Even before but especially after her explosive pop comeback in the 1980s, Tina Turner more than earned the mantle of Queen of Rock 'n' Roll. This fall, a new career-spanning compilation from Rhino will reaffirm that title, with 55 of her singles (and a few rarities) on one album.
Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, due November 24, spans Tina's 1975 cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" - issued on Acid Queen, her second solo album (and last before escaping her physically and emotionally abusive relationship with former husband and creative partner Ike Turner) - all the way to a remix of signature song "What's Love Got to Do with It" created by Norwegian dance musician Kygo, an international hit in 2020. In between, you'll hear dozens of her hits from the '80s, '90s and beyond, including the U.S. Top 10 hits "Better Be Good to Me," "Private Dancer," "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)," "Typical Male," and "I Don't Want to Fight"; plus fan favorites and versions of "Proud Mary," "River Deep - Mountain High," "Nutbush City Limits," "The Best," and "GoldenEye," the Bono/The Edge-penned theme from Pierce Brosnan's first James Bond film. There's also duets with Bryan Adams, Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Barry White and Italian singers Eros Ramazzotti and Elisa.
The album's sole new track is a stunning new version of "Something Beautiful." Originally titled "Something Beautiful Remains" and issued on 1996's Wildest Dreams, the basic tracks have been revisited and re-worked by Terry Britten, co-writer of "What's Love Got to Do with It" and a key collaborator on the albums Private Dancer (1984), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Break Every Rule (1986). The album's packaging - both 3CD and 5LP versions - include a newly-penned foreword from Bryan Adams, whose duet with Turner, "It's Only Love," was a Top 20 hit in America.
Turner's story, though well-known, never fails to captivate audiences. Just over a decade after earning critical acclaim alongside Ike Turner - including the beloved Wall of Sound production "River Deep - Mountain High" in 1966 - Turner escaped from Ike's control, near penniless and touring relentlessly to pay off debts amassing from canceled gigs with her soon-to-be-ex-husband. Critical success never meshed with commercial impact until Private Dancer established her as one of the premier acts of the ascendant MTV era, giving her a U.S. chart-topper with "What's Love Got to Do with It." By the end of the decade, she was re-established as a blockbuster concert draw - and boldly told the story of her former life with Ike in the 1986 memoir I, Tina. (The film adaptation of the book, 1993's What's Love Got to Do with It, garnered Oscar nominations for both Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne as Tina and Ike.)
Tina largely retired from the public eye in the 21st century, marrying her longtime partner, record executive Erwin Bach, in 2013 in their home in Switzerland. Along the way, she signed off on two more chronicles of her life story: the 2018 musical Tina and the gripping 2021 documentary also named Tina. (That same year, she received her second induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in recognition of her solo work.) When she passed away this past spring, her legacy was long secure - and Queen of Rock 'n' Roll is a portrait of an artist with few peers.
The compilation will be available in three formats on November 24: a 3CD or 5LP version, and a single-LP of highlights featuring 12 hits from the '80s and '90s. All track lists are below.
Queen of Rock 'n' Roll (Parlophone/Rhino, 2023)
3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
5LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
CD 1/LP 1-2 (Side B, Track 2)
- Whole Lotta Love
- Acid Queen
- Root, Toot Undisputable Rock 'n' Roller
- Viva La Money
- Sometimes When We Touch
- Music Keeps Me Dancin'
- Let's Stay Together (Single Version)
- Help
- What's Love Got to Do with It
- Better Be Good to Me
- Private Dancer (Single Edit)
- I Can't Stand the Rain
- Show Some Respect
- We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)
- One of the Living
- It's Only Love - Bryan Adams with Tina Turner
- Typical Male
- Two People
- What You Get is What You See
- Girls
CD 2/LP 2 (Side B, Track 3)-LP 4 (Side A)
- Break Every Rule
- Paradise is Here
- Afterglow
- Tearing Us Apart - Eric Clapton with Tina Turner
- Addicted to Love (Live in Europe)
- A Change is Gonna Come (Live in Europe)
- Tonight (with David Bowie - Live in Europe)
- River Deep, Mountain High (Live in Europe)
- The Best (Edit)
- Steamy Windows
- I Don't Wanna Lose You
- Look Me in the Heart
- Foreign Affair (Edit)
- Be Tender with Me Baby
- It Takes Two - Rod Stewart with Tina Turner
- Nutbush City Limits (The '90s Version)
- Love Thing
- Way of the World
CD 3/LP 4 (Side B)-LP 5
- I Want You Near Me
- I Don't Wanna Fight (Single Edit)
- Disco Inferno
- Why Must We Wait Until Tonight? (Single Edit)
- Proud Mary
- GoldenEye
- Whatever You Want (Alternative Mix)
- On Silent Wings (Single Edit)
- Missing You (Single Edit)
- In Your Wildest Dreams (with Barry White) (Radio Edit)
- Cose della Vita - Eros Ramazzotti with Tina Turner
- When the Heartache is Over
- Whatever You Need
- Open Arms
- Teach Me Again (with Elisa)
- What's Love Got to Do with It (Kygo Remix)
- Something Beautiful (2023 Version)
Disc 1, Tracks 1-2 from Acid Queen (United Artists, 1975)
Disc 1, Tracks 3-5 from Rough (United Artists, 1978)
Disc 1, Track 6 from Love Explosion (United Artists, 1979)
Disc 1, Tracks 7-13 from Private Dancer (Capitol, 1984)
Disc 1, Tracks 14-15 from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Capitol, 1985)
Disc 1, Track 16 from Reckless (A&M, 1984)
Disc 1, Tracks 17-20 and Disc 2, Tracks 1-3 from Break Every Rule (Capitol, 1986)
Disc 2, Track 4 from August (Duck/Warner Bros., 1986)
Disc 2, Tracks 5-8 from Tina Live in Europe (Capitol, 1988)
Disc 2, Tracks 9-14 from Foreign Affair (Capitol, 1989)
Disc 2, Track 15 from Vagabond Heart (Warner Bros., 1991)
Disc 2, Tracks 16-18 and Disc 3, Track 1 from Simply the Best (Capitol, 1991)
Disc 3, Tracks 2-5 from What's Love Got to Do with It (Parlophone, 1993)
Disc 3, Track 6 from GoldenEye (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from the United Artists Film) (Virgin/Parlophone, 1995)
Disc 3, Tracks 7-10 from Wildest Dreams (Parlophone, 1996)
Disc 3, Track 11 from Eros (BMG, 1997)
Disc 3, Tracks 12-13 from Twenty Four Seven (Parlophone, 1999)
Disc 3, Track 14 from All the Best (Parlophone, 2004)
Disc 3, Track 15 from European non-LP single (Capitol, 2006)
Disc 3, Track 16 from digital single (Sony Music International, 2020)
DIsc 3, Track 17 previously unreleased
1LP Version
- What's Love Got to Do with It
- Let's Stay Together
- Private Dancer
- We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)
- Nutbush City Limits (The '90s Version)
- River Deep, Mountain High (Live in Europe)
- Steamy Windows
- I Don't Wanna Lose You
- I Don't Want to Fight
- When the Heartache is Over
- Proud Mary
- The Best
Robert Lett says
This looks really nice. I wish Bear Family or such would do a definitive Ike and Tina box or boxes too, thier catalog is such a mess.
Christopher Enzi says
Great collection! Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Mike.
Just sorry to see that 2 of the rarest have not been included; The O'Jays' BACKSTABBERS and, from the final album she recorded for Ike (and released under only his name!) Alice Cooper's shocking and revelatory ONLY WOMEN BLEED.
Harry N Cohen says
The first time I saw Tina in concert was in 1983 , of course she was phenomenal. She opened with Bowie's Cat People which I still remember so clearly. I don't know if Tina ever recorded Cat People. If so, it would be so great to have it reissued.
Shahn Perkins says
No one included are you breaking my heart? The rare rock disco banger exclusively released in Australia, on festival interfusion records who remained Tina‘s Australian label from 1978 to 1991
Spirit Angelfish says
It would have been nice to have a bit more thought put in on making this extra special. For example, including the never-officially-issued rare versions of "Let's Stay Together' (the alternative early mix billed as 'Tina Turner feat. Heaven 17'), the video mix of "Better Be Good To Me", the 'Sterling' version of "Private Dancer", the single edit of "What You Get Is What You See", the Justin Strauss remix radio edit of "Steamy Windows" (which wasn't included on the Foreign Affair Deluxe Edition), the 7" edit of "Help!", the video remix of "Break Every Rule", the 7" remix of "Afterglow", 7" edit of "Tearing Us Apart"...AND the best of the single B-sides, such as "Rock n Roll Widow", "Keep Your Hands Off My Baby", "When I Was Young", "Don't Turn Around", "Take Me To The River", "Bold and Reckless", and "Stronger Than The Wind". After all, B-sides are singles too!