REVIEW QUOTES IN BRIEF
PRAISE FOR NO EVIL
“It’s not singer plus accompaniment so much as four musicians working together, and the result is … intimate and nicely judged performances. The subdued volume brings out the best in McCreeth’s voice, especially her whispery low register.”
Dave Gelly, The Observer
“A studio album with a genuine and exciting live mood, feel and vibe to it. Sue’s deep and knowledgeable love for jazz shines in every arrangement.”
The Guardian
“Sue shows herself to be a skilful and faithful interpreter of the repertoire, a very well-executed recording, [and] a fine album by any standard(s).”
Jazz UK
“Another high-quality recording from this ultra-flexible, well-regarded vocalist.”
Jazzwise
“Singer McCreeth recorded this album about 11 years ago alongside trumpeter Steve Waterman, guitarist Jim Mullen and bassist Andrew Cleyndert. It would have been her first all-standards CD, but she set it aside to concentrate on other musical interests, including online study with Gary Burton and Joe Mulholland at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. She started releasing original music, which Jazz Journal covered, in 2017. She’s now re-releasing, on 33Jazz Records, most of her recorded back catalogue, some remixed and remastered.
No Evil is a conspectus of her style: smokily languid with emphatic qualities of leadership and pin-point intonation. She doesn’t grab every opportunity that’s going but defers equitably to her colleagues in solos of singing eloquence, such as Mullen’s on The Man I Love and Waterman’s muted one on Speak No Evil. Honeysuckle Rose has McCreeth’s scatting combined with Mullen’s octave-stopping in the sunset ride. Cleyndert is everywhere, a huge but unobtrusive presence.
Clarity, clean lines and judicious choice of personnel – Waterman drops out on a couple of tracks – are the virtues here, particularly when McCreeth sets the tempo (Very Early, Come Rain Or Shine, The Man I Love and – accelerating the Billie Holiday classic version – God Bless The Child). Round Midnight is moonlit nocturnal.”
Nigel Jarrett, Jazz Journal, February 2025
PRAISE FOR SUE
“A style which invites rather than insists on attention …. outstanding.’
Dave Gelly, The Observer, 2002
“She sings with warmth and intimacy and commands a wonderful flexibility in her vocal tone.”
Dave Gelly writing for album notes, 2017
“With clear modesty and simple grace she carries off the most daunting musical feats.”
Dave Gelly, The Observer, 2006
“Calmy inventive, boldly ambitious, she has imagination and heart and is certainly keeping the right company.”
John Fordham, The Guardian, 2002
“Beatific”
Jazzwise, 2015
The Observer / The Guardian
18 JUNE 2017
Sue McCreeth: Look Back and Love review – an impressive showcase
Highly original songwriting with wildly contrasting styles
****
“As a singer-songwriter, Sue McCreeth is highly unusual in two ways. First, she takes as her starting point not a few words or snatch of melody, but a harmonic idea. This comes, perhaps, from having studied with Gary Burton and Joe Mulholland at Berklee College in Boston. Second, she alters her singing voice quite radically to suit the character of individual songs. As a result, the sheer contrast from one song to another, while very effective, can be a little bewildering until you get used to it. This anthology, drawn from her previous five albums, with a few new pieces added, provides an impressive introduction.”
The Musician Magazine
Look Back and Love review
“…witness to Sue fulfilling her considerable promise backed by a top drawer foursome. An impeccable production.”
Norma Winstone MBE
Look Back and Love review
“I really like your completely unaffected way of singing. I find you believable, which I think should be the main aim of a singer. I enjoyed hearing my lyrics sung by you.”
Jazzwise
JULY 2017 ISSUE
Sue McCreeth: Look Back and Love
“This sixth album from singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sue McCreeth presents an eclectic anthology of some of her finest original recordings over the last 15 years, including the rim shot driven ‘Only Here’, the decidedly trippy ‘Nut Tree’, and the modal explorations of ‘Other Times We Fly’. Twice shortlisted for the International Songwriting Competition, there’s also a quartet of new songs, all of which are highlights. ‘Keep This Love Safe’ is a ballad which packs real dramatic heft, while the enigmatically titled ‘Mother Sister Father Brothers My Man Child and His Mama’ documents the pain of not receiving love from within your own family, and the joy of finding it elsewhere. Recorded live at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, ‘Til I Am In The Wrong Place’ is a disquieting, brooding slice of urban angst. By contrast, the outer-spacious ‘Infinity’ casts a warm glow and brings the collection to a beatific close.”
The Observer
DAVE GELLY
Sue McCreeth: Look Back and Love
“She sings with warmth and intimacy, and commands a wonderful flexibility in her vocal tone, which allows her to match it exactly to the message or atmosphere of any particular piece… Some will inevitably get lost in the crowd, a fate I sincerely hope does not befall Sue McCreeth… Outstanding…
The charm of her style lies in the clear, modest simplicity and grace with which she brings off quite daunting musical feats …an element of ethereal calm… a charming and exquisitely performed set… a cool, misty kind of voice and a style which invites rather than insists on attention… her own ‘Only Here’ and Chick Corea’s ‘500 Miles High’ are outstanding.”
The Guardian
JOHN FORDHAM
“A gently unconventional performer who guarantees a quietly compelling momentum… a rich mid-register, falsettos and deep purrs, payoffs on barely audible murmurs… calmly inventive… boldly ambitious… she has imagination and heart… McCreeth applies her plush mid-range and rhythmic flexibility… boldly punctuated and inventive… sultry… hip.”