One glance at the album photography in
DeWayne Woods' debut and you'd swear the singer is the next
Stevie Wonder, or at least gospel's own
Tonéx. And while
Woods does sound like
Wonder in the knockout,
PJ Morton-penned first single, "Let Go," the dark shades, flowing locks, and bohemian garb are pure imaging. Truth is,
Introducing DeWayne Woods & When the Singers Meet has more in common with the output of his mentor and label benefactor,
Donald Lawrence, than it does with soul music or
Tonéx's freak alt-gospel experiments. A graduate of the retired
Tri-City Singers,
Woods is as churchy as they come, a commanding and extremely adept choir leader, yet not quite the urban soul man that "Let Go" lets on. Those who buy the album based on that chart-topping single are in for a surprise: the rest of
Introducing is straight-up contemporary gospel -- well-produced, yes, but tending towards slowness and a bit out of character for the young artist/performer. Now that
Woods is a Stellar winner -- for New Artist and Male Vocalist of the Year, no less -- here's hoping the added level of industry attention affords him the opportunity to take more risks. ~ Andree Farias