**** Great Balls of Fire *** Good Vibrations ** Maybe Baby * Running on Empty : Generic Pointers

** THE POINTER SISTERS. “Serious Slammin’.” RCA. Few pop entertainers can surpass the Pointer Sisters in a concert setting, where the irreverent and highly visual trio stops at nothing in its quest to deliver outrageous, fun-filled pop/soul. But that no-holds-barred quality doesn’t quite extend to this album. Most of the dance tracks (“Flirtatious,” “Shut Up and Dance,” “My Life”) sound like formulaic, generic funk and won’t satisfy those in tune to today’s harder, “street” variety offered by producers like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The title cut has serious 12-inch remix potential, but here it stops short of going the full distance. Fetchingly sweet and sensual tunes like “Moonlight Dancing” and “I’m In Love” are more on the money, while the best track is “I Will Be There,” with its love-affirming, anthem-like chorus. The Pointers have inspired several soul divas with crossover aspirations--Patti LaBelle’s 1985 “New Attitude” being just one example--but it’s still been a few years since the group hit on an album you could really get excited about.