SPIN CONTROL

By David E. Thigpen

Not long ago, it was difficult to overstate Bobby Brown's influence on black pop music. In the mid-1980s he was a teenage star in the bubblegum-soul quintet New Edition, which became the blueprint for dozens of harmony groups, including Boyz 2 Men. On his own in the late '80s, he became even more innovative with Don't Be Cruel, a small masterpiece that helped create new jack swing--a commercially potent rap-R. and B. hybrid that still echoes in the work of Mary J. Blige and R. Kelly.

Since then, largely through his own doing, Brown has become better known as a volatile tabloid spectacle--throwing punches on disco floors and inexplicably vanishing from New Edition's reunion tour. There have also been frequent rumors of turbulent relations with his wife, pop queen Whitney Houston, in which Brown is usually cast as the heavy.

Unfortunately, Brown's new solo album, Forever, is unlikely to shift attention back to his music, mainly because it's simply a bore. Starting with the cliched title, Brown seems to see the record as an opportunity for image rehabilitation, not a chance to recapture some of his old musical magic. He devotes nearly half the 11 songs to crooning about home and family. Inspiring subjects to be sure, but Brown takes them beyond heartwarming into a realm only a spin doctor would love. She's All I Need is a heavy-handed affirmation of fidelity. The capper, though, has to be Sunday Morning: "I go to church and thank the Lord for another day/ When the service is over, I spend a little time with my family." Someone should tell Brown that there's a better way to escape tabloid hell and silence the naysayers: Make a good album.

--By David E. Thigpen