Albums: Ike Turner and the Kings of Rhythm

Here and Now, Ikon

Routinely regarded now as just a bit-part baddie in the Tina Turner story, Ike Turner had an impact on the genesis of rock'n'roll that's easy to forget, both as an A&R/talent scout and as a band-leader in his own right – in which guise he actually made what is commonly regarded as the first rock'n'roll single, Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats' 1951 charger "Rocket 88" (Brenston being sax player and occasional vocalist with Ike's Kings of Rhythm). It's that Fifties R&B to which he returns here – including a reprise of "Rocket 88" that packs just as much horsepower as the original – with the opening blues boogie "Tore Up" heralding a varied selection that showcases the band-leader's proficiency on guitar, piano and vocals. Tracks such as "Catfish Blues" and "Gave You What You Wanted" feature Ike's rich, burnished baritone uncoiling in slow, predatory Howlin' Wolf style, while elsewhere the hammered ivories of "Baby's Got It" and "Swanee River Boogie" recall the propulsive work of, respectively, Chuck Berry's pianist Johnny Johnson and the boogie auteurs Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson. Most welcome of all, though, is the return of Ike as a stunt guitarist in the mould of Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown: echoing his Sixties showcase instrumental "Prancin' ", "Ike's Theme" offers a dazzling portfolio of string-bending, hammering-off and whammy-bar twang that sounds as bracing and astringent today as four decades ago.