New material showcased a darker side to the sunniest soul in the Shire. Technically she's always streets ahead of the three chord crew, but she's even taken that a notch higher and the vocals veer towards Johnny Cash cool and finally, sans guitar, startling jazz diva status. Ditch that plank of wood and let your spirit soar Sara - it's a joy to behold.

From Music for Squares December/January 2006 - Words, Natasha House


All You Want is sublime, impeccably performed British song writing at its best. Sara Spades pure, distinctive voice and exhilarating guitar playing characterise this stunning debut album. Sara produces music that defies easy classification as informed by Prince and Annie Lennox as it is by Jeff Buckley or Nick Drake.

Despite the obvious Americana of her dreamy jazz ballads there is something quintessentially English about Saras work. Her upbringing in Northampton has provided her with a backdrop of our idiosyncratic land full of tea drinking in weary commuter belt Britain. Saras lyrics in Turn it around are infused with a gritty domesticity, which is elevated, by her sweet and soulful singing and the addition of syncopated rhythms full of unexpected energy, setting her apart from the norm.

Sara looks likely to add to the undeniable popularity of sultry brunettes singin da Blooos (Whinehouse, Jones, Melua), yet the level of her musicianship is light years above anything present in mainstream music. Nowhere is her mastery of the guitar more evident than in the epic Only Never. It is a swelling haunting soundscape of tumbling notes that hints at how John Williams might sound if he ever found his Mojo.

All You Want is full of unabashed loveliness. The work is positive, exhilarated and witty avoiding the indulgence and angst so prevalent in many of her contemporaries; There is so much music in me that I havent heard yet and so many blessed sins that Ive yet to regret.

This album is a celebration of the spirit, a triumph of goodness and sweetness and simplicity. Accented by the occasional pounding snare, lilting piano or lone trombone, these tracks demonstrate the power of not over doing it. For its the little, ordinary pleasures of hum drum days that make life delicious and as Sara wisely points out in the chorus of her title track, All you want is in these things.

Written by Sara Gillespie - Jazz 606 Club, London

Pick a voice, any voice. One you find relaxing, one you find inspiring, one you find uplifting - now prepare to add another to your list.
Sara Spade cites Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday as her influences, and her four-track demo may be work in progress, but it is a record of a great voice and a talented songwriter.

Let Me Loose is a gentle, folky introduction to Sara which some might call Beth Orton-like. But this, the first of the four songs, is a tight little bundle of character and style.

With each of these four songs Sara encapsulates a feeling or a moment and puts it through a musical sieve, filtering out the melody and adding a vocal which stems straight from a jazzy soul enamoured with acoustic legends like Nick Drake.

Potent More Me wins you over with beautiful lyrics, so that Ego Balloon catches you by surprise with its direct approach and powerful, funky sound.
I for one can't wait to see these songs, and more, performed live, and hear the resonant sound of a truly individual voice - now jostling with more famous musicians in my top ten.

Sara will play the BBC Radio Northampton stage at Northampton Music Festival on Saturday, August 17.

'Daventry Express'- August 15, 2002. Words, Natasha House