to listen or purchase
In a year that has brought a boatload of fine debut albums by singer/songwriters, SolTrain is yet another pleasant surprise. While the disc is mostly secular with modern production, it has an underlying spirituality that is most explicit on the Gospel cuts "Nearer" and "We Had a Talk," but also runs, in unspoken fashion, throughout the remainder of the disc. Randevyn is a singer whose style still bears the sound of church, and his impressive baritone runs in the ballpark somewhere between Anthony Hamilton and Calvin Richardson.
In a year that has brought a boatload of fine debut albums by singer/songwriters, SolTrain is yet another pleasant surprise. While the disc is mostly secular with modern production, it has an underlying spirituality that is most explicit on the Gospel cuts "Nearer" and "We Had a Talk," but also runs, in unspoken fashion, throughout the remainder of the disc. Randevyn is a singer whose style still bears the sound of church, and his impressive baritone runs in the ballpark somewhere between Anthony Hamilton and Calvin Richardson.
The material on SolTrain is at times somewhat uneven, but Randevyn sings the heck out of even the weaker songs. And when the material clicks, such as on "SupaNatural" and the acoustic soul "Missin You" (produced by SoulTracks favorite P.J. Morton), the disc is a marvelous listen. It's finest moment is "Dear Farah," an understated midtempo cut that is simply one of the best soul songs I've heard this year and should be playing on soul radio everywhere.
SolTrain will be compared by many to Hamilton's Where I'm Comin From - and there are similarities, particularly in Randevyn's singing style - but it bears a more positive, spiritual message and is memorable in its own right. It is also a fine introduction to Randevyn, who could just be the next big from the ATL.
by Chris Rizik