Keep On It

by Alex HendersonIn the 1980s, Starpoint didn't hesitate to be derivative. If Slave and Aurra were hot in the early '80s, Starpoint could emulate that type of sound. But if Prince and his Minneapolis colleagues were ruling the R&B charts in the mid-'80s, the East Coast band could jump on that bandwagon and embrace the Minneapolis sound. So, not surprisingly, R&B critics tended to dismiss Starpoint as bandwagon jumpers. But while Starpoint was never innovative -- its members were followers, not leaders -- the band could be enjoyable at times. If you can get past its derivative nature, Keep on It is a decent, if unspectacular, listen. The title song is a blatant rip-off of Lakeside, but it's also an infectious rip-off of Lakeside. And on other up-tempo dance-funk numbers such as "I Want You Closer" and "I Just Want to Be Your Lover," Starpoint milks the Slave/Aurra groove for all its worth -- and it does so with catchy results. The lyrics tend to be obvious and formulaic; this LP isn't shy about resorting to every early-'80s funk and disco cliché imaginable. Nonetheless, Keep on It isn't a bad record. In fact, its best tracks have a way of making listeners tap their feet even while they're complaining about Starpoint's lack of originality.