(2021) The Pointer Sisters - The Pointer Sisters + That's a Plenty  


Review:
The Pointer Sisters’ first two albums for Blue Thumb Records, dating from 1973 and 1974, digitally remastered. With a big push from their Blue Thumb label, who introduced the band by way of a full-page ad in Billboard magazine, the Pointer Sisters took their eponymous debut straight to the top of the R&B charts in summer 1973 on the strengths of their penchant for mixing classic ’60s R&B with fresh forward-thinking grooves. Add the sisters’ harmonies and complex vocal moves, and there’s no doubt the group was destined for a fast rise. Produced by David Rubinson, The Pointer Sisters contained effusive covers that cradled two of the Pointers’ own compositions. That remarkable combo, then, allowed the Allen Toussaint classic “Yes We Can Can” to rub shoulders with the original “Jada,” a boogie blues-shaded slab of jazz, and a perfect fingerprint of the eclectic style that would define the Pointers’ core. That same bent also allowed them to give equal energy to the Willie Dixon gem “Wang Dang Doodle,” a song which quickly became a live set favorite, and also to their own “Sugar.” Other high points include “River Boulevard,” a mid-tempo vocal that gives way to a light rock riot. It was easy to see exactly where the Pointer Sisters were headed. With talent to spare and an energy that was fresh and unending, this set emerges a cohesive and joyous cabaret, allowing the quartet to do what it does best. Listening to these earliest gems, it’s no surprise, then, that the band would spend the better part of the next two decades in the charts. For their second studio long-player, the Pointer Sisters cut loose with a powerful collection of vintage pop, jazz, and modern R&B. Stylistically, 1973’s That’s a Plenty is as diverse as their eponymous debut and proves that the immense talents of the Oakland-born quartet were far more than just a one-off fluke. In fact, it was their multiplicity that may have initially prevented them from getting the exposure they deserved. The opening medley couples the tongue-in-cheek saga of their humble beginnings on the tastefully (if not a tad dramatically) arranged “Bangin’ On the Pipes” with the rollicking bop of “Steam Heat,” derived from the 1954 score of The Pajama Game. Things are cranked up considerably on the Pointers’ breakneck rendition of Dizzy Gillespie’s bebop classic “Salt Peanuts.” The selection is taken at such an accelerated pace that the flurry might leave the listener exhausted by the song’s conclusion. Of equal note are the accompanying instrumentalists, who ably keep pace with substantial verve and sonic savoir-faire. Although almost a musical antithesis, the uptown blues-infused take of Son House’s “Grinning in Your Face” (aka “Don’t Mind People Grinning in Your Face”) unleashes a decidedly funky East Bay vibe. While steeped in the original, it is at once a wholly unique presence. “Shaky Flat Blues” is one of the two Pointer-penned pieces, as the Sisters take their cues more from the sophistication of Duke Ellington than anything happening in early-’70s pop or soul. That’s A Plenty‘s title track is a hot-steppin’ Dixieland rag with a tricky syncopation and mile-a-minute lyrics, while “Little Pony” is another classy remake of a venerable jazz number, this time from the luminous Count Basie catalog. The Pointers definitely do it justice by bringing it to an entirely new audience. The surprising rural twang of “Fairytale” is undoubtedly the most incongruous entry on the LP, garnering the ladies their first foray onto the country singles survey. The success resulted in not only a guest appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, but formidable lauds as Elvis Presley covered it to great effect both in the studio — where it surfaced on 1975’s Today — and on the road. All the more compelling is the dark and lymphatic torch reading of “Black Coffee,” brooding and seething with an undercurrent of palpable emotion — especially during the improvised double-time scat vocals at the tune’s conclusion. Perhaps saving their best for last, the redux of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s “Love in Them There Hills” is an extended outing that churns and burns into an inspired eight-minutes of unfettered funk, proving that the Pointers are easily as relevant as any of their contemporaries.





Track Listing:
Disc 1: The Pointer Sisters
1.Yes We Can Can  6:02
2.Cloudburst  3:12
3.Jada  4:40
4.River Boulevard  5:52
5.Old Songs  4:01
6.That's How I Feel  7:07
7.Sugar  2:19
8.Pains And Tears  2:36
9.Naked Foot  3:46
10.Wang Dang Doodle 7:34

Disc 2: That's a Plenty
1.Bangin' On The Pipes / Steam Heat  5:39
2.Salt Peanuts  5:10
3.Grinning In Your Face 4:49
4.Shaky Flat Blues  4:41
5.That's A Plenty / Surfeit, U.S.A.  3:42
6.Little Pony  4:43
7.Fairytale  5:04
8.Black Coffee  6:07
9.Love In Them There Hills 8:30


Media Report:
Genre: R&B, soul
Country: USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits