Contact (Pointer Sisters album)

Contact
Studio album by the Pointer Sisters
Released	July 1, 1985
Recorded	1984–1985
Studio	Studio 55, Los Angeles Starke Lake Studios, Ocoee, Florida Clinton Recording Studios, New York City RAK Studios, London
Genre	R&B [1]
Label	RCA Records
Producer	Richard Perry
The Pointer Sisters chronology
Break Out (1983) Contact (1985) Hot Together (1986)
Singles from Contact
"Dare Me" Released: June 1985 "Freedom" Released: 1985 "Twist My Arm" Released: 1985 "Back in My Arms" Released: 1986

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Sounds	[2]

Contact is the eleventh studio album by the American vocal group the Pointer Sisters, released in 1985 by RCA Records. Continuing the glossy electronic pop/R&B sound established for the group by producer Richard Perry with Break Out in 1983, Contact yielded two hit singles: "Dare Me" and "Freedom". The Latin-inflected dance song "Dare Me", with its video showing the sisters as male boxing managers, rose to number 11 on the US pop chart, and hit number 17 in the UK. The atmospheric "Freedom" missed the Top 40 at number 59 but rose to number 25 on the R&B chart in January 1986. ^[1]

History

Upon its release, Contact quickly became the Pointer Sisters' second-most successful album to that date; it was certified Platinum, denoting U.S. sales of over one million, and it helped the trio win an American Music Award for "Favorite Video Group" in 1986. Contact yielded U.S. chart hits with the singles "Dare Me" (Hot 100 number 11, UK number 17), "Freedom" and "Twist My Arm." Another song, "Back in My Arms", was released as a single and video in the UK.

A track from the Contact sessions, titled "Just a Little Closer", was released on the We Are the World charity compilation album in 1985.

Contact was remastered and issued on CD with bonus tracks in 2011 by Big Break Records.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Twist My Arm"	Andy Goldmark Bruce Roberts	4:25
2.	"Hey You"	Richard Page Steve George John Lang	3:58
3.	"Pound, Pound, Pound"	Roberts Goldmark	4:04
4.	"Back in My Arms"	Page George Lang Pat Mastelotto	4:39
5.	"Burn Down the Night"	Page George Lang Mastelotto	3:09
6.	"Bodies and Souls"	Mark Goldenberg	3:49
7.	"Contact"	Robbie Nevil Brock Walsh	4:21
8.	"Dare Me"	Sam Lorber David Innis	4:06
9.	"Freedom"	David McHugh	6:21

2011 remastered bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"I'll Be There"	Bob Etoll	3:34
11.	"Dare Me" (12-inch dance mix)		6:17
12.	"Twist My Arm" (12-inch dance mix)		5:53
13.	"Back in My Arms" (12-inch dance mix)		6:37
14.	"Dare Me" (single version)		3:43
15.	"Freedom" (single version)		4:21
16.	"Twist My Arm" (single version)		4:09
17.	"Dare Me" (instrumental)		4:23

Personnel

The Pointer Sisters

• Anita Pointer – lead vocals (1, 5, 9), backing vocals
• June Pointer – lead vocals (3, 6, 8), backing vocals
• Ruth Pointer – lead vocals (2, 4, 7), backing vocals

Musicians

• Andy Goldmark – synthesizers (1, 3), drum machine programming (1, 3), arrangements (1, 3), acoustic piano (3)
• Bruce Roberts – synthesizers (1), drum machine programming (1, 3), arrangements (1, 3)
• Paul Fox – additional synthesizers (1, 2, 4, 9), E-mu Emulator II (5, 8)
• Howie Rice – arrangements (1), additional synthesizers (1, 2, 4, 7, 9), guitars (1, 3, 8), synthesizers (3, 6, 8), handclaps (3), drum machine programming (8, 9), Minimoog (9)
• Steve George – keyboards (2, 4, 5), synthesizers (2, 4), arrangements (2, 4, 5), synth bass (5)
• Steve Mitchell – additional synthesizers (2, 7), Hammond B3 organ (3, 5), handclaps (3), Oberheim DMX programming (6), synthesizers (8), drum machine programming (8)
• Jeff Lorber – synth bass (3), synthesizers (9), guitars (9), drum machine programming (9)
• Mark Goldenberg – acoustic piano (6), synthesizers (6), guitars (6), drum machine programming (6), arrangements (6)
• Tommy Faragher – keyboards (7), synthesizers (7)
• Steve Farris – guitars (2)
• Michael Landau – guitars (4)
• Robbie Nevil – guitars (7), drum machine programming (7), arrangements (7)
• Peter Rafelson – guitars (8)
• Nathan East – bass (1, 2)
• Neil Stubenhaus – bass (4)
• Jennifer Condos – bass (6)
• Welton Gite – bass (8)
• Pat Mastelotto – drum machine programming (2, 4, 5), drums (4, 5)
• Harry Stinson – drum machine programming (6)
• Brock Walsh – drum machine programming (7), arrangements (7)
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion (1, 4−9)
• Terral "Terry" Santiel – percussion (1, 3, 5, 6)
• Debra Dobkin – percussion (6)
• Larry Williams – saxophones (5)
• Phil Kenzie – saxophone (6)
• Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone (5)
• Gary Grant – trumpet (5)
• Jerry Hey – trumpet (5), horn arrangements (5)
• Paul Buckmaster – string arrangements and conductor (2, 4)
• Richard Page – arrangements (2, 4, 5)

Production

• Producer – Richard Perry
• Associate producers – Andy Goldmark (tracks 1 & 3); Howie Rice (track 1); Bruce Roberts (tracks 1 & 3); Steve George (tracks 2 & 4); Richard Page (tracks 2, 4 & 5); Mark Goldenberg (track 6); Robbie Nevil (track 7); Brock Walsh (track 7).
• Production manager – James C. Tract
• Production coordinator – Bradford Rosenberg
• Recording engineer – Michael Brooks
• Additional engineers – Clif Jones, Glen Holguin, Alex Schmoll, Gary Skardina and Don Smith.
• Assistant engineers – David Dubow, Glen Holguin, Julie Last, Ray Leonard, Bob Loftus, Kraig Miller, Alex Schmoll and Delilah Seroussi.
• Basic track engineering – Paul Rey (track 2); Ian Eales (tracks 4 & 5); Ernie Sheesley (track 7).
• Remix engineer – Don Smith
• Mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Precision Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
• Art direction and design by John Kosh and Ron Larson
• Photography by Randee St. Nicholas

Charts

Chart performance for Contact

Chart (1985)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [3]	17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [4]	37
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [5]	49
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [6]	36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [7]	6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [8]	19
UK Albums (OCC) [9]	34
US Billboard 200 [10]	25
US Billboard Top Black Albums [11]	11

References

1. Hanson, Amy. Contact review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-11-15.
2. Waller, Johnny (August 3, 1985). "Albums". Sounds . p. 20.
3. 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.
4. "Dutchcharts.nl – Pointer Sisters – Contact" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
5. "Offiziellecharts.de – Pointer Sisters – Contact" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
6. "Charts.nz – Pointer Sisters – Contact". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
7. "Swedishcharts.com – Pointer Sisters – Contact". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
8. "Swisscharts.com – Pointer Sisters – Contact". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
9. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
10. "The Pointer Sisters Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard . Retrieved November 29, 2022.
11. "The Pointer Sisters Chart History: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard . Retrieved November 29, 2022.

External links

• Contact at Discogs (list of releases)