The Pointer Sisters - So Excited! (Expanded Edition) (1982/2017)

Sandwiched in between the heavy hitting Black and White and Break Out LPs, the Pointer Sisters' 1982 So Excited effort may not have managed the Top Ten, but impacted the scene nevertheless, as the group took three singles into charts that year. The opening, and best remembered track from the set, "I'm So Excited," delivered a punch-drunk, rapid fire snap straight into the dance clubs, following the marvelous, mid tempo swing song "American Music" up the charts with a combination of urgent beats and sassy harmony that fall. And, while these songs, along with chart mate "If You Wanna Get Back Your Lady" certainly merit their successes, there are several other moments on the album which actually prove more interesting. The Sue Shifrin penned "See How the Love Goes," which is hauntingly reminiscent of Peter Frampton's "Show me the Way," emerged a gorgeously melancholy melody that hovered somewhere between ballad and smooth groove and showcased Anita Pointer's lead vocals perfectly, while the sisters turned in a surprising cover of Prince's "I Feel for You" two years before Chaka Khan recorded what has become the definitive version. While it's true that the songs on So Excited pale markedly in comparison to the best of the Pointer Sisters' remarkable oeuvre, there are still plenty of unexpected guitar solos and heavy harmonies to snap heads to attention. Even in an off year, the group found themselves happily ensconced in the Top Twenty. That's no small feat.