Robert Christgau called the album "the latest, the longest and the easiest to find LP from the guys who invented world dance music," writing that "the production has gained depth."[15] Newsday noted that "the rhythms are often derived from the buoyant bop of Haiti's cadance and compas, a major element in Zouk."[17] USA Today deemed Vini Pou "primo zouk," noticing the "gloss of disco and soul."[18]
The New York Times wrote that "the songs step out at a brisk clip, their three-chord harmonies lilting in syncopation like a carousel at full tilt; everywhere, the beat stutters and skips behind ear-catching, perfectly calculated riffs or sounds"; Jon Pareles later listed Vini Pou as the best album of 1988.[19][11] The Washington Post determined that "Zairean guitar licks are offset by American funk and soul horn charts; synth riffs and buoyant vocals harmonies abound, and the dance mixes have a distinctly disco/Euro-pop sheen."[20]
AllMusic labeled the album "one of their weaker efforts."[14] MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide stated that "the balance between raw rhythm and studio polish is at its apex."[9]
