Dreaming

Gregory Isaacs proved time and again that the quality of his work had become dependent on the strength and inspiration of his producer, and who better to coax the best from the singer, than Alvin Ranglin, the man responsible for his first number one hit all those years ago. Of course, the producer's style had changed from those days of yore, but even with a more ragga-fied sound, Ranglin retained an easygoing atmosphere, a bit of a ramble down the road with a spring in his step quality, that was matched by Isaacs' own coolly relaxed delivery. The danger was that the singer would slide from relaxed into lackadaisical, but Ranglin obviously cracked the whip to keep him alert. So, true to the title, the pair deliver up a solid set of songs that indeed swing from dreamy — "Please Don't Disturb" and the title track, both gently rocking gems underlined by powerful beats — to dancehall fueled numbers like "Don't Dis the Dancehall." As to be expected, several older songs are resurrected and restyled, including a positively chirpy "Why Keep Me Waiting," while other standouts include the dancehall driven "Men of Temptation," the cautionary "A.I.D.S." and the rudeboy tale "Tan So Back." All find Isaacs back on form, with an album worthy of his reputation.