Gregory Isaacs Open the Door

• Words: Luciana Lopez
• Label: RAS-Sanctuary
• XLR8R Rating: /10

Isaacs helped pioneer the lover's rock genre, and it's no surprise that this album-his latest in a discography that's much longer than this review--has him crooning in more of the R&B-inflected reggae style that was popular in the '70s and '80s. Isaacs, whose been performing since his teens in late 1960s Jamaica, gives songs like "She's Gone," with its great horns, and "Never Knew Love" the kind of sadness that doesn't stop you nodding along. Though this isn't the most innovative reggae album out these days, Isaacs still has a voice that can walk between love and lovelessness with heartbreaking ease.