This Review Along With Over 300 Others Is Available in my
SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites
HIGHER GROUND
HIGHER GROUND
SOUL, FUNK and JAZZ FUSION - Exception CD Remasters
Just Click Below To Purchase for £6.95
Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs
(No Cut and Paste Crap)
"…Temporarily Blue…"
The lead singer with one of the most successful Female Vocal
Groups in R&B and Soul throughout the Seventies and Eighties (with multiple
Grammy award wins on their walls) practically guaranteed ANITA POINTER a shot
at Solo stardom – and yet in late 1987 her “Love For What It Is” album barely
scraped up to 48 on the US Cash Box R&B charts - while its two singles did
even less business. And yet those champions of Soul, Funk and Disco CD reissues
Big Break Records of the UK (BBR) seem to think it’s a forgotten piece of Soul
class – and on occasion – they’re probably right. Here are the big hair do
details…
UK released October 2014 – "Love For What It Is" by
ANITA POINTER on Big Break Records CDBBRX 0309 (Barcode 5013929060937) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster and breaks down as follows (77:49 minutes):
1. Overnight Success
2. Love Me Like You Do
3. The Pledge [duet with Philip Bailey]
4. You Don’t Scare Me
5. More Than A Memory
6. Have A Little Faith In Love
7. Love For What It Is
8. Beware Of What You Want
9. Temporarily Blue
Tracks 1 to 9 are the album “Love For What It Is” – released
October 1987 in the USA on RCA Records 6419-1-R and RCA Records PD86419 in the
UK and Europe
BONUS TRACKS:
10. Overnight Success (12” Dance Mix)
11. More Than A Memory (12” East Coast Mix)
12. Overnight Success (Single Mix)
13. More Than A Memory (12” West Coast Mix)
14. Overnight Success (Instrumental)
15. More Than A Memory (Instrumental)
You get one of those curve-corner jewel cases, a see-through tray
that advertises BBR’s other Pointer Sister CD reissues beneath it, a 12-page
inlay with excellent liner notes by Christian John Wikane (with memories from
Anita) and best of all – a NICK ROBBINS and WAYNE A. DICKSON remaster that
elevates everything to amazing clarity.
I wish I could say that the album is a forgotten masterpiece – it
isn’t. But as ever – there’s those great moments and songs that warrant a re-listen.
Stuff like “You Don’t Scare Me” and “Have A Little Faith In Me” are afflicted
with that awful Eighties Drum sound and cluttering brass jabs that keep the
tunes busy but lack anything like a soul. Better is the obvious singles
“Overnight Success” and “More Than A Memory” – the sort of tunes George Benson
would polish of on “20/20”. And the ballad “Temporarily Blue” and “Love Me Like
You Do” are the kind of songs you’d hear at the end of a movie as the credit
roles on some tropical island where the couple are walking off into the sunset.
Actually more interesting from a collector’s point of view is the
“Instrumental” mixes of “Overnight Success” and “More Than A Memory” – some
cool funk moments.
It’s not genius by any stretch of the imagination – but if you’re
a fan – the presentation and the superb audio quality are going to be the biog
draws…
PS: Big Break Records (BBR)
CD Remasters I’ve reviewed:
1. Send It – ASHFORD &
SIMPSON (1977)
2. Is It Still Good To Ya –
ASHFORD and SIMPSON (1978)
3. Stay Free – ASHFORD and
SIMPSON (1979)
4. Central Heating –
HEATWAVE (1977)
5. Hot Property - HEATWAVE
(1979)
6. Candles - HEATWAVE (1980)
7. Turnin' On - HIGH INERGY
(1977)
8. Harvest For The World -
THE ISLEY BROTHERS (1976)
9. Go For Your Guns - THE
ISLEY BROTHERS (1977)
10. In The Heart – KOOL
& THE GANG (1983)
11. I Hope We Get To Love On
Time - MARILYN McCOO & BILLY DAVIS (1976)
12. I Miss You [known as
"Harold Melvin The Blue Notes" in the UK] - HAROLD MELVIN and THE
BLUE NOTES (1972)
13. Black & Blue -
HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES (1973)
14. Love Is The Message -
MFSB (1973)
15. Universal Love – MFSB
(1975)
16. All The Faces Of... -
BUDDY MILES (1974)
17. For The First Time –
STEPHANIE MILLS (1975)
18. I Can See Clearly Now -
JOHNNY NASH (1972)
19. In Philadelphia - O'JAYS
(1969)
20. Back Stabbers - O'JAYS
(1972)
21. Ship Ahoy - O'JAYS
(1973)
22. Down To Love Town – THE
ORIGINALS (1977)
23. Ebony Woman - BILLY PAUL
(1970 and 1973)
24. 360 Degrees Of Billy
Paul - BILLY PAUL (1972)
25. War Of The Gods - BILLY PAUL
(1973)
26. Platinum Hook – PLATINUM
HOOK (1978)
27. Love For What It Is -
ANITA POINTER (of The Pointer Sisters) (1987)
28. Live: Stompin’ At The
Savoy – RUFUS and CHAKA KHAN (1983)
29. Summernights – SILVER
CONVENTION (1977)
30. Smoked Sugar - SMOKED
SUGAR (1975)
31. Spinners – SPINNERS
(1973)
32. Soul Master – EDWIN
STARR (1968)
33. Involved - EDWIN STARR
(1971)
34. Switch - SWITCH (1978)
35. Watercolors – THE WATERS
(1980)
36. Just As I Am - BILL
WITHERS (1971)
37. Heartbeats – YARBROUGH
& PEOPLES (1983)
