This is a good album.

Let me amend that: this is a good pop album. It could have been much better, but as it stands, it is a good watered-down pop album.

Tina Turner is a strong woman. We’ve seen the movie, we’ve read her story, we all know she’s a damned strong woman. This strength comes through in her lyrics. Her voice is just as powerful as it was twenty years ago. Then what’s so disappointing about this album?

It could have been more.

Tina has sold herself short by singing beautifully to a background of not so much bad but placidly poppy music. She has so much more to offer. You can hear the soul in this woman. She milks every song for all it’s worth, investing all of her emotional content into every line and word. The woman has lost none of her fire. Just listen to the lyrics for “When the Heartache is Over”: “When the heartache is over/I know I won’t be missin’ you/Won’t look over my shoulder/‘Cause I know I can live without you.” Normally this would sound like poppy female bravado; we know, however, that Tina has been there, done that, and the power of her proclamation is hard to deny.

Most of the album is full of standard pop music, however, overshadowed by the brilliant vocals of Tina. Some songs are memorable-the aforementioned “When the Heartache is Over” and the driving “Go Ahead” on which Tina’s voice absolutely soars when she urges “Why don’t you go ahead drown my heart, I want you to go ahead and hang me up to dry/Go ahead, play your game, go ahead, smear my name all over your blood red sky”-but most of the songs will fade quickly from your mind and you’ll find yourself wishing for some real soul, the soul that Tina is more than capable of delivering.

If you’re a fan of the fabulous Tina, like myself, then you’ll love this album. It’s not what it could have been, but it’s still a good album. Twenty Four Seven won’t be winning over many new fans, though, and that’s a shame.

Maybe next time…