BEVERLEY CRAVEN (1991)
From 'Troubled Diva' website
Beverley Craven is a stratospheric talent. Criminally overlooked by today’s shallow tastemakers, she sings songs of love, loss, laughter, tears, heartache and redemption. Who could listen to “Promise Me” or “Holding On” and not feel a tingle, a shiver, a frisson of true greatness?
BEVERLEY CRAVEN (1991)
From Amazon UK website
Soaring vocals, superb melodies and deeply meaningful lyrics carry you along on a sea of emotion. Every track is unique, every one is a gem and they will all last forever. Miss Craven is an incredibly talented artiste deserving of a far wider audience. I cannot recommend this album more highly, it is a masterpiece.
LOVE SCENES (1993)
From Amazon USA website
A magnificent voice, with depth and immense beauty, Beverley Craven has outdone her first "brilliant" album Beverley Craven.
Not only (very much like her first) is the music on this album diverse in style, it is also diverse in the story it tells. It is a pity that she has stopped singing and an even greater pity that her music is published no more.
Beverley's genious easily matches that of current day smooth Jazz artists (like Norah Jones)
MIXED EMOTIONS (1999)
From Amazon UK website
From the opening bars of 'I Miss You', to the final note of 'Afraid of Letting Go', this record is pure pleasure. A more mature songwriter has emerged since 'Love Scenes', and the hooks to her songs are even more infective. If you have her previous releases, you NEED this record. If you're new to Ms. Craven, then buy the perfect tonic to the noise of the Top 40 singles chart and ENJOY!
MIXED EMOTIONS (1999)
From Gunnar Homdrum website
Although her first 2 albums have more stripped down arrangements, the 1999 "Mixed Emotions" is more of the same. Except for her somewhat out-of-date lyrics on "Tick Tock" (wagging her finger at women who choose careers over children), and the tasteless guitar solo at the end which sounds a bit Celine Dionish, "Mixed Emotions" is great pop songwriting and her over-all best offering.
THE GLEE CLUB (BIRMINGHAM) NOVEMBER 2006
Beverley Craven played a rare concert on Sunday evening in the studio room of the Glee Club in Birmingham.
With a beautiful new look, a shy lady began a two hour performance that delighted her army of loyal fans in such an intimate setting it could have been your front room.
The set was compromised of favourite songs from her three albums including Holding On, Love Scenes, Woman To Woman, Joey and Feels Like The First Time, all performed with passion and vigour.
Beverley used this concert to showcase some new material, “Is It Only Me”, “Baby, I Want You” and “Legendary Love” were all classic Craven and guaranteed to please fans on her forthcoming album. However it became apparent during “Is It Only Me” that she had surpassed her own brilliance by composing a song of such beauty that on first listen prompted a standing ovation.
Special mention must go to her superb band, who kept a tight rhythm and smooth feel throughout.
Promise Me was greeted with a huge roar of approval and followed by I Listen To The Rain, her most assured performance of the evening. A full standing ovation followed and a nervous Beverley thanked the small yet enraptured crowd.
Craven’s trump card is her faultless piano technique and the ability to produce a great emotional tune - she proved this on Sunday and also that she is still one of the UK’s greatest talents.
(Fan Review by Lee Noble)
RONNIE SCOTTS (BIRMINGHAM) JUNE 1999
From 'The Birmingham Post'
Singing star Beverley Craven could not have wished for a better debut at Ronnie Scott's. After six years away from the music scene having a family, Beverley is back on tour promoting her new self-penned album Mixed Emotions and is playing two sets of two-nighters at the club in June and July.
A packed, attentive and amazingly quiet audience greeted the singer/songwriter who spent the first set introducing songs specifically written around her family and girlfriends, like a biological clock themed Tick Tock about her sister and Mollie's Song about her seven-year-old daughter.
Beverley accompanied herself on piano throughout, with Nigel Hitchcock (sax) John Giblin (bass) and Ian Bairnson (guitar) providing excellent support.
Beverley has retained a purity of voice, even if in delivery she does sometimes fail to demonstrate fully the emotions the songs suggest.
The second set also saw Beverley sharing with the audience, this time, her experiences of a broken romance and relationship in Love Scenes and Feels Like the First Time.
Beverley had opened and closed the second set with her best-known songs Holding On and Promise Me and by the time she played an encore, I Listen to the Rain, the polite audience had leapt up to applaud in vain for more.
(Review by Stephen King - Published 16th June 1999)
RONNIE SCOTTS (BIRMINGHAM) JUNE 1999
From 'The Sunday Mercury'
If you've ever bought one of those "All Woman" or "The Gentle Touch" compilations of female singers, chances are it included a Beverley Craven song.
Back in the early 90s Beverley was hot property, with the singles Holding On and Promise Me.
Two albums later, she took a sabbatical to have three children and a break from the business.
Now she's back - though judging from the svelte figure which swept onto the stage at Ronnie Scott's in Birmingham it was hard to believe she'd been on triple maternity leave. Dressed in the sheerest of silk slips that resembled fish scales, immaculately turned out, she had hardly changed in six years.
Backed by sax, double bass and guitar, this was a typical intimate gig at Ronnie's - the stage resembling a cosy living room (except you'd be lucky to find this group turning up at your house for a jam).
The warm, rich sound of piano, Beverley's great voice and the backing band swept around the club as she sang Woman To Woman, Tick Tock (from the new album Mixed Emotions), Mollie's Song and One Track Mind.
It must be tricky (though enjoyable) being one of her friends or relatives.
Nearly every song centred around a girlfriend, child or parent: "It's my therapy," she explained.
"You're mine!" replied one of the crowd.
The new album may be a mirror of the last and most of the songs run along the same lines but when it's as enjoyable as this, who cares?
(Review by Jon Perks - Published 20th June 1999)
