Mr. Groove Band - Rocket 88: Tribute To Ike Turner - Zoho Music 2009

With that being said, Rocket 88 is a fun look back at classic material from an often overlooked kingpin in Rock & Roll, Blues, and R&B. Mr. Groove Band is the collective of Nashville-based session ringers that provide the solid foundation for this tribute, and they do great work, for certain. There's a ton of guests here, as well, but we'll cover them a little more in depth momentarily.

Rocket 88 looks at Ike Turner's creative window from 1951-1973, and includes versions of songs from both the Ike Turner solo catalog, as well as material from Ike and Tina's tenure in the music industry. The album kicks off with the racus "Rocket 88," which the liner notes mention is considered by some to be "the very first Rock 'N' Roll single." Steve Willetts' piano is the star here, starting strong and staying in play throughout. You get a sense of what to expect over the course of the next dozen tracks on the CD, too: great instrumental work, solid vocals from Darryl Johnson, and rich horn arrangements from Tim Gordon and guests, The Groovehouse Horns.

Where the title track is more classic in nature, "No More Doggin'" brings the Funk, most notably on Roddy Smith's guitar work. There's a great saxophone solo here, as well. I really enjoyed the disc's interpretation of "Rock Me Baby," especially Rob Ickes' dobro and the rich background vocals. Upon first listen, I simply heard the dobro, the singing, and the percussion; but as I listened to "Rock Me Baby" for a second and third time, and really started to disect it, I began to peel back the musical layers, discovering the bass line, subtle organ, and acoustic guitar.

"I Smell Trouble" comes next, one of the few songs I was familiar with coming in, and a personal favorite, as well. Johnson does some of his best vocal work on Rocket 88 with this track, turning in a soulful performance on this classic. "Funky Mule" is a spot on rendition of the instrumental, originally recorded by Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm.

"River Deep, Mountain High" sees the first of a handful of guest vocalist tracks, this one with Ike's widow and Ikette alum, Audrey Turner, trading verses with Johnson. The choir is a nice touch on the song, providing a rich backdrop on the chorus. Audrey comes back for vocal duties on a slightly subdued version of "Proud Mary," as well as a standout performance of "Taking Back My Name." In addition to Audrey Turner's work on guest vocals, Bonnie Bramlett also shares lead work on "Proud Mary." It was Bonnie who helped form Ike's relationship with Zoho Music. Bramlett was the first white Ikette in the 60's, but had to leave the band not too long into her tenure because of the racial tension America was locked in at the time. She and Ike remained close, though, and Bramlett asked for Ike's thoughts on her 2005 Zoho release "Roots, Blues & Jazz," which eventually led to Ike joining the label to cut his Grammy winning "Risin' With the Blues," released in 2006.

Mr. Groove Band takes the tributes home with versions of two classic tunes: The Beatles' giant "Come Together," a hard song to cover in my opinion, (although I do think the horns are a very nice touch) and a smoky version of the Tina Turner penned "Nutbush City Limits"

Rocket 88 doesn't end there, though. The album closes with an original, unreleased outtake from Ike Turner's "Risin' With the Blues" sessions: "Prancing," a song Ike informed Zoho officials he didn't want to include on that album, because he thought it would upset the disc's balance (a decision that proved wise, considering the Grammy award "Risin' With the Blues" earned.) "Prancing" is a fun, instrumental re-working of a song he originally recorded in 1962. It's got some of Ike's amazing guitar work front and center, and a solid effort by the Kings of Rhythm backing.

All in all, Rocket 88: A Tribute To Ike Turner was great fun to listen to, and I thoroughly enjoyed every track. I would recommend fans at least check out the album to decide for themselves if it is a fitting tribute to the late Ike Turner, not to mention so they can wrap their ears around that unreleased bonus track!

Standout Tracks: "Rock Me Baby," "Proud Mary," "I Smell Trouble," and "Prancing"

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