Nutbush City Limits

My copy of 'Nutbush City Limits' is clearly marked "Promotional / NOT FOR SALE" yet I paid a pound for it about three years ago. So far, I have escaped any adverse consequences for contravening that 49-year-old interdiction; as, to the best of my knowledge, has the charity shop that sold it to me. It has a stereo mix of the song on one side and a mono one on the other.

On the label is a helpful note for DJs that the introduction takes up 22 seconds of its 2:57 duration. I daresay some of them will have taken the liberty of talking over those crucial seconds, which is too bad, as they set up the body of the song very nicely indeed. This outstandingly satisfying groove then becomes a launch-pad for Tina Turner's precise but powerful vocals. It's a tightly-constructed & forcefully-delivered thing of beauty.

The song reached No. 4 in the UK (outsold by the likes of Slade, The Sweet and David Cassidy) and did better still in the German-speaking world. I had been unaware of its persistent popularity in Australia, having become associated there with some specific dance moves. Nor had I known (until perusing the song's wikipedia page) that Marc Bolan was long rumoured to have have played guitar on the track, implausible as that seems.

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