All Things Deep - Reviews - Jocelyn Brown: Unreleased

Jocelyn Brown - Unreleased

Jocelyn Brown is one of the most recorded voices in the history of soulful dance music, gracing such gems as "Moment Of My Life," "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "It's Alright I Feel It," and "Take Some Time Out For Love." But with the exception of "Somebody Else's Guy," all her work was released by studio-based entities that embraced anonymity, leaving Brown in the unenviable position of having millions of people recognize her voice but not her name.

Brown has taken matters into her own hands with Unreleased, only the second album to bear her name, and the first since 1984. The debut release for the Digisoul label, Unreleased presents Brown in fine form over 14 cuts recorded over a period of time that dates back to 1995.

Most of the album adopts a modern soul approach, as on the bouncy "Forever" and "Find Someone To Love," which should appeal strongly to fans of UK-styled soul. "Real Thing," with its catchy hook and Tom Browne-styled horns, seems a likely candidate for single release.

Ballads are not Brown's calling card, but she saves her most nuanced performances for "I Will Wait For You" and "Not Yet," while "It's You" is an acoustic affair that may remind some of India Arie.

Mindful that dedicated dancers have formed the backbone of her success, the stomping house number "I Love You" returns Brown to her dance roots. Other danceable uptempo songs include "Vacation Time" and "Sweet Fine Baby," although the latter is somewhat marred by a distracting male rap/spoken word piece.

Although longtime listeners may be thrown off by the direction of the album, Unreleased is a welcome addition for contemporary soul lovers that will hopefully widen Brown's fan base beyond hardcore club aficionados.