Feel Good - Plak

ENGLISH

'Feel Good', not Curtis Mayfield's 'Superfly', is the sound of early-'70s pimping - even when the tempo slows down, which happens rarely, it's for a slow blues grind, not a ballad, and songs like Tina's 'Kay Got Laid (Joe Got Paid)' make no apologies for mythologizing pimps. This results in a supremely sleazy, utterly addictive record, one that's relentless in its rhythms and fearless in its funk as Ike lays down nasty rock & roll guitar - check his solos on 'Feel Good', where he's as elastic as rubber - and Tina tears it up with pure, unbridled passion. 'Feel Good' is quintessentially '70s - the fuzztoned funk practically conjures up platform shoes and mile-wide collars - but it doesn't belong to any one sound, it casually draws from Southern soul, James Brown funk, black pride, 'Superfly' style and juke joint R&B, a sound that is uniquely identified with Ike & Tina. And while this contains no flat-out classics like 'Nutbush City Limits' or 'Proud Mary' as an album 'Feel Good' undoubtedly ranks among their very best: it's a non-stop party.

Recording: March 1972 by Barry Keene, Ike Turner and Jim Saunders at Bolic Sound, Los Angeles

Production: Gerhard Augustin and Ike Turner