The Independent on Sunday's Tim Kelsey wrote of a gig of McCalla at London's Jazz Cafe:"McCalla is the best soul singer since Mick Hucknall of Simply Red. McCalla's version of British soul is much more jazz oriented than Simply Red's all American inspired sound ... At the Jazz Cafe... the warm, gravelly toned phrasing, the electrifying falsetto, and the massive range of his voice reflected that priority. He was thinking as he sang, choosing notes rather than spinning out cliches. On the faster funk tracks, he tipped his hat to Marvin Gaye and George Benson. But the ballads revealed a confident, individual voice, graceful and dynamic."

John Fordham of the Guardian wrote of a festival appearance "...a glowing set from soul artist Noel McCalla who gave his band a spring in its step, and a performance of spine tingling falsetto and careering funk..."

Berner Woche, Nr. 294/1999
The Funky Brotherhood: Die elfköpfige Band Funky Brotherhood gehört zum Besten, was die Schweizer Funk- und Soulszene derzeit zu bieten hat. Neben Roland Phillip, der den 1996 verstorbenen Saxophonisten Eddie Harris ersetzt, hat die Bruderschaft im jungen Soul-Talent Eddie aus Chicago und dem britisch-jamaikanischen Soul-Sänger Noel McCalla drei charismatische Frontmänner gefunden...