TWENTY FOUR SEVEN, TINA TURNER (VIRGIN):
One of the few constants of the universe:
Tina Turner will always be fabulous.
This release, however, is somewhat
less than fabulous.
It’s not a terrible album, mind you. It’s just not worthy
of a performer of Turner’s caliber.
Though the term “diva” is thrown around
these days so as to become almost meaningless, Turner is a true diva of both
style and substance.
Unfortunately, much of the material here is a like a diva’s
couture gown made to a stranger’s measurements; it doesn’t quite fit.
Oh, there
are some decent tracks with catchy melodies and kicky hooks, but it all feels a
bit contrived.
And this gritty and gorgeous goddess capable of music that gets
in your bones is deserving of so much more than surface-sexy pop sheen.
Still,
as one would expect, Turner works the material like nobody’s business.
The
anthemic When The Heartache Is Over
with its sweeping feel and thumping beat is an attention-getter.
The heavily
layered, lushly produced Whatever You
Need is pleasant enough ear candy. Better still is the slow, soulful Falling and the orchestral Don’t Leave Me This Way.
--Heidi Johnson-Wright
No comments:
Post a Comment