Bonnie Pointer Albums (3)
'Bonnie Pointer (Purple Album)'
Release Date 1/1/1980
Tracks 7
Label Motown
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The second solo Motown LP from Bonnie, the cutest Pointer Sister, lacked imagination. Producer Jeffrey Bowen (her husband) only brought one original song "Deep Inside My Soul" to the session, while the rest are remakes of popular Motown recordings. Pointer's version of "I Can't Help Myself" features a clavinet, and a more complex rhythm arrangement than the Four Tops' version. Dressing classics like "Nowhere to Run," "Jimmy Mack," and "Come See About Me" with synthesizers and polyrhythms is okay for a couple of songs, but not an entire album. For a first effort it did well to nest at #63 on Billboard's Pop Album chart in 1979. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide
'Bonnie Pointer (Red Album)'
Release Date 1/1/1978
Tracks 8
Label Motown
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
For Bonnie's first LP on Motown, producer/hubby Jeffery Bowen brought some new songs to the sessions this time. The most exciting, "Free Me from My Freedom," has a perky rhythm that's accented by a bubbly bass. Zesty backing voices matched Pointer's stinging vocal. However, the anti-women's-lib lyrics didn't go over well in the '70s. She displays softness on "My Everything," a classy ballad that isn't her forte. And she's back in her element on the disco-arranged "Heaven Must Have Sent You," but it doesn't get interesting until she starts growling. Bowen recycles the formula for "I Can't Help Myself" and "Jimmy Mack," but neither compares to the original, though the latter funks hard near the fade. Arresting productions and arrangements set off "I Love to Sing to You" and "More and More"; the midtempo, flamenco-flavored love songs are tastefully done. Smokey Robinson's "When I'm Gone" works better than the other Motown oldies. Bowen's sound worked better on singles and 12-inches; it gets redundant on LPs. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide
