Break Out (1983)
By the time the Pointer Sisters unleashed their 1983 Break Out LP, they had racked up six Top Ten singles spread between the pop and R&B charts. Break Out would prove to be their new wave breakthrough, peppering both charts with five further songs — half the album — while the LP itself spent over a year on the charts. Astute performers, the Pointer Sisters had embraced the 1980s’ penchant for synthesized sonics wholeheartedly and used them to fine effect across songs that were upbeat and slick, space-age dance grooves that brought a new dimension to the trio’s sound. Both “Jump (For My Love)” and “Automatic” were massive hits during early 1984, as both injected the sisters’ trademark harmonies with fresh grooves that culminated in an appealing blend of old and new. “Neutron Dance,” meanwhile, with Ruth Pointer’s rich lead vocal laying over an extraordinarily snappy and nearly frenetic melody, did double duty, also featuring in the film Beverly Hills Cop. Using those three songs as a springboard, Break Out powers on through one groover after another with few surprises, although “Dance Electric” combines a synthesizer straight out Human League territory with a blistering guitar solo and “Easy Persuasion” emerges as a smoky ballad of sorts. Although Break Out is a far cry from the Pointer Sisters’ earliest intentions, it still charms and pleases. It’s a vital part of the early-’80s tapestry, a sonic signpost for the ultimate feel-good generation. (Amy Hanson, AMG)
Tracks:
1. Jump
2. Automatic
3. I’m So Excited
4. I Need You
5. Neutron Dance
6. Dance Electric
7. Easy Persuasion
8. Baby Come and Get It
9. Telegraph Your Love
10. Operator
**Listen**
Pointer Sisters – Break Out (1983)
Julio 28, 2009 a 10:20 pm (Pop, R&B)
T-Connection – Pure & Natural (1982)
Julio 28, 2009 a 9:20 pm (Disco Funk, Funk)
Pure & Natural (1982)
A near-lost 80s groover from T-Connection — recorded after their more famous albums for TK, but every bit as nice! By this point, the group have really sweetened their sound in a nice way — and are working in a Capitol Rare-styled 80s groove that’s filled with rolling basslines, spacey keyboards, and mature vocals that get past the ensemble funk mode of their earliest records. There’s plenty of catchy clubby numbers on the set — and titles include “Girl Watching”, “A Little More Love”, “Slippin Away”, “Rushing Through The Crowd”, “Might As Well Dance”, and “Goombay Time”. (DGA, Inc)
Tracks:
1. Girl Watching
2. Party Night
3. Little More Love
4. Slippin’ Away
5. Might as Well Dance
6. Rushing Through the Crowd
7. The Best of My Love
8. Goombay Time
**Listen**
Prince And The Revolution – Parade (1986)
Julio 28, 2009 a 4:38 pm (Funk, Pop, Psychedelic Soul, Rock)
Parade (1986).
Review:
Undaunted by the criticism Around the World in a Day received, Prince continued to pursue his psychedelic inclinations on Parade, which also functioned as the soundtrack to his second film, Under the Cherry Moon. Originally conceived as a double album, Parade has the sprawling feel of a double record, even if it clocks in around 45 minutes. Prince & the Revolution shift musical moods and textures from song to song — witness how the fluttering psychedelia of “Christopher Tracy’s Parade” gives way to the spare, jazzy funk of “New Position,” which morphs into the druggy “I Wonder U” — and they’re determined not to play it safe, even on the hard funk of “Girls and Boys” and “Mountains,” as well as the stunning “Kiss,” which hits hard with just a dry guitar, keyboard, drum machine, and layered vocals. All of the group’s musical adventures, even the cabaret-pop of “Venus de Milo” and “Do U Lie?” do nothing to undercut the melodicism of the record, and the amount of ground they cover in 12 songs is truly remarkable. Even with all of its attributes, Parade is a little off-balance, stopping too quickly to give the haunting closer, “Sometimes It Snows in April,” the resonance it needs. For some tastes, it may also be a bit too lyrically cryptic, but Prince’s weird religious and sexual metaphors develop into a motif that actually gives the album weight. If it had been expanded to a double album, Parade would have equaled the subsequent Sign ‘o’ the Times, but as it stands, it’s an astonishingly rewarding near-miss.(Stephen Thomas Erlewine – All Music Guide).
Tracks:
01. Christopher Tracy’s Parade
02. New Position
03. I Wonder U
04. Under the Cherry Moon
05. Girls and Boys
06. Life Can Be So Nice
07. Venus De Milo
08. Mountains
09. Do U Lie?
10. Kiss
11. Anotherloverholenyohead
12. Sometimes It Snows in April
**Listen**
