Pointer Sisters remasters coming thanks to Cherry Red / Big Break Records UK on November 30th. Pre-order now at Amazon.com.

Special Things" (1980 album; remastered, including "He's So Shy," with one bonus track), "So Excited!" (1982 album; remastered, including the title track, with two bonus songs)

So Excited also includes the Pointer's version of Prince's "I Feel For You". Can't wait!!!!

I know that one of the sisters died but it is nice to know that the two remaining sisters are still performing. For those like me who are wondering what the Pointer Sister have been up to in recent years, here is what Wikkipedia has to say:

"In recent years they have maintained a lower public profile but have continued to perform. Anita had become a grandmother for the first time in 1990 to a girl named Roxie. Roxie is from Anita's only child Jada. On September 8, 1990 Ruth married a man named Michael Sayles (Born 1957). The sisters entertained US troops in the Persian Gulf in 1991 with Bob Hope. By 1991, June Pointer had ended her thirteen year marriage to William Oliver Whitmore II. In August, 1993 at age 47 Ruth Pointer gave birth to twins Ali and Conor Sayles. In 1994 the Pointer Sisters were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and began touring with a production of the Fats Waller-based musical Ain't Misbehavin'. In 1995 Pointer Sisters recorded "Feel for the Physical" as a duet with Thomas Anders (of Modern Talking fame) for his album Souled. They were also one of the featured acts at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. In 2004, June Pointer had to leave due to health problems; she was replaced by Ruth's daughter, Issa, and the group continues to perform. They made a 2005 holiday recording Christmas In New York, featured on YMC Records' Smooth & Soulful Christmas Collection, which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard AC Charts. The sisters were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005.

"In recent years many Pointer Sisters songs were covered by contemporary artists, such as "Jump (for My Love)" by Girls Aloud, which reached number two at the UK singles chart in 2003, "Dare Me" was turned into the dance smash "Stupidisco" by Belgian DJ Junior Jack, indie band Le Tigre covered in 2004 "I'm So Excited" on their third album This Island, and French DJ Muttonheads sampled "Back In My Arms" on his 2005 club hit "I'll Be There". Most recently in 2007, Tommy Boy recording artist Ultra Naté has released a dance-pop cover of "Automatic" that reached #1 at the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. In 2005, "Pinball Number Count" was re-edited for Coldcut's Ninja Tune label, becoming a surprise dance hit. The same song has also been remixed by Venetian Snares of the Planet Mu record label.

"The band is currently experiencing a successful revival in Europe due to their performance at the annual Night of the Proms, a highly successful series of concerts combining pop and classical music, taking place in the Benelux, France and Germany. The group received the highest audience ratings of all participating Night of the Proms acts in 2002. In addition, their collaboration with Belgian pop star Natalia on "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves," placed them on the charts in Europe (the single peaked at #2 in the Belgian charts) and resulted in ten sold out dates in Antwerp in January 2006 with the "Natalia Meets The Pointer Sister" concerts, selling out 130.000 tickets for the 10 date concert run.

"On June 7, 2006 Anita guest-starred on Celebrity Duets singing with Olympic gymnast Carly Patterson on "I'm So Excited".

Since August 2009 Ruth, Anita and Bonnie have reunited. On August 4, 2009 they stopped by The Kibitz Room at Canter's in LA and jammed with the band and Ruth's son Malik Pointer. They sang Fire, Yes We Can Can and Going Down Slowly.^[4][5] On November 4, 2009, The Pointer Sisters played "I'm So Excited" and "The Neutron Dance" on CBS morning show The Early Show with Ruth's granddaughter, Sadako Johnson.

Also a fan campaign has begun to get The Sister's honored at The 2011 Bet Awards to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award ^[6]"

purplethunder3121 said:

I know that one of the sisters died but it is nice to know that the two remaining sisters are still performing. For those like me who are wondering what the Pointer Sister have been up to in recent years, here is what Wikkipedia has to say:

"In recent years they have maintained a lower public profile but have continued to perform. Anita had become a grandmother for the first time in 1990 to a girl named Roxie. Roxie is from Anita's only child Jada. On September 8, 1990 Ruth married a man named Michael Sayles (Born 1957). The sisters entertained US troops in the Persian Gulf in 1991 with Bob Hope. By 1991, June Pointer had ended her thirteen year marriage to William Oliver Whitmore II. In August, 1993 at age 47 Ruth Pointer gave birth to twins Ali and Conor Sayles. In 1994 the Pointer Sisters were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and began touring with a production of the Fats Waller-based musical Ain't Misbehavin'. In 1995 Pointer Sisters recorded "Feel for the Physical" as a duet with Thomas Anders (of Modern Talking fame) for his album Souled. They were also one of the featured acts at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. In 2004, June Pointer had to leave due to health problems; she was replaced by Ruth's daughter, Issa, and the group continues to perform. They made a 2005 holiday recording Christmas In New York, featured on YMC Records' Smooth & Soulful Christmas Collection, which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard AC Charts. The sisters were inducted to the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005.

"In recent years many Pointer Sisters songs were covered by contemporary artists, such as "Jump (for My Love)" by Girls Aloud, which reached number two at the UK singles chart in 2003, "Dare Me" was turned into the dance smash "Stupidisco" by Belgian DJ Junior Jack, indie band Le Tigre covered in 2004 "I'm So Excited" on their third album This Island, and French DJ Muttonheads sampled "Back In My Arms" on his 2005 club hit "I'll Be There". Most recently in 2007, Tommy Boy recording artist Ultra Naté has released a dance-pop cover of "Automatic" that reached #1 at the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. In 2005, "Pinball Number Count" was re-edited for Coldcut's Ninja Tune label, becoming a surprise dance hit. The same song has also been remixed by Venetian Snares of the Planet Mu record label.

"The band is currently experiencing a successful revival in Europe due to their performance at the annual Night of the Proms, a highly successful series of concerts combining pop and classical music, taking place in the Benelux, France and Germany. The group received the highest audience ratings of all participating Night of the Proms acts in 2002. In addition, their collaboration with Belgian pop star Natalia on "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves," placed them on the charts in Europe (the single peaked at #2 in the Belgian charts) and resulted in ten sold out dates in Antwerp in January 2006 with the "Natalia Meets The Pointer Sister" concerts, selling out 130.000 tickets for the 10 date concert run.

"On June 7, 2006 Anita guest-starred on Celebrity Duets singing with Olympic gymnast Carly Patterson on "I'm So Excited".

Since August 2009 Ruth, Anita and Bonnie have reunited. On August 4, 2009 they stopped by The Kibitz Room at Canter's in LA and jammed with the band and Ruth's son Malik Pointer. They sang Fire, Yes We Can Can and Going Down Slowly.^[4][5] On November 4, 2009, The Pointer Sisters played "I'm So Excited" and "The Neutron Dance" on CBS morning show The Early Show with Ruth's granddaughter, Sadako Johnson.

Also a fan campaign has begun to get The Sister's honored at The 2011 Bet Awards to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award ^[6]"

Sweet.

BTW , the Pointer Sister who died was June, the youngest, in 2006 from cancer. This information was not contained in the Wikkipedia article I mentioned. I am glad that the sisters are nominated for an award which they greatly deserve.

[Edited 11/8/10 17:38pm]

AlexdeParis said:

I'm ready for a reissue of Break Out with "Nightline" restored to the tracklist.

Yesssss me too! That song has never been on CD and the current "Break Out" cd sounds like crap!

whitesockedfunk said:

AlexdeParis said:

I'm ready for a reissue of Break Out with "Nightline" restored to the tracklist.

Yesssss me too! That song has never been on CD and the current "Break Out" cd sounds like crap!

and they could also include the 12" versions of "I Need You", "Jump (For My Love)" and "Automatic" as bonus tracks.

"Nightline" by the Pointer Sisters (1983)---a rare tune that appeared on early pressings of the 'Breakout' album

Wowugotit said:

Pointer Sisters remasters coming thanks to Cherry Red / Big Break Records.

I'll pass. Cherry Red / Big Break Records don't take remastering seriously.

PDogz said:

Wowugotit said:

Pointer Sisters remasters coming thanks to Cherry Red / Big Break Records.

I'll pass. Cherry Red / Big Break Records don't take remastering seriously.

Seriously? Were there any problems with previous CDs that you bought?

...

[Edited 11/9/10 5:46am]

SoulAlive said:

PDogz said:

I'll pass. Cherry Red / Big Break Records don't take remastering seriously.

Seriously? Were there any problems with previous CDs that you bought?

Yes, and we've written about it in detail in other threads. You may remember; this was the company that I wrote to asking about their remastering process (that never responded) when we discussed it in this thread:

A Taste Of Honey---their ...nus tracks (I started with the 6th post and explained down from there).

Then I spoke about how I was unhappy with Cherry Red / Big Break Records release of the supposed Odyssey "remaster" when we spoke about it in this thread:

Heatwave's first two albu...nus tracks (my comments about the "Odyssey" remastering process as done by Big Break Records are down by the bottom of the thread).

So just based on my personal research, and what I've actually heard of their "remastering" process, along with their refusal to respond to my request for more information, I feel Cherry Red / Big Break Records talk a big game, but are just in it for the money, and are not taking care with the production of their CD's.

.

[Edited 11/9/10 23:14pm]

Damn..and I just ordered some CDs from them

I wish that Rhino Records would take control of these titles.I've always been satisfied with their remasters.

SoulAlive said:

I wish that Rhino Records would take control of these titles.

or better yet... JAPAN, lol. (those girls would apply some serious technology to those old classics, lol)

SoulAlive said:

Damn..and I just ordered some CDs from them

Be sure and let us know what you think of the quality of those CD's, and whether they were promoted as being "remastered" or not.

PDogz said:

Wowugotit said:

Pointer Sisters remasters coming thanks to Cherry Red / Big Break Records.

I'll pass. Cherry Red / Big Break Records don't take remastering seriously.

You're wrong. Cherry Red / Big Break do an excellent job remastering CD's.

I bought June Pointer "Baby Sister" a couple of months ago from Cherry Red / Big Break Records and I was really impressed with the sound quality and packaging. No problem at all with their product.

SoulAlive said:

whitesockedfunk said:

Yesssss me too! That song has never been on CD and the current "Break Out" cd sounds like crap!

and they could also include the 12" versions of "I Need You", "Jump (For My Love)" and "Automatic" as bonus tracks.

I have either a "Best Of" or a "Greatest Hits" CD by The Pointer Sisters that includes damn near all of their 12 Inches from the 1980s. Between that CD and the other "Best Of" CD I have from them that has most of their 1970s hits, I think I've got all The Pointer Sisters I want.

vainandy said:

SoulAlive said:

and they could also include the 12" versions of "I Need You", "Jump (For My Love)" and "Automatic" as bonus tracks.

I have either a "Best Of" or a "Greatest Hits" CD by The Pointer Sisters that includes damn near all of their 12 Inches from the 1980s. Between that CD and the other "Best Of" CD I have from them that has most of their 1970s hits, I think I've got all The Pointer Sisters I want.

well at least you're honest. i love the pointer sisters and love all of ther albums.

Wowugotit said:

vainandy said:

I have either a "Best Of" or a "Greatest Hits" CD by The Pointer Sisters that includes damn near all of their 12 Inches from the 1980s. Between that CD and the other "Best Of" CD I have from them that has most of their 1970s hits, I think I've got all The Pointer Sisters I want.

well at least you're honest. i love the pointer sisters and love all of ther albums.

I have the "Break Out" album on CD (I already had it before I got that Best Of CD with their 12 Inches) and like almost everything on the album. I have the album that includes "He's So Shy" on vinyl and the song "He's So Shy" is the only thing on the album that I like. I love the songs "Slow Hand" and "Fire" and have had them on 45s for years but never bought the albums because I never heard anything else from them on the radio so I wasn't going to take a chance on buying and not liking the albums.

For the most part the Pointer Sisters are a safe bet. They have had their albums that are not as strong as others but overall they are one of the best-of-the-best girl groups. I love em and have all of their CD's. The only one I'm missing is the new reissue of So Excited which I've pre-ordered from Amazon.

Wowugotit said:

PDogz said:

I'll pass. Cherry Red / Big Break Records don't take remastering seriously.

You're wrong. Cherry Red / Big Break do an excellent job remastering CD's.

I celebrate your right to disagree with my well-studied opinion. Enjoy your CD's.

vainandy said:

SoulAlive said:

and they could also include the 12" versions of "I Need You", "Jump (For My Love)" and "Automatic" as bonus tracks.

I have either a "Best Of" or a "Greatest Hits" CD by The Pointer Sisters that includes damn near all of their 12 Inches from the 1980s. Between that CD and the other "Best Of" CD I have from them that has most of their 1970s hits, I think I've got all The Pointer Sisters I want.

I bet this is the CD you have....

1. Jump (For My Love)
2. Neutron Dance
3. Dare Me
4. Fire
5. Automatic
6. I'm So Excited
7. He's So Shy
8. Slow Hand
9. I Need You
10. If You Wanna Get Back Your Lady
11. Freedom
12. American Music
13. Baby Come And Get It

I have this CD too.It contains mostly 12" extended versions.I think it's one of the best compilations of their work,containing the songs that I love most.

SoulAlive said:

vainandy said:

I have either a "Best Of" or a "Greatest Hits" CD by The Pointer Sisters that includes damn near all of their 12 Inches from the 1980s. Between that CD and the other "Best Of" CD I have from them that has most of their 1970s hits, I think I've got all The Pointer Sisters I want.

I bet this is the CD you have....

1. Jump (For My Love)
2. Neutron Dance
3. Dare Me
4. Fire
5. Automatic
6. I'm So Excited
7. He's So Shy
8. Slow Hand
9. I Need You
10. If You Wanna Get Back Your Lady
11. Freedom
12. American Music
13. Baby Come And Get It

I have this CD too.It contains mostly 12" extended versions.I think it's one of the best compilations of their work,containing the songs that I love most.

Yep. That's it. That one and the 20 Century "Best Of" with the 1970s hits.

It's a great compilation,isn't it? I may get the 'Breakout' CD as well,as soon as it gets remastered someday.I already have it on vinyl,it's such a great album.

PDogz said:

SoulAlive said:

I wish that Rhino Records would take control of these titles.

or better yet... JAPAN, lol. (those girls would apply some serious technology to those old classics, lol)

After what Universal Japan did to those last titles they reissued on Stephanie Mills and Alicia Myers (VINYL RIPS!!!!), I don't trust those Japan imports like I used to.

SoulAlive said:

Damn..and I just ordered some CDs from them

I've been very happy with the BBR remasters that I own. They sound fantastic.

SoulAlive said:

Damn..and I just ordered some CDs from them

I've been very happy with the BBR remasters that I own. They sound fantastic.

PDogz said:

SoulAlive said:

Damn..and I just ordered some CDs from them

Be sure and let us know what you think of the quality of those CD's, and whether they were promoted as being "remastered" or not.

On another site that I visit,someone was complaining about a remastered Gloria Gaynor CD that they purhcased from Big Break Records.Wayne Dickson from BBR actually responded in that thread:

From: wayne dickson

Gentlemen,
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wayne Dickson. I am label manager for Big Break Records here in the UK. Tom Moulton alerted me to this thread and I felt I should drop a note to you all here.

First of all, the facts.

We take the sound quality of all of our releases very seriously indeed. Personally, there is nothing that disappoints me more than bad sound quality on a CD so when we were fortunate enough to obtain the rights to release the first two Gloria Gaynor, we set about making sure that we did the best job possible. The original tapes were sourced from Universal in New York and were then restored and remastered by Kevin Reeves, who we requested personally. I supervised the mastering and made sure the end results were to my satisfaction. Tracks 9 & 10 (The Columbia Singles) were only available from copy masters that were in bad condition. It was my decision to include them despite their limitations and I am very glad I did.

As some of you may know, music recorded during this period was often produced and mixed to fit the vinyl format. This means that the sound on the actual master tape does not always reflect the producer's aim for how the music would sound on vinyl. Further compression techniques would be implemented at the pressing stage. Our aim here was to provide a fitting representation of these classic albums in a digital format.

Now, opinions.

We are very happy with the finished results and are glad to report that almost all of the feedback we have received though our email address and Facebook site, as well as an email from Tom Moulton himself, backs our own opinions up. We do realise that everyone is entitled to their view and are very happy for them to express it. My only problem is when Audiophiles start to present their opinions as fact. I would invite anyone who is interested in this music to make up their own mind and not be influenced or dictated to by others.

Please make sure when any of you send out a "warning" to other potential buyers that may lead to them avoiding a product that you include another "warning" about the demise of CD sales that makes it more likely that there will be less future releases for them to listen to and make up their own mind about. I would also like to add that suggesting that Tom Moulton's masterpieces be remixed would result in a remix album rather than the original. Surely this should not be our aim. I appreciate the positive comments made on the mastering of our other releases. These opinions are also noted and appreciated.

I hope this clears up any questions anyone still may have on the product. Please be in no doubt that we always aim to deliver the best product.

Thank you,
Wayne A. Dickson,
Label Manager, BBR (Big Break Records)

I agree 100% with Mr. Dickson's response. A remastered CD that was originally recorded in the 70s and 80s will more than likely not sound like a CD that was recorded last year. I've never been disappointed with reissues as long as the original master tapes are being used. I have sense enough to know that there are going to be limitations with older recordings. Because there is a serious lack of decent contemporary material for a person like me to listen to, I am forever grateful for companies like BBR who care enough about my generation to reissue these recordings.