Chris Brown may not be a big name in India, but he surely rings a bell at least for his close association to Rihanna as her current beau. Otherwise, Brown is an R&B singer and a talented one at that.

With his 2007 end album the immensely successful ‘Exclusive’ he was prompted to release ‘Exclusive’ as a re – release in ‘Exclusive – The Forever Edition’ that contains four additional bonus tracks and a 30-minute tour clip DVD disc.

Considering just how lengthy the album is, it would be too much to get down to the basics of all 20 tracks. Picking the highlights you have Forever the lead-off single from The Forever Edition, as Brown works with a computerized tinge to his vocals. It has a pulsating feel and a great dance groove with a very catchy hook too. Included in the bonus tracks section is a remix of Picture Perfect featuring hip-hop icon Bow Wow.

A lot of themes on his tracks are 'lovey dovey'. I Wanna Be lets you turn the lights down low to whisper sweet nothings to your girl about being your girl’s soldier. Damage is referring to a destroyed love relationship. Take You Down though slightly loud is sexy and cheek to cheek stuff. The slightly guitar based acoustic With You is balladic at Brown’s best.

There are many good collaborations here one of them is with Keri Hilson on Super Human. It’s an exciting track and showcases both Brown’s and Hilson’s vocals in complete unison in a soppy ballad. Down featuring Kanye West has a slow rock and roll feel to it, with a catchy hook that grows on you. The guitars in the background sound pretty good. If you’ve liked Beyonce, Usher you’re sure to groove to this album.

Rating: *****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira