I'm touched by your show of emotion, should I be fractured by your lack of devotion?

Eerie. I happened to have this album playing in my car last week. Before Ike died. Karma. You got to hand it to a woman who can endure being around Ike Turner and Phil Spector at the same time.

By 1984, Tina Turner (nee' Anna Mae Bullock)'s career was at a low. Broke and in debt from leaving Ike and the tour she was on, it seemed like a classic oldies-act denouement of a almost evolved career. But new wave can be thanked for the turnaround. Yes, new wave. Ex-Human League members Ian Marsh and Martyn Ware went to form the fluffy band Heaven 17. But while doing that, they put out a "collaboration" album called Music of Quality and Distinction under the nom British Electric Foundation. They rounded up a bunch of "has-been" singers and covered classic songs, the first track being Tina's rendition of "Ball Of Confusion". Now while that didn't storm the charts (except apparently in Norway where they hit #5?), the Marsh/Ware duo saw enough potential as to try it again with another cover, this time Al Green's "Let's Stay Together". That song, with Tina's wail over the steely British faux-funk that didn't overpower or intrude, was the break she was looking for, bringing her first into the British top-10, then across the ocean to hit the American pop top-40, as well as reaching the top-3 on the R&B chart and #1 on the dance club chart. Well, now everyone's interested, and an album to support the single was thrown together. Private Dancer's longevity is a testament to Tina's talent to shine through what very well could have been a slipshot cash-in affair, and with a couple of aces in her hole, produced a disc that was one of the very few that could rival the Jackson-Price-Springsteen male triumverate at the time.

The album starts off strong with "I Might Have Been Queen", one of the two fantastic cuts here where she's backed by "One Thing Leads To Another" band the Fixx. Her growling, fierce voice owns this song, and you know right off the bat that she hasn't lost anything since "Proud Mary". That segues into her truly "comeback" hit, the powerhouse that is "What's Love Got To Do With It". Notoriously originally spurned by Turner, that song was everywhere in 1984, where the sing-song melody got grating on twelve plays a day. However, looking back in retrospect, it is a sweet, accessible nugget that deserved the attention it received, and the extended version found on the "Centennial Edition" version actually enhances rather than drags out the piece. Tina also gives "Private Dancer" the world-weary performance that Mark Knopfler-written song what it needed - and not only gave Turner a new persona to draw upon, but possibly the best "sigh" in pop music in the 80's. The other most enduring track on here, "Better Be Good To Me", utilizes the Fixx again on her demand, not request, but demand, to her man to treat her better. No wilting flower from years of abuse, mind. "Show Some Respect" has the same attitude, though not as anthemic as "Better Be..." was. The same goes for the remaining original number, "Steel Claw", which in the hands of anybody else would have been totally parodic. The rest of the proper album are covers, with Tina totally making "I Can't Stand The Rain" her own, while cribbing some of Bowie's drama for "1984" with the Heaven 17 boys backing her up. The original American album stopped there, though the British version tacked on a slow gospel remake of the Beatles' "Help" that at the start rattled me, then won me over.
This "centennial" edition adds on seven more tracks to the work. Three of the B-sides to Tina's singles are there, with only the sublime "Rock N Roll Widow" (the flip of "What's Love...") a keeper, while "I Wrote A Letter" (flip of "Let's Stay Together") and "When I Was Young" (flip of "Better Be Good To Me") as well as the toss-off "Don't Rush The Good Times" are more slight, and prove their absence from the original record. However, criminally missing is Turner's version of Prince's "Let's Pretend We're Married" that graced the B-side of "Show Some Respect", or her live version of "Nutbush City Limits" that's on the back of "Private Dancer". Finally, there's three extended versions, the big singles "What's Love Got To Do With It" and "Better Be Good To Me", as well as a longer mix of "I Can't Stand The Rain", though the extended version of the song that did make #1 on the dance chart, "Let's Stay Together", would've been a great addition.
Now, if you're a fan of pop music in the 80's, I don't have to go tell you to go pick up Private Dancer. If you already have it in the "old" version, the remastering does brighten up the sound a bit, though the extra tracks aren't totally essential.

Grade: A-
Best Cuts: "I Might Have Been Queen", "I Can't Stand The Rain", "Private Dancer", "Let's Stay Together", "Better Be Good To Me"
Weakest Links: "Don't Rush The Good Things", "I Wrote A Letter"

Private Dancer hit #3 on the US pop album chart, #1 R&B albums, and #2 in the UK.
"Let's Stay Together" hit #26 US pop singles, #3 R&B, #1 dance club, and #6 in the UK.
"Help" made #40 in the UK.
"What's Love Got To Do With It" made #1 US pop for 3 weeks, #2 R&B, #8 adult contemporary, #21 dance club, and #3 in the UK.
"Better Be Good To Me" hit #5 US pop, #6 R&B, #16 dance club, #32 mainstream rock, and #45 in the UK.
"Private Dancer" hit #7 US pop, #3 R&B, #30 adult contemporary, and #26 in the UK.
"I Can't Stand The Rain" made #57 in the UK.
"Show Some Respect" made #37 US pop and #50 R&B.

Listen: "Rock N Roll Widow" [click here to listen]

Buy: You can pick up a copy of Private Dancer at websites like here and here.

And some clips. Seven singles made either the US or British charts, the first being her take on Al Green's "Let's Stay Together"..



Next up, her #1 song "What's Love Got To Do With It". I never noticed the Twin Towers till now in the opening shot. Damn.



And here's my favorite song from the album, "Better Be Good To Me" (with the Fixx onstage!)



and this song has become her signature, "Private Dancer"...



And here's another fave of mine, "Show Some Respect"...



In the UK, Tina released "Help" as her second single. Here's the clip..



a live version of the album opener, "I Might Have Been Queen"..



And finally, here she is doing the extended version of "I Can't Stand The Rain"...



But wait! here's a bonus! Here's a smoky Tina singing "Let's Pretend We're Married" in Finland!



Baby since we've been together, lovin' you forever is alright with me, let me be the one you come running to, I'll never be untrue...