An old friend Ruben, who I hadn't thought about in years, once told me back in the NYCD retail days, that his wife Jeannie's favorite singer was Eva Cassidy. I had some of her CDs in stock, but never bothered playing any of them. I was judging a book by its cover and I assumed the music found inside would be something like The Corrs or Enya, and I wasn't a fan of either.
25 years later and my relentless scrolling told me it was National Album Day, whatever that is. Apparently, Eva Cassidy's "Live At Blues Alley" was released on vinyl for the first time on National Album Day, whatever that is, a few years ago. That made me think of Ruben and so, finally, I decided to see what his wife Jeannie was talking about.
Holy crap!
This record was not what I was expecting at all.
Now, this may be old news to many of you. Some of you may have been raving about Eva Cassidy for years. But if even a few of you don't know about Cassidy, you need to listen.
Eva Cassidy's voice is as pure as it gets. Whether belting out an old blues or a revved up standard, or working her away inside and out of a beautiful ballad, Eva Cassidy is in complete control.
Here is a bit of William Cooper's review from All Music:
Admittedly, the titles on Live at Blues Alley seem like a set list for a bad Vegas lounge act; songs such as Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek" and Louis Armstrong's"What a Wonderful World" have been done to death for decades. Fortunately, Eva Cassidy had an obvious affection for these standards. She sounds as if she had a ball performing the Irving Berlin number, while her subtle reading of the Louis Armstrong tune is nothing less than extraordinary. She was equally successful with more contemporary pop classics like "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Take Me to the River." Ultimately, the slower songs are the most stirring, particularly her rendition of "Fields of Gold." Her tear-jerking version of the Sting tune could very well be one of the greatest cover songs ever recorded.
Eva Cassidy, as many of you might already know, never got a chance to shine, dying tragically at 32 from cancer after only one proper studio recording.
Cassidy's cover of Sting's "Fields Of Gold" is breathtaking and it's sitting over to the right as the cover of the day. "What A Wonderful World" just might be definitive, and that's saying a lot.
14 comments:
Eva Cassidy was remarkably gifted and her voice transcended genres. I have always thought that Eva brought an authenticity and vulnerability to every song, making it her own. A truly unique talent.
Perhaps another topic is artists that we missed on the first go round.
There's a documentary of this that's made it's way to YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEqzTlZdfSo
Yes. She was amazing. What I wouldn’t have given to see her live.
Wow, what a voice. I sure agree with JD that she makes those songs her own.
This post sure made my day.
Randy
She was a lovely talent. They are REALLY overdoing all the reissues and "old music w strings added" stuff because sadly Eva Cassidy just didn't record very much. But the proper releases are always enjoyable and her "Fields of Gold" is a treat indeed.
I have some of her releases, and remember enjoying them, and filed away they went! Now, there's a topic for another thread. As the saying goes, she could sing the phone book... People Get Ready, Who Knows Where The Time Goes, et al all have a very personal stamp, now I'm going to check out here album with Chuck Brown!
We moved from Northern New Jersey to Northern Virginia in 1989. Heard about her from a WDC friend and went to see her in ( i believe ) 1993. She was incredible and you felt as though she was about to take off. Immediately bought her CD with Chuck Brown and then the Blues Alley later. She was a great talent and I still listen to her. But all the reissues are just too much of a money grab. She died to soon and never got her due. But her voice and interpretations live on.
Live at Blues Alley is nothing short of amazing. Yes, her family really milked her demos and turned out about seven “new” records, and they got progressively worse, although there’s always something worth hearing. I never would have thought that you would have missed her, Sal. Welcome to the fan club. The newer Nightbird presents the entire evening (2CDs) recorded to make the Live at Blues Alley record. Believe it or not, she had a cold that night!
Cleveland Jeff
OK, I have never listened either. Even when people I trusted raved. But, I just did. I am ashamed to know I missed out for son long.
I picked up a copy of her album with Chuck Brown, The Other Side, 20-ish years ago, in Tokyo of all places. (The record stores there were amazing, though sadly some of my old haunts are no longer around.) I don't know how easy it is to find the CD, but apparently it's on Spotify. I recommend it.
She is the only artist who made me cry the very first time I listened to her album. I didn't know about her at all when I bought an album, I bought it because I listened to "Songbird" at one of those listening station at a CD store in Santa Monica. As I was reading linernotes stating she is no longer with us, I started to cry...
Sal, you should check out her DVD. YouTube has lots of those. What a loss...
My dad's best friend, who was the biggest womanizer I ever met, had a floor and tile company which had branches in California, Texas and Maryland. He lived in California but made periodic visits to his other warehouses (and wenches). He used to see Eva play at Reynolds Tavern in Annapolis - sometimes alone and sometimes with a backing band. When the Live at Blues Alley CD was self-released, he bought two at a gig. He ended up giving his extra copy to my dad. I heard my dad play it and liked it. But the disc was impossible to find in my neck of the woods. I ended up burning myself a copy on my JVC burner. IMO the best album she ever did, but I'm a sucker for live music. Her vocals are fabulous and her fairly adequate band knows to stay out of the way.
Again, from my dad's High-T friend, I heard about Eva By Heart. It took a while, but my independent record distributor, Encore in Denver, was eventually able to get me a copy. It was also a great album but I didn't like the self-layered background vocals added to a few songs. And, I'm sorry, but her take on Songbird does not surpass Christine's.
If you dig Blues Alley, you gotta get Nightbird 2-CD/DVD which has way more stuff. Abd Imagine is pretty good That, and Acoustic. The Pearls bootleg is pretty cool to have as well.
Am I bonkers about her? No. But I like her. She has an amazing instrument. She sings effortlessly, but the people who claim how diverse she is overstate the case somewhat. I like her in half-hour doses. My favorite track is Waly Waly.
VR
Yeah, but you can always watch the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgBTG_HOvMQ
VR
There is a fairly good YouTube doco on making this album. Apparently this is a recording of the second set. The first time through there was a bug in the system. Very underrated, and yet another person who was too diverse for the labels, so could not pigeon hole her.
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