Early Times

• Artist: Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm
• Rating:
• Release Date: September 19, 2006
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

It's reasonably well known by serious fans of 1950s rock & roll that Ike Turner played guitar and piano on many records during the decade, as well as acting as a talent scout for independent labels. These tracks, however, really haven't been heard by that many people, in part because none of them (except Jackie Brenston's seminal 1951 single "Rocket 88") were hits, in part because it really hasn't been that easy to determine just how many discs benefited from Turner's participation. This compilation certainly doesn't include all of them, but it does assemble 29 tracks on which Turner played in the five years or so following "Rocket 88" for labels such as Sun, Modern, and Chess. On a few of these, Turner was the featured artist; more often, he was backing, on guitar and piano, obscure R&B singers such as Clayton Love, Eugene Fox, Bonnie Turner, or Johnny O'Neal. As the liner notes candidly admit, much of this stuff remains obscure because it really wasn't that original, either following a somewhat generic 1950s R&B template or, on some unfortunate occasions, blatantly trying to imitate a more popular record (as Billy Gayles' "Night Howler" does of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," or as Johnny O'Neal's "Peg Leg Baby" does of "Rocket 88" itself). You can, however, hear most of these tracks as examples of R&B turning into rock & roll, albeit of the fairly derivative kind. More satisfyingly, you can sometimes hear some sterling raw Turner early blues-rock guitar work, elevating some unmemorable songs (like Johnny Wright's "The World Is Yours," which has some exceptionally biting soloing, and Fox's drunkenly vocalized/rapped "Sinner's Dream," an early venture into his distinctive use of a reverb-drenched tone) into something more worthwhile. There are also occasional cuts that stand out from the pack on their own terms, like Billy "The Kid" Emerson's grinding Sun single "If Lovin' Is Believing," and several of the tracks by Fox, who has a nearly over the top razor-gargling vocal style. Overall, however, it's mostly limited in appeal to serious fans of Turner, and scholars looking for insight as to how R&B turned into rock & roll at the grassroots level. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Cubano Jump (aka Hey Miss Tina)	Percy Mayfield	Ike Turner	(2:16)
Peg Leg Baby		Ike Turner, Willie King	(2:28)
Early Times	Dennis Binder, Jules Taub	Ike Turner, Dennis Binder	(2:28)
Gypsy Blues	Matt Cockrell, Joe Josea	Matt Cockrell, Ike Turner	(3:11)
If Lovin' Is Believing	Billy "The Kid" Emerson	Ike Turner, Billy "The Kid" Emerson	(2:12)
Nobody Wants Me	Jules Taub	Ike Turner, Dennis Binder	(2:35)
Love Is Scarce	Ike Turner, Joe Bihari	Ike Turner	(2:17)
Nothing But Money	Jesse Knight	Ike Turner, Jesse Knight	(3:06)
Wicked Little Baby	Clayton Love, Jules Taub	Clayton Love, Ike Turner	(2:32)
Go to It (aka Stringing Along)	Percy Mayfield	Ike Turner	(2:22)
I Miss You So	Jules Taub, Sam Ling	Ike Turner, Dennis Binder	(3:08)
Troubles and Heartaches	Ike Turner, Jules Taub	Ike Turner	(2:35)
I'm Lonesome Baby	Ike Turner, Jules Taub	Ike Turner	(3:01)
I'm Tired of Beggin'	Eugene Fox	Ike Turner	(2:31)
Looking for My Baby	Ike Turner, Jules Taub, Ray Baron	Ike Turner, Bonnie Turner	(2:29)
My Four Women	Eugene Fox	Sly Fox, Ike Turner	(3:06)
Loosely (aka The Wild One)	Milt Buckner, Lionel Hampton	Ike Turner	(2:29)
The Woodchuck	Billy "The Kid" Emerson	Ike Turner, Billy "The Kid" Emerson	(3:05)
Love Is a Gamble	Ike Turner	Ike Turner, Bonnie Turner	(3:05)
You're Driving Me Insane	Ike Turner, Jules Taub	Ike Turner	(2:22)
Everybody's Talking	Joe Josea	Ike Turner	(2:43)
Night Howler	Ike Turner, Joe Bihari	Billy Gayles, Ike Turner	(2:11)
Why Don't You Believe in Me?	Clayton Love, Jules Taub	Clayton Love, Ike Turner	(2:52)
Whole Heap of Mama	Jules Taub	Ike Turner	(2:33)
Peg Leg Baby (aka Ugly Woman)		Ike Turner	(2:25)
Stay at Home	Eugene Fox	Eugene Fox, Ike Turner	(2:42)
The World Is Yours	Sam Ling	Ike Turner, Johnny Wright	(2:50)
Hoo-Doo Say	Joel Kaye, Chuck Kaye	Ike Turner	(3:00)
Sinner's Dream	Eugene Fox	Eugene Fox, Ike Turner	(3:24)

Credits

Richard Taiter (Synthesizer), Dave Penny (Producer), Andy Morten (Artwork), Andy Morten (Design), Joe Foster (Producer), Dave Penny (Liner Notes), Joe Foster (Synthesizer)