::ALBUM REVIEW::

One good listen to the pure vocals of Tonya Baker, of Dayton, Ohio, and the ears should ring with acceptance over her irresistible charm and her skillful delivery. Of course, newcomers always are judged with weightier portions of toughness due to their unpredictability. But Tonya Baker makes all the right moves on her latest musical offering, "Since He Came In"; her sophomore independent project. But make no mistake about it - she is far from an amateur. She has shared the stage with gospel greats including Dorinda Clark-Cole, Byron Cage and Israel Houghton, and she has even had her material recorded by Tonex' on his "Out The Box" collection. That's enough right there to produce a considerable amount of confidence. But if you need a little more, listen to her bold confidence, impressive emotion and even her testimony tucked within her youthful vocals, which bears an obvious similarities to Kim Burrell, Yolanda Adams and CeCe Winans. Might sound hard to merge those styles together, but Baker succeeds in mending the best of all three female vocalists and identifies her own craft with a fresh, careful brand of contemporary R&B and calming praise-and-worship-like choruses.

Stretching eighteen cuts over a lengthy hour and nineteen minute presentation is a very tough bone to chew, especially since a single compact disc cannot stretch any further than that. So the musical adventure may be a bit too risky for newborns to her ministry. But the blessing of this effort can be traced in the various producers including Baker herself, Christopher Surratt, Derek Clark and Hamilton Hardin, whom laid down their unique strengths upon the material. This creates an enjoyable offering to us a project that shifts significant moods and styles from track to track. The album opens up with "Glorious"; a catchy worship number which contains familiar keyboard sounds resembling a MIDI production and Baker's provoking worship leading. For this to be a studio project, you seriously feel the warmth of her delivery and completely overwhelms the simplicity of the keyboard programming from Corrie Pate. "Where Would I Be" provides a infectious jam session on Baker's hymnal arrangement of "Father I Stretch". Towards the end, Baker fades out and the instrumentation takes over and churns out memorable and compelling grooves.

The bulk of the songs displayed here fall into the slow-tempo department while serving immediate emphasis on intimate worship. So while the album opens with just a few frenetic jams, the next set is a worshipper's dream come true. "Holy Is The Lord" and "Healing Is Here", both penned by Baker, are clean studio productions that reveal warm tunes that should gain the attention of praise-and-worship teams. Moods shift once again with urban R&B and neo-soulish hip-hop getting the best hand of the album's originality. "Love You Like Him" gives off that Aaliyah/Tweet vibe (props should be sent to their producer, Missy Elliot) set to ol' skool guitar plunks and finds Baker giving off the perfect performance for her crossover attempt. Derek Clark gives off a production performance on "Hold On" that bears crystal clear similarities to J. Moss on top of a sing-a-long melody, while Baker's engaging voice along with her own supply of background vocals is bold enough to stick out with attention. "Special Friend" and "Raise A Praise" finishes out the remainder course of urban cuts. Yet located in the midst of the rhythm-laden cuts, you can find a few slow-burners to help bring a strong quality of balance to the set. The most successful one is "You Are"; a six-minute track featuring Corrie Pate's excellent piano touches overlaying Baker's well-seasoned vocals. Because of the dominance of slow and mid-tempo songs available, this project feels a bit sluggish in places. You almost feel as if the songs are interwoven together like a lengthy medley, but it's easy to trace down the obvious highlights.

Of all of the creative perks this album offers, props goes to the encouraging medley of "He'll Withhold/Oh, You Said". A theatric drama resembling a gospel stageplay finds Baker having a phone conversation with a depressed friend. Yet so much humanness is displayed here and finds the reality of every-day living tucked in a short two minutes. Her exhortations continues with gospel-like musical structures, set to a mid-tempo drum. While the lyrics are quite repetitive and may spark inner conversations of hitting the next track, the song promises to uplift and encourage the weary in spirit.

In closing, a project of this caliber of quality and excellence should not be overlooked - even though the unfamiliarity of the artist name may cause some to turn both cheeks. But it is most certainly true that one careful listen of this project is sure to break through the walls of skeptics. And this is not an opinion only drawn on her vocal chops, but well-crafted production, excellent songwriting and musicianship leads the way for a notable collection of intimate songs worth experiencing.