of one of the most important R&B teams to ever come around. Ike and Tina Turner had a road show that influenced just about every pop singer around, most notably Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. This combination of home footage and concert films show the volatile couple in a rarely seen angle, that of a husband and wife working together as a team. None of the famous domestic violence is even hinted at here, just insight into a couple trying to “make it .” The concert footage of Tina in concert is electrifying, as takes of “River Deep, Mountain High” and “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” producing enough energy to light up the city of Detroit.
The only thing that is discomforting is that, in retrospect, the flashy and fleshy shows of Ms. Turner and her accompanying singers and dancers has a feel of a sleezy peep show, or even flesh auction, as the women seem to be acting like nothing more than carnal pleasures for the eyes. In another time and era it could have been a glorified market for concubines. Have women really progressed through the ages?
MVD Visual