Break Out (Pointer Sisters album)


Break Out is the tenth album by the American female vocal group the Pointer Sisters, released on November 1, 1983, on Planet Records, distributed by RCA Records. It is the Pointer Sisters' most successful album, peaking at number 8 on the Billboard 200 and being certified triple-Platinum by the RIAA.

Overview

Featuring mostly synth-based tunes, the album gave the Pointer Sisters the biggest success of their recording career, spawning four U.S. Top 10 hits—"Jump ", "Automatic", "Neutron Dance" and a slightly remixed version of their 1982 hit "I'm So Excited". The latter was included on later editions of the album in the place of the track "Nightline". "Automatic" also became the group's biggest UK hit, peaking at No. 2 and certified Silver by the BPI. "Jump" also made the UK Top 10, peaking at No. 6.
With the remix of "I'm So Excited" added to pressings of the album in mid-1984, a total of six singles were issued from Break Out. The first release was "I Need You", featuring shared lead vocals by the three Pointer Sisters. A mid-tempo number, it was atypical of the album's overall dance sound; the choice of the song as lead single was based on producer Richard Perry's hope that the track would reinstate the Pointer Sisters' presence at R&B radio. "I Need You" did become a major hit on the Billboard R&B chart but did not reach the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, stalling at No. 48.
The dance track "Jump ", with June Pointer on lead, was intended to be the second single from Break Out; however, another dance track, "Automatic", was substituted in its place, after garnering heavy airplay on radio and in dance clubs as an album track. The first major hit to feature the distinctive contralto of Ruth Pointer on lead, "Automatic" became the first Top 40 hit from Break Out, its No. 5 peak ending a three-year absence by the Pointer Sisters from the Top 10 of the Hot 100. "Automatic" also became the most successful R&B hit by the Pointer Sisters as a trio—its No. 2 R&B peak was bested by "How Long ", a 1975 No. 1 R&B hit by the group in its original four-woman format. "Jump " was afforded a single release as the follow-up to "Automatic" and, with a No. 3 peak, became the most successful single from Break Out. Titled "Jump" on the first version of the album, it would change to the more well-known "Jump " after Van Halen hit number 1 with "Jump" earlier in 1984.
The re-release of "I'm So Excited"—the one single from Break Out to feature a lead vocal by Anita Pointer, who sang lead on most Pointer Sisters hits—resulted in a third consecutive Top 10 hit for the group, peaking at No. 9. Prior to Break Out, the Pointers had accumulated three earlier Top 10 hits over a 12-year recording career. After the Break Out track "Neutron Dance", with Ruth Pointer on lead vocal, was optioned for the soundtrack of the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop, it became the album's fifth single and fourth consecutive Top 10 hit, reaching No. 6 on the Hot 100 in February 1985. A sixth single, "Baby, Come and Get It", featuring June Pointer on lead, became a minor hit in the spring of 1985.
Break Out sold over three million copies in the U.S. and won the group two Grammy Awards and two American Music Awards. The 1983 original release and the 1984 re-release were both remastered and issued in a deluxe expanded edition with bonus tracks on CD in 2011 by Big Break Records.
According to Ruth Pointer, she and her sisters were not happy with the title Break Out. "We kept thinking of it as a rash or jail", she said.

Track listing

Original 1983 release

1984 re-release

Personnel

The Pointer Sisters
  • Anita Pointer – lead vocals, backing vocals
  • June Pointer – lead vocals, backing vocals
  • Ruth Pointer – lead vocals, backing vocals
Musicians
Production
  • Richard Perry – producer
  • Stephen Mitchell – associate producer
  • Gary Skardina – associate producer
  • Glen Ballard – associate producer
  • Brock Walsh – associate producer
  • Barry Mann – associate producer
  • Howie Rice – associate producer
  • Bruce Roberts – associate producer
  • Andy Goldmark – associate producer
  • Kosh – art direction, design
  • Ron Larson – art direction, design
  • Donald Miller – photography
  • Susan Epstein – fashion coordinator
;Technical credits
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Precision Mastering
  • Bill Schnee – remixing
  • Michael Brooks – recording engineer
  • Gary Skardina – basic track engineer
  • Frances Buckley – basic track engineer
  • Brian Elliot – basic track engineer
  • Stuart Furusho – additional engineer, assistant engineer
  • Bobby Gerber – additional engineer, assistant engineer
  • Hill Swimmer – additional engineer
  • David Dubow – assistant engineer

    Singles

  • "I Need You" / "Operator"
  • "Automatic" / "Nightline"
  • "Jump " / "Heartbeat"
  • "I'm So Excited" / "Dance Electric"
  • "Neutron Dance" / "Telegraph Your Love"
  • "Baby Come and Get It" / "Operator"

    Charts

Certifications