Round 5 Machines

[rayge]

A Eddie Floyd - Big Bird



B The Pointer Sisters – Automatic

[Deleted]

Had high hopes for this theme..They have yet to be met..I'll come back to this..


Edit: Ugh..Used my one per round abstain already, so an unenthusiastic Vote for B

[Mr. FOLLARD]

B drove me to murderous depths when I heard it in the 80s, it was the sound of sticky shitty nightclubs and fluorescent cocktails. It sounds pretty good now!

A is an absolute monster jam, tho', a real earthquake, and I would be LIVING A LIE if I didn't vote for it

A

[Deleted]

Big fan of both, but I like B better today.

[Deleted]

A is one of the greatest things Stax did. Needless to say it puts most of the selections we've had in that category to shame. With its hard hitting instrumentation and rising levels of excitement , it is an examplar of everything that is great about 60s soul.
I've always liked B too, which is infectious and has hooks aplenty. But it's not aiming for the stars like A.

A

[toomanyhatz]

Yeah, B sounds pretty good to me now considering it's loaded with sounds that often rub me the wrong way. I think there's a rhythmic suppleness to it that makes it work.

I'm not quite as enthusiastic about A as the lads above are - the song itself is honestly a bit flat - but there is real excitement in the way it crescendos.

Close, and I almost went against type by voting for B, but I can't quite do it...

[Deleted]

I enjoyed the Pointer Sisters enough at the time. No, more than that, enjoyed a lot of their tracks. Out of idle curiosity I see that the current line up is Ruth (her of the deep vocals), Ruth's daughter, and Ruth's granddaughter. Keeping those harmonies then). And I totally get the lyrics about being insensible when faced with your crush. The lyrics to A are .. dumb.

A, however, makes full use of the Stax music machine. Can't argue with it.

[rayge]

A is suffering from Stax horn disease, but fortunately it's not terminal, and the rock instruments are more to the fore. Song's a bit dull - really, the crescendo is the only thing it's got going for it, and then they fucking fade it. Nah, this won't do really

B unlike everyone else, I've never been to a club or a disco in any decade, let alone the ’80s, so this doesn't ring any bells with me. Sounds Chic-ish, but the vocals aren't a patch on Sister Sledge, and the more it goes on (and it does go on, rather) the less like Nard and Niles, and the more like a me-too, it sounds. It's nice to hear a contralto take the lead in a girl group, though, so, with the minimum enthusiasm, and because I'm not going to abstain unless it's two great tracks (as if...)

b

[osgood]

A could have been on my Stax list had it passed through my mind. I find it wonderful and having a big dose of that special something that makes me love classic Stax. B had no chance in any case. Some nice sounds but much less my thing.

A

[DarknessFish]

About time we had more Stax... Doesn't feel much of a song to me, it's ok but very standard.

B is one of those ubiquitous 80s tracks that have burned deep into the public consciousness, but I had no idea it was by The Pointer Sisters, that lead vocal doesn't sound female at all. It's pretty annoying, but more of a song than A. Feels well constructed, though possibly constructed by a committee of 80s sinister music moguls.

B

[oleandermedian]

Like both and have to vote

A

[fonz]

b