The Pointer Sisters - 20th Century Masters: The Best Of The Pointer Sisters (2004)

Given the diversity of songs recorded and released by the Pointer Sisters over the years, finding a well-rounded greatest-hits package isn't all that easy. The group's Millennium Collection isn't definitive by any stretch of the imagination, missing such obvious hits as "I'm So Excited," yet it does offer a good variety of Pointer Sisters highlights. It covers the early, eclectic years: the Sisters' first hit, "Yes We Can Can"; the bluesy "Wang Dang Doodle"; their Grammy-winning country hit, "Fairytale"; the epic funkfests "How Long (Betcha' Got a Chick on the Side)" and "Going Down Slowly"; and the Car Wash soundtrack inclusion "You Gotta Believe." In the wake of these early- to late-'70s hits, Bonnie Pointer went solo, and her two sizable hits from that stint are included here: "Free Me from My Freedom/Tie Me to a Tree (Handcuff Me)" and the 12" version of "Heaven Must Have Sent You," both songs from her self-titled 1978 Motown album and both very effectively disco-styled barnburners. This Millennium Collection also includes a few, and only a few, of the Pointer Sisters' early-'80s pop smashes: "He's So Shy," "Jump (For My Love)," and "Slow Hand." And that's all, a total of 11 songs, none of them shabby at all. As aforementioned, however, there's a lot missing here. If this were to be -- or is -- the only Pointer Sisters CD in your collection, you're missing out on a lot of other great music by the ladies. You'd be better off with a double-disc collection, but the benefit of these Millennium Collections is their availability and their relatively low price tag. In any event, you certainly aren't being shortchanged with this collection. It's not ideal, granted, but it's still damn appealing, and your life would be better off with it than without it.