Kristina Train - Spilt Milk (2009)

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Kristina Train - Spilt Milk (2009)

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Kristina Train was born in New York City but grew up singing in church choirs in Savannah, GA, home to many great soul and pop singers over the years. Train sang in soul bands while still a teenager and got a development deal with Blue Note when she was 19. Seven years later she went to London to cut Spilt Milk with producer and songwriter Jimmy Hogarth, and songwriter arranger Eg White. Train, Hogarth, and White wrote most of the tunes here, and they're all solid, with half of them sounding like potential anthems. The album opens with the title track, possibly the collection's strongest song and certainly the catchiest. The tune opens with a subtle piano figure and Train's whispered vocal, full of jazzy inflections, then the chorus kicks in with Train belting out the hook line with a soulful, tear-stained power. It's the kind of tune that will have you pushing the replay button over and over. "Don't Beg for Love" is another sizzler, a quiet tour de force with hints of Aretha and Dusty Springfield in the vocal, and that's not critical hyperbole. Train's restrained delivery is full of implied power as she tells a weak lover to get lost, while the backing singers drop some wailing, gospel-drenched melismas into the mix. The gospel singers return on "I Can't But Help," which celebrates life's darker moments with Train's vocal full of hope and jubilation despite the grim lyric. Train walks the fine line between aspiration and resignation with aplomb. "Call in the Maker" is another sharp bit of pop/soul while "Far from the Country" perfectly blends blues, pop, and Southern soul with Train's breezy vocal. The songwriting has plenty of knowing nods to the artists and songwriters of the late '60s and early '70s, but it's Train's voice that dominates the album. She has a dusky, soulful tone that can imbue even the simplest phrases with wrenching emotion. Spilt Milk – the song and the album – announces the birth of a remarkable new talent.

Review by Allmusic.com

Imagine the vocal beauty of Dusty Springfield combined with the power and energy of Janis Joplin and the the polish and sentiment of Norah Jones, and give that voice the core truth and integrity of Nina Simone and you'll almost have an idea of what Kristina Train sounds like. The singer songwriter is probably the most talented female vocalist recording today, but it doesn't stop there. With Spilt Milk, the newcomer on the national scene has also proven that she is a genius lyricist, composer, and arranger and it would be no surprise if she won a grammy this year; being nominated is a shoe-in. As if that weren't enough, Kristina is also an incredible violinist and fiddle player, and lately has taken up the additional responsibility of rhythm guitarist. Knowing that this is only her first album should clue music lovers in to the fact that as Kristina's career unfolds, music itself is destined to be changed for the better. Listening to the jazz-pop songs on this debut release, I was reminded of the first time I listened to Pheobe Snow's "Poetry Man" or the first time I heard Patsy Cline's rendition of "Amazing Grace"; each and every song on the album has that same rare power to send goosebumps up and down your body and bring tears to your eyes. Buying this album will be the best choice you make all year, and if she comes anywhere near your town, buy a ticket well in advance to avoid the sold-out blues; in addition to being a virtuoso musician, Kristina learned stage presence from the very best, the one and only Rosa King from Amsterdam, who she toured with back in 2000 while still a teenager when her career was first taking off! Having seen Kristina perform on many occasions and having played with her and Rosa in her first band and my own ongoing revue show known as "The Looters," I can personally attest to the fact that she gives all her heart and soul to each note sung or played….not to mention that her current backing band is also a group of top-notch world-class musicians!

Review by J. Lyon Layden, Amazon.com

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Kristina Train - Spilt Milk (2009)

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Kristina Train - Spilt Milk (2009)

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Kristina Train - Spilt Milk (2009)

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