Break Out
Studio album by
the Pointer Sisters
ReleasedNovember 1, 1983[1]
Recorded1983[2]
Studio
  • Studio 55
  • Baby 'O Recorders
  • The Music Grinder
  • Brian Elliot Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length43:17
Label
Producer
The Pointer Sisters chronology
So Excited!
(1982)		 Break Out
(1983)		 Contact
(1985)
Singles from Break Out
  1. "I Need You"
    Released: October 1983
  2. "Automatic"
    Released: January 13, 1984
  3. "Jump (For My Love)"
    Released: April 11, 1984
  4. "Neutron Dance"
    Released: December 30, 1984
  5. "Baby Come and Get It"
    Released: March 31, 1985
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Robert ChristgauB+[5]

Break Out is the tenth studio album by 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 to date, peaking at number eight on the Billboard 200 and being certified triple-platinum by the RIAA.

Overview

Featuring mostly electro dance tunes, the album gave the Pointer Sisters the biggest success of their recording career, spawning four U.S. top 10 hits—"Jump (For My Love)", "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 (For My Love)" (titled simply "Jump" on the first version of the album), 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.[6] 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 (Betcha' Got a Chick on the Side)", a 1975 No. 1 R&B hit by the group in its original four-woman format. "Jump (For My Love)" 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.

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 Ten 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 Ten 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 (No. 44 Hot 100/No. 24 R&B).

"Nightline", the track dropped from Break Out as originally formatted to allow inclusion of "I'm So Excited", was originally written for and recorded by Michael Jackson but was never released, although a leaked recording has been circulating for many years. The Pointer Sisters' version was utilized as the B-side of the "Automatic" single.

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",[7] she said.

Track listing

Original 1983 release

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalistLength
1."Jump"Stephen Mitchell, Marti Sharron, Gary SkardinaJune Pointer4:23
2."Automatic"Brock Walsh, Mark GoldenbergRuth Pointer4:48
3."Baby, Come and Get It"Barry Mann, James Ingram, Cynthia WeilJune Pointer4:19
4."I Need You"Nan O'Byrne, Richard Feldman, John BlackAnita, June & Ruth Pointer4:01
5."Dance Electric"Glen Ballard, Brock WalshRuth Pointer4:25
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalistLength
6."Neutron Dance"Allee Willis, Danny SembelloRuth Pointer4:12
7."Easy Persuasion"Bruce Roberts, Andy GoldmarkAnita Pointer4:34
8."Nightline"Ballard, Davey Faragher, Brie HowardJune Pointer4:36
9."Telegraph Your Love"GoldmarkAnita Pointer4:01
10."Operator"Howie Rice, O'ByrneAnita Pointer3:58
2011 deluxe expanded edition remastered bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Automatic" (12" Special Remix)6:06
12."Jump (for My Love)" (12" Long Version)6:24
13."I Need You" (UK 12" Special Remix)5:24
14."I'm So Excited" (12" Mix)5:41
15."Neutron Dance" (12" Mix)5:33
16."Baby Come and Get It" (12" Extended Version)7:13

1984 re-release

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalistLength
1."Jump (For My Love)"Stephen Mitchell, Marti Sharron, Gary SkardinaJune Pointer4:23
2."Automatic"Brock Walsh, Mark GoldenbergRuth Pointer4:48
3."I'm So Excited"Anita Pointer, June Pointer, Ruth Pointer, Trevor LawrenceAnita Pointer4:54
4."I Need You"Nan O'Byrne, Richard Feldman, John BlackAnita, June & Ruth Pointer4:01
5."Neutron Dance"Allee Willis, Danny SembelloRuth Pointer4:12
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalistLength
6."Dance Electric"Glen Ballard, Brock WalshRuth Pointer4:25
7."Easy Persuasion"Bruce Roberts, Andy GoldmarkAnita Pointer4:34
8."Baby, Come and Get It"Barry Mann, James Ingram, Cynthia WeilJune Pointer4:19
9."Telegraph Your Love"GoldmarkAnita Pointer4:01
10."Operator"Howie Rice, O'ByrneAnita Pointer3:58
2011 deluxe expanded edition remastered bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."I Need You" (Single Remix)3:43
12."Automatic" (Single Edit)4:00
13."Jump (For My Love)" (Single Remix)3:38
14."I'm So Excited" (Single Remix)3:50
15."Neutron Dance" (Single Edit)3:51
16."Baby, Come and Get It" (Single Edit)4:00
17."I Need You" (USA 12" Version)5:51
18."Jump (For My Love)" (12" Instrumental Mix)6:08

Personnel

The Pointer Sisters

Musicians

  • Howie Rice – Minimoog (1, 5, 9, 10), additional synthesizers (1), electronic drums (1, 3, 8), synthesizers (2-6, 9, 10), guitars (4, 6-8), bass (4), drum machine programming (4, 6, 10), percussion (4, 6, 8, 10), E-mu Emulator (6), acoustic piano (6), organ (6)
  • Stephen Mitchell – synthesizers (1, 2, 4), synthesizer programming (1, 5, 6, 10), drum machine programming (1)
  • Paul Fox – E-mu Emulator (2, 4-6, 8-10)
  • John Van Tongeren – Minimoog (2), synthesizers (2, 4)
  • Brock Walsh – synthesizers (2, 5), drum machine programming (2, 5)
  • James Ingram – synthesizers (3), drum machine programming (3), backing vocals (3)
  • Barry Mann – synthesizers (3), drum machine programming (3)
  • Vince Melamed – Fender Rhodes (4)
  • Glen Ballard – synthesizers (5), drum machine programming (5, 8)
  • Andy Goldmark – synthesizer programming (7), drum machine programming (7, 9)
  • Bruce Roberts – synthesizer programming (7), drum machine programming (7)
  • Richard Ruttenburg – additional synthesizers (7)
  • Tommy Faragher – synthesizers (5, 8), bass (8), theremin (8)
  • Greg Phillinganes – Minimoog (8)
  • Mark Goldenberg – guitars (2), synthesizers (8)
  • Dennis Herring – guitars (2), lead guitar (5)
  • David Katay – guitars (3)
  • Eddie Watkins, Jr – bass (2)
  • Nathan Watts – bass (3)
  • Reek Havok – electronic drum programming (1, 3, 4, 6, 8)
  • Bob Mithoff – drum machine programming (4, 6, 10)
  • Francis Buckley – drum machine programming (5)
  • Paulinho da Costa – percussion (1, 4, 5), tambourine (6)

Production

  • Producer – Richard Perry
  • Associate producers – Gary Skardina (track 1); Stephen Mitchell (track 1); Glen Ballard (tracks 2, 5 & 8); Brock Walsh (tracks 2, 5 & 8); Barry Mann (track 3); Howie Rice (tracks 4, 6 & 10); Bruce Roberts (track 7); Andy Goldmark (tracks 7 & 9)
  • Recording engineer – Michael Brooks (tracks 1–4, 6, 8, 9 & 10)
  • Basic track engineers – Gary Skardina (track 1), Frances Buckley (track 5) and Brian Elliot (track 7).
  • Additional engineers – Stuart Furusho, Bobby Gerber and Hill Swimmer.
  • Assistant engineers – David Dubow, Stuart Furusho and Bobby Gerber.
  • Remixed by Bill Schnee
  • Mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Precision Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
  • Art direction and design – Kosh and Ron Larson
  • Photography – Donald Miller
  • Fashion coordinator – Susan Epstein

Singles

  • "I Need You" (7" Version) / "Operator" (Alternate Version) [12" single included extended mix of "I Need You"]
  • "Automatic" (7" Version) / "Nightline" (LP Version) [12" single included extended mix of "Automatic"]
  • "Jump (For My Love)" (7" Remix) / "Heartbeat" [12" single included extended mix of "Jump (For My Love)"]
  • "I'm So Excited" (7" Remix) / "Dance Electric" [12" single included extended mix of "I'm So Excited"]
  • "Neutron Dance" (7" Version) / "Telegraph Your Love" [12" single included extended mix of "Neutron Dance"]
  • "Baby Come and Get It" / "Operator" (LP Version) [12" single included extended mix of "Baby Come and Get It"]

Charts

Chart performance for Break Out
Chart (1983–1984) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] 17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] 15
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10] 6
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 27
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 9
US Billboard Top Pop Albums[13] 8
US Billboard Top R&B Albums[14] 6

Certifications

Certifications for Break Out
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[15] Gold 7,500^
United States (RIAA)[16] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "RIAA".
  2. ↑ On this day in music history: November 6, 1983 – "Break Out"
  3. ↑ Rolling Stone Staff (September 17, 2014). "100 Best Singles of 1984: Pop's Greatest Year". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 31, 2023. ...the Pointer Sisters' late-1983 Break Out, their synth-pop summation...
  4. ↑ Hanson, Amy. Break Out review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Break Out review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  6. ↑ Billboard vol 96 No. 46 (17 November 1984) p. 78
  7. ↑ Fort Lauderdale News 22 February 1985 "Potent Pointer Sisters Roll On" by Scott Benarde p.3S
  8. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 235. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Pointer Sisters – Break Out" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Charts.nz – Pointer Sisters – Break Out". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Pointer Sisters – Break Out". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  13. ↑ "The Pointer Sisters Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  14. ↑ "The Pointer Sisters Chart History: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  15. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Pointer Sisters – Break Out". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
  16. ↑ "American album certifications – Pointer Sisters – Break Out". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
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