An often-overlooked early gem

A decade before they got so excited doing the neutron dance, the Pointer Sisters were four: Anita, Ruth and June were joined here by Bonnie, who would leave several years later to pursue a solo career. Musically, their self-titled debut album is probably the least commercial-sounding one they've made. An edit of the six-minute "Yes We Can Can" cracked the top-20, but that song's funky, drums-and-bass driven sound isn't really representative of the rest of the songs on the album, which are a nod to the female vocal group sounds of the 1940's. What makes these songs work is the earnestness and enthusiasm the Pointer Sisters bring to them: Their fondness for this material is apparent throughout, and the fun they had recording these songs is conveyed to the listener. Their own contributions to the album were "Sugar," which they wrote and arranged, and "Jada," which they also co-wrote and arranged.

The best song on this disc is still "Yes We Can Can," but other highlights include the soulful "River Boulevard," with an insistent "Isn't it just a beautiful day?" refrain which will stay in your head for days, and the impressive vocal acrobatics of "Cloudburst." It's a safe bet that the Pointer Sisters never strayed farther from the mainstream than they did on "That's How I Feel," seven minutes of high-energy "shoo-be-doo-wah" scat-singing, set against a backdrop of an electronically altered voice singing the line, "The one who sings along," a male bass scat vocal and a drummer who sounds like he's having a blast, supplying the fills. It's an offbeat number, but it has more spirit and soul than all of the songs on the "Break Out" album, combined.

doo be doo be da ba do ba

I found this record and immediately bought it because of Yes We Can Can that will eternally be a 5 star song.
There's a lot of tongue twisting skatting and tight harmonies that really flaunt the Sisters' amazing jazz vocal talent. What's especially great about this album is that they don't take themselves too seriously: these babes don't hold back and obviously have fun singing together. This is vintage Pointer Sisters at their funkiest.

Their first (and best) album ever.

Good album - one for your collection of classics.

Their first album - very different to what most people would expect from the Pointer Sisters. They went "pop" after this. There were a few re-shuffles in the band and it was never the same for them.

Some good tracks on here - "Yes We Can" rocks (funky, good guitar). So does "Cloudburst" and "Jada" although these two are less funky but just as good.

Some top tracks and bad tracks in-between but finishing off with "Wang Dang Doodle" another little funky number which goes off on a mad one at the end.

I was a bit upset to see that the best track of the album has been left out of the CD though... if you find this EP on vinyl GET IT! "Beautiful Day" (which has been left off the CD version) was definately my favourite from this album. Still don't understand why they decided to leave the best track of the album off the CD version. Shame. But still... a decent album.