Bonnie Pointer : Expanded Edition

For Bonnie Pointer'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" releases; it gets redundant on LPs. [The 2012 reissue on BBR adds a handful of extended mixes and alternate versions, along with lengthy liner notes.] ~ Andrew Hamilton|