to listen or purchase
If Karyn Allen were an insurance agent, she could easily sell honesty as the company's best policy. Fortunately for soul music fans, Allen as a singer/songwriter is all about honesty. The intro for her debut The Karyn Allen Experience says it all as she iterates: "The entire album seems like a story." Whether relaying her own story or someone else's, Allyn's brutally honest lyrics reveal a wide open book. And there are plenty of emotions that she lays out for the listener to experience.
If Karyn Allen were an insurance agent, she could easily sell honesty as the company's best policy. Fortunately for soul music fans, Allen as a singer/songwriter is all about honesty. The intro for her debut The Karyn Allen Experience says it all as she iterates: "The entire album seems like a story." Whether relaying her own story or someone else's, Allyn's brutally honest lyrics reveal a wide open book. And there are plenty of emotions that she lays out for the listener to experience.
The Karyn Allyn Experience also offers wall-to-wall classic soul sensibility seamlessly blended with a contemporary R&B flavor. Allyn's influences like Maze and Patti LaBelle are impressively captured by her producer - the appropriately named Soulman Mathematix. With lyrics that cut to the quick and music with a soulful substance, The Karyn Allen Experience absolutely sells the urban music fan on a solid insurance policy.
Notable Tracks: Forever Lover, Joyride, So Tired, It's Over, The Way Life Goes
Vocals: 3.5 stars
Lyrics: 3.5 stars
Music: 3.5 stars
Production: 3.0 stars
SoulTracks Call: Highly Recommended
By Peggy Oliver