Bonafide (Maxi Priest album)

Bonafide is the fourth studio album by the English pop/reggae singer Maxi Priest. It was released in 1990 by Charisma Records. The album peaked at number 47 on the Billboard 200 in the United States, while its biggest hit, "Close to You", was a smash, peaking at number one that year.

Three other singles were issued: "Human Work of Art" ("Close to You"'s predecessor, which did not chart in the US), "Just a Little Bit Longer" (a minor hit at 62) and "Space in My Heart" (failed to chart). However, the success of "Close to You" (a gold single on 30 October 1990) drove the album to gold status, which it received on 30 January 1991 by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Critical reception
The AllMusic review by Ron Wynn stated: "Priest scored a #1 pop hit with 'Close to You' from this album, which is more pop/R&B with a reggae touch than it is real reggae." The Los Angeles Times wrote that the album "avoids the scattershot syndrome that often afflicts projects with multiple producers." The Milwaukee Sentinel called Bonafide a "tour de force" and "smooth, seductive, stylistic and very, very addictive."

Personnel

 * Maxi Priest – vocals, executive producer
 * Cleveland "Clevie" Browne – drums, percussion
 * Luís Jardim, Erskine Thompson – percussion
 * Peter D. Rose – keyboards, drums, percussion, drum programming
 * Sly Dunbar – drums, percussion, drum programming
 * Leo Grant – keyboards
 * Nellee Hooper – drums, percussion
 * Robert Lyn – bass, keyboards
 * Carlton Ogilvie – keyboards, drum programming
 * Martin Phillipps – keyboards
 * Dennis Rollins – trumpet
 * Robbie Shakespeare – bass
 * Handel Tucker – keyboards, drum programming
 * Stanley Andrews – guitars
 * Danny Browne – guitars, piano
 * Margo Sagov – backing vocals