Tipperary-born Carmel McCreagh has a solid track record as a quality singer, who blends a melange of influences, including jazz, pop and folk. On 13 Stories, she applies her effortlessly warm and tender tonsils to a bunch of affecting love songs, with her long-term partner Fiachra Trench in the arranger’s chair.

The singer does a wonderful job interpreting two Joni Mitchell numbers, ‘Crazy Lies Of Love’ and ‘Love Puts On A New Face’, and – aided by a quartet of cellos – offers a similarly inspired take on Declan O’Rourke’s ‘Dancing Son’. Elsewhere, Suzanne Savage adds delicious harmonies to both Dory Previn’s ‘Beware Of Young Girls’ and Paul Brady’s infectiously touching ‘Stories’.

McCreagh adds a touch of Randy Newman to Tom Waits’ ‘Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis’, to winning effect. But while her solo vocal approach to the Beatles’ ‘Blackbird’ draws new emotion from the song, her takes on the Fab Four’s ‘In My Life’ and U2’s ‘Two Shots Of Happy, One Shot Of Sad’ lack sparkle alongside her fine version of Janis Ian’s ‘Watercolours’.

Despite the eclectic nature of the material, McCreagh successfully knits it all together into a seamless experience. Bravo!

7.5/10

https://open.spotify.com/album/57GB1ScAryNhwUU4wLMnOg?si=RNEo7dO_Rc2n3DCiQIsS3Q