If you're stacking this against the numerous OK-but-not-great LPs Ike & Tina Turner issued in the late '60s, this might stand out a little by virtue of featuring a higher percentage of Ike Turner originals than those records typically did. In fact, all but one of these ten tracks are Turner compositions, though the variety of styles makes one suspect they might have been cut over a period spanning quite some time. There are some fairly decent girl group-influenced sides ("So Blue Over You," "Make 'Em Wait") that have the sound of something that might have been done a few years prior to this album's 1969 release date. At the more modern end of the spectrum, "Thinking Black" and "Black Beauty" are quite good funk-rock instrumentals with a sinister edge, a little ahead of the curve that would find such material gaining greater favor in the soul world in the early '70s. Other offerings are more in line with the husky Tina Turner-sung soul that usually comes to mind when you think of Ike & Tina's work during this era, though "Poor Little Fool" is a throwback to an early-'60s R&B ballad approach. It's an uneven LP -- more in style than quality -- but worthwhile for serious fans of the duo, though it doesn't have any of their very best material. ~ Richie Unterberger