Tina Turner - Rough (1995)

Well this is Tina Turners official first Solo album (though she has released "Tina Turns the Country on" in 1974 and recieved a grammy nomination & "Acid Queen" [in 1975] after he role in the Rock opera Tommy)
This was the first album which was completely free of Ike Turner. The album was a mixture of Blues, Rock, Funk/Disco, 70's balladry, and even heart felt gospelized renditions of Country. Turner scorching interpretation of Ray Charles' "The Night Time is the Right time" conjures up immages of a smokey blues bar in the deep south, something of a tribute to her Chitlin circuit roots. Tina Turner had been trying for years to be viewed as a "Good Singer" apparently she wasn't in the leagues of Aretha Franklin, or Diana Ross, so Turner went recorded some kittenish, syrupy, 70's orchestrated love songs. Many other singers would not have been able to pull of this feat without coming off as cheezy, Air supply type pop, but Tina Turner's R&B/Blues/Rock and roll gritt added some sort of attitude, almost street crediblity to these somewhat cheezy songs, rendering them not cheezy. She took a song called "A woman in a mans world" and made is passionate without sounding whiney, her cover of "Sometimes when We touch" gave the song a boost, giving it an almost gospel feel.She was demonstrating her versaitility, and she too can sing a sappy love song, though she does it with a passion and a fire that few can match. She took a page from the Willy Nelson songbook, and recorded "Funny How Time slips away" and sang this song with so much grace, and so much soul without sacrificing its country roots. This gift for melding Soul and Country without destroying the country aspect of it is mastered by few (Ray Charles, Esther Phillips, Dobie Gray, and Soloman Burke are among the slim few that can do it) Tina has amazing interpretive skills and works her magic on this country song and it is among my favorite tracks on the album. She takes a almost reflective conversational tone in the beginning. A large majortiy of the album were rock and roll covers. She took Fire down below and gave it a country rock feel, complete with bluesy harmonica and her singers which included former Ikette, and good friend Vanetta Fields, an accomplished and under rated Gospel singer.Turner and Seger admired eachother and Seger reocorded and hit with her song "Nutbush City LImits". "Root toot undisputable rock'n roller" is her, a song that defines her persona, her spirit. Wild, fun, and uninhibited.
She recorded "THe B**ch is Back" a cover of the her dear friends block buster hit. She would eventually get a grammy nomination in the mid 1990's as she re-recorded the song for the all star tribute to elton john Two Rooms: Celebrating the songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin" which included Bryan Adams,Oleta Adams, Phil Collins, and Eric Clapton to name a few. "Viva La Money" and "Earth Quake and Hurricane" took a discoish feel, making the album hip for the year, but sadly the album wasn't promoted well enough, though it could have been huge Great album, highly highly under rated, much like the "Deep in the Night" album by Etta James, this album is a gem that will please its listener if given a chance.