River Deep Mountain High [180 Gram]

by Ike & Tina Turner

Overview

The Universal Music Group's Hip-O Select imprint, devoted to pricey, quality reissues of gems from the company's extensive archives, here hits upon the legendary, if compromised Ike & Tina Turner album River Deep -- Mountain High. The title song was Phil Spector's last major effort, a Wall of Sound production from 1966 that hit in the U.K. but flopped in the U.S., leading to his retirement. There were a few other Spector tracks with the Turners (actually, only Tina appears on "River Deep -- Mountain High"), and an album was scheduled on Spector's Philles Records label. Discs were printed for a 1967 release, but no covers, and the LP never appeared. Two years later, A&M Records (its catalog now controlled by Universal) finally put it out. It turned out that Spector hadn't produced a whole album's worth of material; in addition to his productions ("A Love Like Yours [Don't Come Knocking Every Day]," "I'll Never Need More Than This," "Save the Last Dance for Me," and the title song), Ike Turner had produced a batch of typical Ike & Tina material, including remakes of their early-'60s hits "A Fool in Love," "I Idolize You," and "It's Gonna Work Out Fine." Turner's simple, direct R&B production style has nothing in common with Spector's everything-but-the-kitchen-sink style, so the resulting collection is full of odd juxtapositions in sound. But no matter who's in the producer's chair, the center of the music is still Tina Turner, emoting for all she's worth. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	10/28/2022
Label:	Elemental
UPC:	0600753959367
Rank:	50955

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ike & Tina Turner   Primary Artist
Ike Turner   Primary Artist,Piano,Vocals (Background)
Tina Turner   Primary Artist,Vocals
The Ikettes   Vocals (Background)
Larry Knechtel   Piano
Frank Capp   Percussion
Carol Kaye   Bass
Gene Estes   Percussion
Lyle Ritz   Bass
John Ewing   Guitar,Trombone
Lew McCreary   Trombone
Ray Pohlman   Bass
Roy Caton   Trumpet
Barney Kessel   Guitar
Earl Palmer   Drums
Jim Gordon   Drums
Jim Horn   Sax (Tenor),Sax (Baritone)
Jimmy Bond   String Bass
Plas Johnson   Sax (Tenor)
Oliver Mitchell   Trumpet
Robert Gerstlauer   Guitar,Sax (Baritone)
Don Peake   Guitar
Harold Battiste   Piano
Michael Rubini   Piano

Technical Credits

Andy McKaie   Reissue Supervisor
Ike Turner   Composer,Producer
Kent Harris   Composer
Jack Nitzsche   Arranger
Lamont Dozier   Composer
Larry Levine   Engineer
Ellie Greenwich   Composer
Doc Pomus   Composer
Joe Seneca   Composer
Eddie Holland   Composer
Dennis Hopper   Photography
Perry Botkin, Jr.   Arranger
Jim Lee   Composer
Michele Horie   Production Manager
Brian Holland   Composer
Mark Omann   Digital Remastering
Mort Shuman   Composer
Tina Turner   Composer
Phil Spector   Composer,Producer
Sylvia McKinney   Composer
Ken Harris   Composer
Barry Korkin   Reissue Supervisor
Gene Page   Arranger
Jeff Barry   Composer
Rose Marie McCoy   Composer
Arthur Alexander   Composer
Jim Barry   Composer
J. Micheal Lee   Composer
Pauline Phillips   Composer
Ryan Rogers   Design
K. Harris   Composer
Tony Hall   Liner Notes
Teresa Tsuzaki   Licensing
Eleanor Greenwich   Composer