214 - Ike & Tina Turner - Proud Mary: The Best of...

This music seems to cover much of the first and last sections of Ike & Tina's work together. The first half of the album was very typical for early 60's girl R&B. Tina's booming voice is an obvious standout, but not always in a good way for me. There are times in which the recording's fidelity gives her singing a rather harsh tone to my ears. Then the listener hits the cover portion including "I Wanna Take You Higher," "Come Together," "Honky Tonk Women," and "Proud Mary." It was at this point that the music started getting my attention. Finally, there is a chunk of songs that have a powerful funk element to them. These tracks attracted me much more than those on the first half.

Other than "Proud Mary," I didn't care for Ike's vocal contributions to any of these songs. Not only did I not care for his vocals, but I really didn't like how they were mixed. His voice always seemed out of place - too loud/quiet, different tone as the other vocals.

Songs I Knew I Liked: "Proud Mary" and "Honky Tonk Women"

Songs I Now Like: "I'm Yours (Use Me Anyway You Wanna)," "Nutbush City Limit," and "Sexy Ida (Part 1)"

Songs I Can Go the Rest of My Life Never Hearing Again: The first half of the album, "Up in Heah"(sorry, but Ike's interjections are so poorly mixed into this, it sounds like the janitor snuck into the studio overnight and accidentally recorded himself into the master while singing along), "Ooo Poo Pah Doo," and "Baby Get It On."

213 - Rolling Stones - Tattoo You

I think, first and foremost, it is important to look at where this album falls in the Stones' discography. It was released in 1981. How many bands can claim to have albums in the Top 500 list that came twenty years after their first hits? Let's see...Bob Dylan, Paul Simon (if you accept the transition from duo to solo), Johnny Cash, and U2 were the only ones I could find when scanning the list.

What hampers this album for me was the decision to do rockers for side 1 and then ballads on the second side. What starts out groovin' and rockin' kinda grinds to a halt with some pedestrian ballads. Alas, the exemplary "Waiting For a Friend" is a welcome song at the end of this side, but it also highlights how lacking the second half of Tattoo You is. The album is better than I expected, but not sure why it is so high on the Rolling Stone list.

Songs I Knew I Liked: "Start Me Up" and "Waiting on a Friend"

Songs I Now Like: I wanted to like "Hang Fire" but something about it seemed a bit forced for me upon repeated listens.

Songs I Can Go the Rest of My Life Never Hearing Again: Most of the second side.