Diva who’s not afraid to bare her emotions (From Worcester News)

Diva who’s not afraid to bare her emotions

10:00pm Friday 31st October 2008

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IT’S not often in this navel-gazing age that you come across an artist who has no qualms whatsoever about baring her soul for all to see.

Beverley Craven does all of this and more – when it comes to jewellery, this diva’s identity bracelet must surely be the beating heart that she wears on her sleeve.

Personal relationships would be her Mastermind subject if required and there’s no doubt at all that she would win the trophy.

She may have been a loser in love but she’s most certainly a winner in life.

Mr Know-It-All couldn’t hide his ignorance behind a subtle minor chord arrangement, Woman To Woman was precisely that, and I Miss You left nothing to the imagination. These were superbly crafted songs.

Yet there was scarcely a trace of bitterness in these epics. She unashamedly borrows from Carol King and Joni Mitchell as far as style and delivery are concerned, yet skilfully manages to avoid the charge of being too derivative.

She has also attracted some fine sidesmen, the saxophone and guitar departments providing more than a taste of 70s jazz-funk retro that evoked memories of Tom Scott and the LA Express. This band hung together well.

Beverley Craven has a charming, self-effacing stage persona, and although she was undoubtedly preaching to a fair number of the converted, never once – despite a light dusting of name-dropping – did she convey anything other than being a mistress of all she surveys. This was a Huntingdon gig at its very best.

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