::ALBUM REVIEW::

DeWayne Woods has paid his dues in the music industry for quite some time. After recording with John P. Kee, R&B group Atlantic Star in the mid-nineties and singing with the now-retired Tri-City Singers, Woods has worked up a credible resume' worth blushing over. After a nifty buzz began to form over his hard-to-find independently released "The Poets, The Psalms and the Psalmists", producer Donald Lawrence decided to coach and mentor the young singer and birthed the opportunity of a lifetime on his new label, Quiet Water Entertainment, which works co-dependently with Verity Records. Now comes his time in the spotlight with the recent release of his Verity debut project, "Introducing DeWayne Woods & When Singers Meet". The project is named correctly. Throughout the whole project, it feels as if this is just an introduction without a plot or ending. It's just a prologue of the talent. With twelve tracks all together, "Introducing DeWayne Woods & When Singers Meet" incorporates several of the selections from his independent project with a few flashy productions from several impressive producers.

To top things off, Levi "II" King, Jr's "Strong Tower" builds on the Israel Houghton dynasty with Aaron Lindsey handling the infectious production and leading the band through an onslaught of funky praise-and-worship. The song is very enjoyable, but the thirty-second introduction and the reprising interlude, full of wordy exhortations from Woods, is too lengthy. But what is remarkable about the cut is the stand-out modulations only bridged by quick, unexpected vocal jumps-ins. Very creative and different. PJ Morton's "Let Go" is a luxurious R&B ballad that works well on Woods' convincing vocals and features Morton on background vocals. Woods' ensemble, When Singers Meet, joins in later; giving off that lovely vibe that easily recalls the experience felt on R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly".

But throughout the disc, songs without the right amount of punch and direction alter the enjoyment of the disc. "Made A Way", produced by Myron Butler, sounds totally like something Butler would challenge. But the instrumentation and busy choral vocals tend to drown out Woods' low tenor. When the vamp jumps in, the song's groove transforms into a loose rock/funk outfit and overshadows Woods entirely. Butler also jumps on Robert Searight's "Sunshine" - a cool groove featuring spunky guitar walks and a tempo worthy of replays in the car. Candy West, from Levi, duets with Woods and does a wonderful job complimenting Woods's jazzy slickness. But there is a B-side attitude embracing this cut. For a song that offers much promise and potential, it's difficult to hear how amateurishly arranged this song is. Towards the middle portion of the disc, the album pulls from some of the moments from Woods' debut project, which include "Bid Me To Come", "You Mean The World To Me", "I Wanna Be Where You Are" and Jonathan Nelson's "I Lift My Hands". All of these songs, which are all slow, flow one after another; ultimately creating either an intimate worshipful without a sign of gospel energy or a sluggish, never-ending medley that lacks personality. "I Lift My Hands", probably the strongest of the slow songs, was recorded live and has its shiny moments. But some of the production, especially when the volume picks up, sounds as if the media file was compressed at a lower rate. You can hear an eerie WAV file sound throughout the bulk of the vamp. This should have been acknowledged and corrected before hitting a national release of this caliber. Verity's got the money, don't they?

Even with the jamming inclusion of "God Is" (taken from Donald Lawrence's "Finale': Act Two") closing the set, most observers are going to feel cheated. The album's title really makes sense for this kind of album. It opens up with an introduction and ends with the recent introduction that the majority of the public remembers. Even with a number of producers on board, the project feels unbalanced - overwhelmed with too many slow cuts and not enough powerhouse and stand-out cuts. It's also hard to believe DeWayne Woods is being marketed as a praise-and-worship leader and artist. Verity is calling him the "New Voice in Praise & Worship" (found on the marketing note placed on the outside CD jacket). Why can't they stick to doing gospel and stop following everyone else's journey? There's only a few worship tracks captured here - and already the industry calls Woods a worship artist. The first two songs on the outside CD jacket are even listed out of order - a big "no-no" in the industry. And this project features When Singers Meet in the title and within the project's production, but there are no pictures of them in sight within the linear notes. With Lawrence sitting in the executive seat for this collection, "Introducing DeWayne Woods & When Singers Meet" is an upsetting experience. As revealed before, this album is just an introduction. Listeners need to expect more.