Search - Pointer Sisters :: Black & White

Pointers Sounding Great Here

gassy goon | 01/11/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A rare reissue of the Pointer Sisters 1981 hit album, BLACK AND WHITE, re-released for a short while on CD in the early 90's , sounds great & contains some excellent songs. It reached #12 on Billboard , and is one of their biggest sellers, no doubt for it contains their classic , slow & sultry hit SLOW HAND. This CD does have great sound, reprints the inner sleeve, and is a great addition to the Pointers CD catalog.



There is more of a mix of stlyes on this CD than the previous SPECIAL THINGS album. I love the uptempo songs the best here, especially TAKE MY HEART TAKE MY SOUL, with a very fun upbeat Ruth lead vocal that is very catchy; WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT, another funky positive upbeat tune with a positive lyric written by the Pointers [ they opened with this song at a concert in 1982 that I saw ] , and it's kind of a precursor to I'M SO EXCITED. WHAT A SURPRISE is another original Pointer song, that is mid-tempo light funk, but they put on the 45 version instead of the full album version. It's missing a couple of lines. What a shame. Plus, this album has another hit single , SHOULD I DO IT, an oldies sounding song that is sung by June, and was also covered by Tanya Tucker.



The absolute killer cut here though has got to be : FALL IN LOVE AGAIN. This is an absolute essential Pointer Sisters track sung by June that she just owns. Few could sing like June when she really got into it, and she seriously gets down on this amazing track with a fiery mix of June's dynamic lead vocals, an electric guitar solo, and the build up with the backgound vocals , musicians & June's take-it-home ad-lib vocals at the end. A real Pointer deep cut, and undoubtedly one of the best tracks they ever cut! It's worth owning this CD to have this song, and it's one of June's best lead vocals that she ever did.



There's also a few other nice songs, more in the mid-tempo vein, including SOMEDAY WE'LL BE TOGETHER [ not the Diana Ross & The Supremes song ], SWEET LOVER MAN [ originally cut by Formerly of The Harlettes ], and GOT TO FIND LOVE. If you can find this CD at a good price, get it, because it's one of their best albums, and the CD was only available in print for just a little while."

Digital Restoration ?????

Roderick Keech | Australia | 12/27/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This 1995 reissue of a classic Pointer Sisters CD is a perfect example of how not to remaster music. It sounds flat and empty. My advice is to pick up a vinyl copy instead, until someone at BMG gets their act together and remasters all the Pointer's Planet material at today's standards. It can't be that hard - just listen to some of the Hip-O-Select reissues of even earlier Pointer material - fantasic full rich sound, that you'd think was recorded today using the best facilities. This CD is a major disappointment."