Their Most Funky R&B Album !
gassy goon | 12/08/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The last Pointer Sisters album as a quartet [ with Bonnie ] is their funkiest album . They stopped doing the old jazz numbers & clearly went in a hard r&b direction with producer David Rubinson. It's a short album with only 7 songs. The best are I NEED A MAN { Anita sings lead }, DON'T IT DRIVE YOU CRAZY { Bonnie }, and two leads with Ruth : WAITING ON YOU [ with steel drums on this track ] and LONELY GAL. All these songs have incredibly funky bass lines, wah-wah guitar & all-star soul sessionmen playing on them. Another great song is BRING YOUR SWEET STUFF HOME TO ME written by Anita & Stevie Wonder , and is a welcome less funkied number that sets it apart from the frantic funky pace .
I never liked their version of the Sam Cooke song HAVING A PARTY with the noisy arrangement & laughing, and it doesn't sound any better with time. I'LL GET BY WITHOUT YOU is sung by Bonnie , but it's overly repetitive and not nearly as good as the other mentioned tracks. Hip-o-select issued this album as is, with no liner notes or bonus tracks. They should have put on their rare single LIVE YOUR LIFE BEFORE YOU DIE on Blue Thumb from 1975. The Pointers wrote it and it was a mix of country, soul & pop, reaching a lowly #89 on Billboard. This would have made this CD complete, and been a welcome addition to the short song selection. Not their best, but a step towards doing only contemporary music & freeing themselves from the old 40's look & songs they did before. Next step would be as a trio switching to rock oriented songs with their fantastic album ENERGY and their huge hit FIRE."
Under-rated 70s Soul/Funk Masterpiece On CD At Last!!
A. Clayton | London UK | 03/20/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is how I first knew of the Pointer Sisters. This was bought for my birthday when I was 12. I love this album. I remember I'd just seem then in 1976's Car Wash and they relesed this album shortly afterwards in 1977. I loved the wukka wah wah soul funk sound. I associated it with background music in Starsky & Hutch. Songs like I'll get By Without You & Don't It Drive You Crazy leap of this album in all their wah wah glory. Although I continued to buy all their music over the years, it was this album, Steppin and BreakOut that remain my fvourites."
Track Listings (7) - Disc #1