Bonnie Pointer Passes Away at 69

[GOS]

Very talented woman....RIP!

Bonnie Pointer

 

[4-earredwonder]

R.I.P. Bonnie

1950 ~ 2020

 

[Juggsnelson]

Great voice. Her first solo LP on Motown from 1978 is a personal favorite.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

 

[humprof]

I know Quad Studios in Nashville has only an oblique--well, literally nominal--connection to quadraphonic recording. (See the fine print of this story--and this one.) And as far as I know, Blue Thumb didn't release anything in quad, apart from Striking it Rich by Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks. But has anyone heard this "7-inch Cine Reel" version of the Pointer Sisters' That's a Plenty (recorded in part at Quad Studios)? I don't entirely understand "4-channel stereo."

 

[Snood]

 

[atrocity]

But has anyone heard this "7-inch Cine Reel" version of the Pointer Sisters' That's a Plenty (recorded in part at Quad Studios)? I don't entirely understand "4-channel stereo."

I assume that's just the standard 4-track stereo (two sides of standard 2-channel stereo) pre-recorded tape, which I have.

Pre-recorded reels continued to be referred to as "4-track" up until the end, presumably thanks to the multiple formats that were around in the early days (mono, 2-track, 4-track, staggered heads and probably something else I'm forgetting).

I spent much of the summer of 1974 going to a local record store that had for some reason apparently bought up a warehouse of reels, which they were selling for 75 cents each or two for a buck. I remember one of them making a big deal out of being for either stacked or staggered heads (46 years later, I can't remember!). I didn't buy it, partly because I didn't know the artist and partly because they were making such a big deal out of the format on the package that I wasn't sure if my standard 4-track Sony deck could play it.

 

[humprof]

I assume that's just the standard 4-track stereo (two sides of standard 2-channel stereo) pre-recorded tape, which I have.

Pre-recorded reels continued to be referred to as "4-track" up until the end, presumably thanks to the multiple formats that were around in the early days (mono, 2-track, 4-track, staggered heads and probably something else I'm forgetting).

I spent much of the summer of 1974 going to a local record store that had for some reason apparently bought up a warehouse of reels, which they were selling for 75 cents each or two for a buck. I remember one of them making a big deal out of being for either stacked or staggered heads (46 years later, I can't remember!). I didn't buy it, partly because I didn't know the artist and partly because they were making such a big deal out of the format on the package that I wasn't sure if my standard 4-track Sony deck could play it.

Like you, I figured that "4-track stereo" was just...stereo. The complicating factor is the "cine reel" thing, which Google isn't helping me clarify definitively. Does that just mean it's a bigger-than-usual (i.e., cine-size) reel? My wishful thinking wants to confuse it with 4-track optical soundtracks--like some of those old Bernard Herrmann scores...

 

[atrocity]

Like you, I figured that "4-track stereo" was just...stereo. The complicating factor is the "cine reel" thing, which Google isn't helping me clarify definitively. Does that just mean it's a bigger-than-usual (i.e., cine-size) reel? My wishful thinking wants to confuse it with 4-track optical soundtracks--like some of those old Bernard Herrmann scores...

When I first cataloged some reels on Discogs, I was thrown by that as well. For whatever reason, they just use that terminology, maybe to differentiate it from big NAB hubs or something. I suppose "cine" is technically accurate in the sense that the center hole thingy (what IS that called?) on a standard consumer reel is identical to what was used for standard 8mm movie film. Super-8 used a larger hole.

 

[humprof]

It's a shame the Pointers didn't get to have any of those early albums (re-)mixed for quad.

Really nice new piece by Tammy Kernodle on NPR Music, about their influence and continued relevance:
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/9628...sters-genre-busting-pioneers-of-message-music
Also found this old piece from Mix magazine on the recording of "Yes We Can Can":
https://www.mixonline.com/recording/classic-tracks-pointer-sisters-yes-we-can-can-365603