Dennis Brown collections are a dime a dozen, and it's wise to purchase carefully. Once called the Crown Prince of Reggae, he shared with
Gregory Isaacs the title of Most Popular Reggae Singer Since Bob Marley throughout the '80s and into the '90s, and like
Isaacs, he has suffered somewhat from overexposure and the indiscriminate release of mediocre material. The lackluster cover art and lack of new songs (most of the tracks on this album have shown up previously, in different performances, on the Saxon label) make
Love's Got a Hold on You look, at first glance, like just another generic compilation; but don't be fooled, these are excellent versions of some of the best material from
Brown's later period. A fine backing band led by
Dalton Browne delivers rhythms that alternate between classic dancehall ("Cold Hearted Fools," "Give Me All You've Got") and forward-looking, hip-hop-inflected funk ("Live It Up," "Love's Got a Hold on You"), and
Brown himself is sounding great, even if his voice is a little bit roughened with age. There are two combination tracks: an excellent one with DJ
Chukki Starr and singer
Vicki and a less-compelling one with
Papa San. Highly recommended overall.