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With so many of to - day 's soul men strut - ting around with rockets in their pockets, it may come as something of a relief to discover a newcomer who apparently harbours nothing more than old-fashioned ro - mance in his heart. Trey Lorenz is the young singer who sparred with Mariah Carey on her hit single "I'll Be There", and clearly anyone capable of tracking her seven - octave range has to be a gifted performer. So it proves to be on Lorenz's eponymous solo debut, (Epic 472172), an 11-track collec - tion of creamy love songs, many of them produced by Carey along with Walter

Afanasieff (producer of Mich - ael Bolton, Gladys Knight and many others). Whether negoti - ating the slowly unfurling peaks and troughs of a big ballad like "How Can I Say Goodbye" or punching out a more upbeat number like "Run Back To Me", Lorenz glides with practised ease from a relaxed tenor into an alarm - ingly high falsetto. He makes a decent stab at a Bobby Brown-style swingbeat number, "Wipe All My Tears Away", but more in keeping with the general tone of the album is a competent version of Lionel Richie's syrupy ode to togetherness, "Just To Be Close To You" .

Seventy minutes of Curtis Mayfield at a bargain price? Sounds good Those looking for some - thing with more bite are directed towards a new Curtis Mayfield compilation: A Man Like Curtis — The Best of Curtis Mayfield (MCI MUSCD...