There’s a popular cliché that posits rats, cockroaches and Cher as the only three life forms capable of surviving an apocalypse, but if the last twenty years have been any indication, Bobby Brown needs to be added to the list. As mesmerizing as he is mercurial, the 43-year-old Boston native and Grammy-Award-winner and former teen idol has succeeded in becoming a household name, thanks to his tenure with New Edition, those 80s and 90s mega-hits and the infamous history of alcohol and drug abuse, which contributed to creating one of music’s most scintillating and self-destructive couples this side of K-Ci Hailey and Mary J. Blige. Even as his life spiraled out of control and reduced him to a crude caricature of ‘the pop life,’ Mr. Brown’s dedication to sobriety and reclaiming his “King of R&B” title never wavered, which is why he’s been clean for over seven years and finally able to end a 15-year recording hiatus with his fifth solo CD, The Masterpiece.

Whether you’re a curious and casual fan of Bobby or a ride-or-die supporter, anyone listening to the ten tracks will hear the authenticity and the ambitiousness that Mr. Brown pours into the project. Not only did he executive-produce and co-write all but one of the selections, he explores deeper and more daring topics than ‘Boy-Meets-Girl:’ there’s synth-laden anti-paparazzi manifesto “Set Me Free” and a fiercely funky ode to friends and family, “Can’t Give Up,” which feels like a sequel to the 1989 smash “My Prerogative”…..(click here to read the full-length review at soultracks.com)