Disco forever: Pointer Sisters – Bad synths, good synths

Today, in the age of autotune, the vocal perfector, synthesizers are no longer an issue. Where even human voices sound like robots, rhythm machines and artificial soundscapes are irrelevant.

But back then, in the early 80s, when synths, which had become cheap, became widespread, they were considered the work of the devil among fans of “real music”. In particular, fans of classic rock music, who considered the hand-plucked guitar solo to be an expression of the highest artistry, saw the electronic sound generator as an instrument of destruction.

And from an economic policy perspective, they weren’t even wrong. The synthesizer was to the music industry what the mechanical loom had been to the textile industry: a job destroyer. Because the record companies used it as an efficient tool to save entire studio orchestras. Gone were the days when US disco producers like Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff used dozens of strings and horns to create the legendary “Philly Sound”. Now all it took was a single synthesizer to produce the same result at a fraction of the cost.

Although the “same result” in the 80s wasn’t true. When brass and strings were imitated electronically, the result sounded horrific. In this way, soul went to the dogs. Even a band like Earth, Wind & Fire, whose fame was based on the trumpets of the Phenix Horns, made the mistake of losing themselves in synthetic sounds in 1983 with – nomen est omen – “Electric Universe”. Afterwards, his reputation and career were ruined.

There was still a market for traditional rhythm and blues. This was proven by the studded trousers manufacturer Levi’s, of all people, who accompanied their commercials with soul classics such as “A wonderful world” (Sam Cooke), “Stand by me” (Ben E. King) and “When a man loves a woman” (Percy Sledge). This not only boosted jeans sales, but also catapulted the original songs back into the charts decades later.

The Pointer Sisters knew their way around old camels. Their first two albums from 1973 and 1974 would also have appealed to swing and Dixieland fans of the 1930s and 1940s. But they caused a sensation with, of all things, a Country & Western song. At a time when skin color still determined the choice of music genre, it was something of a sensation that PoC tried their hand at a country tune. And how the Pointer siblings did it! “Fairytale” (1974) not only earned them a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Group, but also an invitation to Nashville. The Pointer Sisters were the first black people to perform on the legendary country live show “Grand Ole Opry”.

In the following years they also equalized the conventions. Their biggest hit “Fire” (1978/79) was a composition by Bruce Springsteen. With the massive emergence of synthesizers at the beginning of the 80s, they took another turn. The single “I’m so excited” (1982) was technoid hi-NRG disco – there was nothing left to remind us that the Pointer Sisters had started out as an old-fashioned jazz quartet.

“Break Out,” which appeared 40 years ago, went one step further. No fewer than nine producers ensured that this work became a showcase of the analog synthesizer technology of the time. To this day there is debate in internet forums about whether the Roland Jupiter-8 and Sequential Prophet-5 or the Oberheim models DSX, DMX and OB-X8 were mainly used. Definitely included was the mother of all compact synthesizers, the Moog minimoog, which was manufactured between 1970 and 1981 and shaped modern pop music.

What sets “Break Out” apart from many poorly aged synth records of the time was the producers’ approach. They understood that synthesizers sound good when they are not seen as a cheap imitation tool, but as an instrument in their own right. This resulted in new sounds that not only thrilled discotheque visitors, but also radio audiences – the album produced five hit singles.

The new technology works at its best on “Automatic”; No bang effect is left out to grab the listener and throw them onto the dance floor. But it is only when people and machines interact that it becomes a dance classic. The Grammy judges saw it the same way. They awarded the song for the best vocal arrangement. In the end, the former vocal jazz formation remained true to itself.