Released early in 1971, a few months after "Come Together", their first album for Liberty Records, "Workin' Together" was the first genuine hit album Ike & Tina had in years. After all, their classic '60s sides were just that sides of a single, not an album. Even though it doesn't boast the sustained vision of such contemporaries as, say, Marvin Gaye and Al Green, "Workin' Together" feels like a proper album, where many of the buried album tracks are as strong as the singles. Like its predecessor, it relies a bit too much on contemporary covers, which isn't bad when it's the perennial "Proud Mary," since it deftly reinterprets the original, but readings of the Beatles' "Get Back" and "Let It Be," while not bad, are a little bit too pedestrian. Fortunately, they're entirely listenable and they're the only slow moments, outweighed by songs that crackle with style and passion. Nowhere is this truer than on the opening title track, a mid-tempo groover (written by Eki Renrut, Ike's brilliant inverted alias) powered by a soulful chorus and a guitar line that plays like a mutated version of Dylan's "I Want You" riff. Then, there's the terrific Stax/Volt stomper "(Long As I Can) Get You When I Want You," possibly the highlight on the record. Though they cut a couple of classics over the next few years, most notably "Nutbush City Limits," the duo never topped this, possibly the best proper album they ever cut.
Track listing
01. Workin' Together (Eki Renrut) - 3:32
02. (As Long as I Can) Get You When I Want You (George Jackson, Raymond Moore) - 2:22
03. Get Back (Lennon, McCartney) - 3:03
04. The Way You Love Me (Ike Turner) - 2:38
05. You Can Have It (Eki Renrut) - 3:28
06. Game of Love (Eki Renrut) - 2:45
07. Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter (Aillene Bullock) - 2:34
08. Ooh Poo Pah Doo (Jessie Hill) - 3:35
09. Proud Mary (John Fogerty) - 4:56
10. Goodbye, So Long (Eki Renrut) - 1:55
11. Let It Be (Lennon, McCartney) - 3:09
Release: 1971
Label: Liberty
Genre: Soul, Funk
Length: 33:52
Producer: Ike Turner
Engineer: Brent Maher
Personnel
Tina Turner - Lead Vocal
Ike Turner - Lead Vocal
The Ikettes - Background Vocals
Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm - All Instrumentation
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