Search - Ike Turner :: Ike Turner - Blues Kingpins

This enjoyable entry in the Blues Kingpins series presents evidence of why Turner is regarded an important figure in the history of '50s rock & roll, blues, and R&B. On a collection of tracks mostly from the first half of the decade--when he recorded for the RPM/Modern label group--the 20-something Turner works out on both electric guitar and piano with undeniable verve. Despite being new to the fretted instrument and its whammy bar, he plays at remarkably high levels of imagination and technical facility: for starters, marvel over the instrumental blues-guitar primer "All the Blues All the Time." As a blues 'n' boogie pianist, he raises hell on "Loosely." The man?s not much of a singer, so it?s good to have onetime girlfriend Bonnie, Billy Gayles, and Dennis Binder on hand. --Frank-John Hadley