this cover of “Passing Through” was recorded for the 1975 album the Earl Scruggs revue anniversary special. the track, arranged by Leonard Cohen, features Joan Baez, Cohen, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and the Pointer Sisters; also Joan Baez’s Bob Dylan impersonation is both spot on and totally hilarious
Tell the people that you saw me passing through . . . . . . .
Wednesday, November 07, 2018
Now I loved the Pointer Sisters and had previously bought 'Slow Hand' the single a couple of years earlier and watched them whenever they appeared on guest shows here but I didn't get anything yuntil this 'Jump' and still love what they doo - oo poo pah doo!
On this day in music history: November 6, 1983 - “Break Out”, the tenth studio album by the Pointer Sisters is released. Produced by Richard Perry, it is recorded at Studio 55, Baby ‘O Recorders, The Music Grinder and Brian Elliot Studios in Los Angeles, CA from March 1982, Spring - Fall 1983. After the muted response to their previous album “So Excited” in 1982, The Pointer Sisters and their long time producer Richard Perry, decide a change up is necessary for their next album. The sisters and Perry are conscious of the group’s original fan base and support from R&B radio slipping away, in favor of the mainstream pop audience they have gained since hitting with their cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire” in early 1979. They decide the next album should feature more R&B flavored material that is also accessible to wide listening audience. The tenth release for the R&B vocal family trio features a number of top L.A. studio musicians including John Robinson (drums), Nate Watts and Louis Johnson (bass), Lee Ritenour (guitar), and Howie Rice (drum programming, guitar). Rather than going for a sure fire crossover hit to lead the album, the first single chosen for release is the mid tempo R&B song “I Need You” (#13 R&B, #43 Pop). The strategy works, giving The Pointer Sisters their first sizable hit on the R&B chart since “Slow Hand” two years before. They then follow it with "Automatic" (#2 R&B, #5 Pop) in January of 1984, not only giving them an even bigger R&B smash, but also crashes the top five on the pop chart. From there, the record is unstoppable, becoming the most successful album of the Oakland, CA family group’s career. It spins off six hit singles including “Jump (For My Love)” (#3 R&B, #3 Pop), “Neutron Dance” (#13 R&B, #6 Pop), and “Baby Come And Get It” (#24 R&B, #44 Pop). Later pressings of the album replace the track “Nightline” with a remixed version of the previously released “I’m So Excited” (#9 Pop, #46 R&B), originally peaking at #30 on the pop chart in 1982, re-charts on the Hot 100 in October 1984. “Automatic” and “Jump (For My Love)” earn the sisters Grammy Awards for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group and Best Pop Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group respectively in 1985. In 2012, the album is remastered and reissued by UK label BBR Records as a deluxe two CD edition, featuring both versions of the album with the original 12" remixes and 7" single edits included as bonus tracks. “Break Out” peaks at number eight on the Billboard Top 200, number six on the R&B album chart, and is certified 3x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Yes, part of the series of 'bought when they came out' and this is a Pointer Sisters phase I went through and probably caused by my love of Dr John and Professor Longhair, Tuts Washington, The Meters, Alan Toussaint, The Neville Brothers, Irma Thomas, and more - all things N'Orleans although mostly Fess.
A side note of interest here: The first music programme broadcast on the then new Channel 4 over here was a tv film called 'Piano Players Rarely Play Together' which featured Fess, Tuts and Alan Toussaint and was remarkable for being filmed with Fess dying in the middle of it and his widow allowing them to film the wake! I kid you not! Awesome and I have pretty much every Dr John and every recording of Professor Longhair [Tuts too actually].
This all turned me on to the glorious Pointer Sisters musically although they were from Oakland California but this song was written (originally for Lee Dorsey) by Allen Toussaint (and can't you tell sic) if this doesn't twitch your fonk button there is something wrong and there are things missing from your spinal fluid! You will need to see a Doctor!
