It opens with some great concert footage of Ike & Tina Turner performing a song called "Soul To Soul," written for the occasion. Tina Turner is completely captivating. From there, the film takes us onto the plane traveling to Ghana, the co-pilot providing the musicians (and us) with some information on the country. Some interviews with the musicians are conducted on the plane, with the artists getting a chance to explain what they're doing and why, and why they're excited. It's wonderful that these interviews are in and of the moment, rather than conducted afterward with the musicians looking back and trying to recall precisely what they were feeling at the time. The footage of their arrival at the airport is also interesting, the way they are welcomed, reminding us a bit of that footage of The Beatles arriving in the United States. It seems the folks there are particularly excited about Wilson Pickett. The film goes with the musicians as they eat, as they shop, as they themselves are entertained by local performers. Some of that footage is among the best of the documentary. Just check out how much Tina Turner is enjoying a local performance. There is delightful footage of the musicians interacting with the local populace. And later we are treated to more glimpses of life in Ghana, including a visit to a slave castle. We've all seen footage of people carrying great bundles of various objects on their heads, but what is striking about that footage here is the wide variety of things people transport that way, including a sewing machine and a plate of several dozen large, unsheathed knives (the latter making me nervous).
In addition to the U.S. musicians, there are local musicians taking part in the concert, and the film includes some footage of them as well. One of the first groups of musicians we see is a group of drummers. There is a lot of excellent drumming in this film, something I especially appreciate. And it comes from both the United States musicians and the local musicians. Rhythm is an important part of this film, of this experience. And speaking of great drumming, one of the film's highlights is, unsurprisingly, Santana's performance of "Jungle Strut." It's always a joy to watch this band, especially footage from this period of the early 1970s. Just watching Carlos Santana's expressions while he plays is a joy. The band goes straight into "Black Magic Woman," which features more delicious drumming. Les McCann and Eddie Harris deliver a good rendition of "The Price You Gotta Pay To Be Free," featuring some nice work on saxophone. The Staple Singers deliver a passionate rendition of "When Will We Paid," in which they ask, "Will we ever have peace and harmony?" And then they pick up the pace with a gospel number. Another highlight for me is the Ike & Tina Turner footage. Tina gets the crowd involved during "Ooh Poo Pah Doo" and then a phenomenal "River Deep, Mountain High." She digs into the blues for a fantastic rendition of "I Smell Trouble," one of the best moments of the film. The part when she interacts with Ike's guitar is absolutely wonderful. And Wilson Pickett's "Land Of 1000 Dances" is a whole lot of fun.
Special Features
The disc contains four separate commentary tracks, all of them moderated by Rob Bowman, who, by the way, also wrote the thorough liner notes booklet. The liner notes get into the problems with the contracts and how Roberta Flack was originally in the film. "The master tapes of the complete festival seem to have been lost," Rob writes. That's a shame because I would love to see, or at least hear, the entire fourteen-hour concert. Anyway, the first commentary track is with Mavis Staples. About the Ike & Tina Turner "Soul To Soul" song, she says, "They may have wrote it on the plane on the way there." She also talks about the plane being overloaded. She mentions how the pilot announced, "Smoke whatever you want to." She says her father's grandfather was a slave. She also talks about the songs they performed. "We felt good about our set," she says. And she reminds us, "Music is healing for the soul." The second commentary track features Les McCann and Kevin Griffin. Kevin talks about being dropped off with Ike and Tina Turner at the other end of a field in pitch darkness, and talks about being a pastor now. Lee says the outfit he's wearing on stage is something he picked up in Africa. Les also talks about Amoah Azangeo, and about how he did not know what that man was singing. The third commentary track is with producer Tom Mosk and David Peck (who worked on the re-release). Tom provides some of the background of the project, how Ghana was chosen as the location, and talks about first wanting to film a James Brown concert in Nigeria. The final commentary track is with Ike Turner, Michael Shrieve, Obo Addy, Kevin Griffin and Les McCann. The track starts with Ike Turner, who talks about the choreography of the performance. Then Michael Shrieve comes in, revealing how he forgot his passport, and how Mavis Staples was his favorite person on the whole trip. He says her voice is an inspiration to him. Later he talks about redoing the drum part on "Jungle Strut," which is particularly interesting. Obo Addy, a Ghanaian drummer, comes in when we see the musicians being welcomed at the airport. Later, Kevin talks about that moment on the plane when he's asked about African music. Considering how many different people take part in this track, it's strange that there are long moments without any commentary.
The special features also include an outtake of Ike & Tina Turner performing "I've Been Loving You Too Long." Check out the way Tina handles that microphone. Oh yes! It's a powerful performance, and is nearly six minutes long. Also included is the 2025 trailer for the film.
Soul To Soul was released on Blu-ray on February 20, 2026 through Liberation Hall.
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