Inevitably, when an artist is churning out up to half a dozen albums a year, quality is in for a beating. The releases between 1986 (post-
Brown Sugar) and 1993 was pretty dire, with
Brown slamming out album after album filled with mediocre tracks, MOR excess, and pop so light it happily floated off into welcome oblivion. Interestingly enough, during this same time the singer was also recording a series of seminal dancehall singles paired with such DJ talent as
Shabba Ranks,
Bounty Killer, and Tiger, while also slinging out crucial duets with the likes of
Cocoa Tea and, most spectacularly,
Gregory Isaacs. Leave it to producer Niney Holness to come up with the obvious solution -- take a solo
Brown into the studio and hand him dancehall arrangements of songs to work with. With a tight band led by the
Sly & Robbie rhythm section, the music is a happy meeting between phat basslines, synthetic beats, live guitar, and understated keyboards. The songs could have been mere fluff and pop fodder in other hands, but
the Observer turns them into crucial listening; check out the phenomenal cover of
the Supremes' "My World Is Empty Without You" to hear a pop lite hit suddenly transformed into roots with soul. For the dancehall fans, there's the juttering "If I Gave My Love" and the most amazing version of the old '60s hit "Groovin'," which simply has to be heard to be believed. Between these two musical poles, the rest of Cosmic Forces nods towards the dancefloor via the beats, while the songs themselves shimmer from crystalline pop to rootsy sufferer's songs. All in all, a welcome return to greatness from one of Jamaica's most distinguished singers.