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Somewhere  >>

Ten years after the release of SONGBIRD (now Platinum), twelve years after her passing, a new Eva album of all new songs. From Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors to her own Somewhere, Eva covers a wide musical spectrum-country, folk, blues, R&B, western swing, appalachian, celtic, Willie Nelson, Gershwin.

Songbird  >>

Songbird cherry-picks tracks from the three locally released albums of Eva Cassidy, whose hauntingly beautiful vocals went virtually unheard outside her native Washington, D.C., during her short 33 years with us. Lost to melanoma in 1996, Cassidy sang with an unaffected purity and an astonishing ability to make both classic and contemporary songs sound like they were written just for her. Sting's "Fields of Gold" finally lives up to its title through the alchemy of Cassidy's transcendent rendition, while other tracks on this anthology showcase her ease in the realms of pop (Christine McVie's "Songbird"), soul ("People Get Ready"), gospel ("Wade on the Water"), and traditional standards ("Autumn Leaves" and "Over the Rainbow"). Framed by understated jazz and pop arrangements, Cassidy's clear, soulful voice and exquisite phrasing make her that rarest of vocalists whose interpretations are a complement to any song. A fine introduction to a true talent. --Billy Grenier

Live at Blues Alley  >>

When Eva Cassidy is swinging her way through "Cheek to Cheek" and getting down and bluesy on "Stormy Monday" on this live set from 1996, it's nigh impossible not to get swept up in her voice's vast, barreling force. Her full range, though, becomes most obvious--and soul-shaking--on the slower side, as with Paul Simon's "Bridge over Troubled Water," Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Tall Trees in Georgia," and "What a Wonderful World." On these latter tunes, Cassidy's mix of aching clarity and rich warmth has a melting quality, speaking through the body to some evanescent presence that she seems to know all too well. She improbably makes Sting's "Fields of Gold" an emotional powerhouse just as easily as she makes Billie Holiday's "Fine and Mellow" an offhand declaration of feeling equal to nearly anything in the jazz vocal canon. In doing so she earns her place among the great singers--artists who could take any song and stamp it indelibly as their own. What Eva Cassidy had in her short life was an unbelievably perfect voice and a musical soul that grasped gospel, folk, blues, jazz, and all points in between as if they were mere stops on a single train ride. Alas, her ride ended in 1996, tragically early. --Andrew Bartlett

Time After Time  >>

Minus all the machinery that the music industry can put behind an artist, Eva Cassidy sang bewitchingly in Washington, D.C. and then died without fanfare in 1996, when she was a mere 33 years old. And then the world began hearing Cassidy, thanks largely to Songbird, a posthumous collection of locally released album tracks that went on to garner media attention, critical praise, and commercial success. This collection gathers both live and studio cuts delivered within warm, mostly acoustic settings; often it is simply Cassidy, her voice, and her guitar. Inside are some of Cassidy's best-executed covers, beginning with Paul Simon's "Kathy's Song" and ending with a stellar rendition of the traditional gospel "Way Beyond the Blue." In between are heart-wringing versions of Bill Withers's "Ain't No Sunshine" and Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time." What distinguishes Cassidy so completely is her offhand ability to transform songs beyond their initial character with a voice that brilliantly mixes an airy floating quality and an edge that you know can pop open to reveal a belt-it-out strength to rival the best in the singer's trade. --Andrew Bartlett

American Tune  >>

Eva Cassidy fans surely feel something akin to relief when another cache of tapes is opened for release. The singer's 1996 death at the age of 33, after all, rendered her output finite in the saddest and most frustrating way. American Tune's modus operandi is similar to previous Cassidy CDs in its mix of standard repertoire (here, everything from "Yesterday" to "God Bless the Child" and Ray Charles's "Hallelujah I Love [Him] So" rubs shoulders) and fine, less obvious choices (Joe Simon's early-'70s soul hit "Drowning in the Sea of Love"). The sometimes pedestrian backing does little to spoil the pleasure of Cassidy's pure tone and the surprises she's able to wring from the material--on the Charles tune, she even suggests a distaff Lyle Lovett. She'd no doubt be pleased to know that tracks uncovered at this point now sound like, well, notes from a missed, much-loved friend. --Rickey Wright

Wonderful World  >>

Imagine  >>

For anyone who suspects that record companies will soon be releasing Eva Cassidy's voice mail messages, it's extraordinarily pleasing to note that Imagine is more than just a bottom-of-the-barrel-scraping exercise. All of these tracks are previously unreleased and most are live recordings, but listeners who already own Live at Blues Alley know just how refreshing Cassidy's live performances were. Check out her take on Sandy Denny's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" to feel a shiver of delight at another effortlessly ideal cover, or listen to her laid-back "You've Changed" from the Blues Alley sessions to experience more of her soulful jazz. Elsewhere, the solo acoustic reading of Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain" shows off her guitar skills, and if "Imagine" doesn't ever scale the heights of Songbird's "Over the Rainbow" it still demonstrates how she always had something new and uniquely compelling to say when performing a familiar standard. Studio recordings "Still Not Ready" and "I Can Only Be Me" are, oddly perhaps, the least successful cuts. Happily, the album concludes with another lovely solo standard, "Danny Boy." The recording quality varies noticeably from track to track, and there are a few awkward fade-outs--presumably to remove audience noise--but still the sparkling music comes across quite vividly. Imagine may not be the best way to discover Eva Cassidy for the first time, but established fans will warmly welcome this new collection. --Mark Walker

Eva by Heart  >>

Like a stateside Sandy Denny, Eva Cassidy's voice managed to be ethereal yet soulful, haunting yet warm, and evocative enough to make you believe--at least during those moments when you're listening to it--that she's the best singer you've ever heard. The purity of the late Washington D.C. singer's voice, set against tasteful strings and her own angelic backing vocals, shines on the opening "I Know You by Heart," catches fire on "Wade in the Water," and never fades throughout this 1997 studio album. And while Cassidy's gorgeous vocals may be best served by quietly reflective tracks such as "Nightbird" and "Waly Waly," it's still fun to hear her attack "Time Is a Healer" with a melismatic fervor that could kick Whitney and Mariah's asses. If you're new to Cassidy, either this CD or the Songbird compilation would make a fine introduction to a great American artist. --Bill Forman

The Other Side  >>

Only in America could an album like this have come together: Eva Cassidy, a young vocalist who, had she lived, might have gone on to become her generation's favorite song interpreter, trading verses with Chuck Brown, seasoned godfather of the D.C. underground funk movement known as go-go. By the time this was recorded in 1992, the go-go trend had long since peaked for Brown, while the twentysomething Cassidy was still an unknown local session vocalist. Yet, on this set of standards, the two collaborate as if they were picking up where they'd left off decades earlier, from easy-riding versions of "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You" to near-definitive renditions of "Over the Rainbow" and "Dark End of the Street." And while it's easy to focus on the posthumously acclaimed Cassidy, Brown's haunting solo turn on "You Don't Know What Love Is" suggests that unjustly overlooked talents are still making music in the shadows of our nation's capital. --Bill Forman

Pure Moods, Vol. IV  >>

More potpourri than unified high concept, the fourth installment in the Pure Moods series nevertheless provides an interesting collage of acts associated with techno, ambient, alt-pop, and New Age genres. For some listeners, that means the transition from the rhythmic mystical-ethereal vibe of the first four tracks (from Enigma, Mythos, Delerium, and Sarah McLachlan and a splendid piece from Balligomingo) to a trilogy from New Age romanticists ( Secret Garden, Yanni, and pianist Jim Brickman) may seem a little disjointed. Ditto for the segue from George Winston's impressionistic 1980 solo piano piece, "Sea," to a Steve Reich-like minisymphony from Moby). And the concluding Afro-Celt Sound System track, a spirited, mandolin-driven piece with Peter Gabriel on vocals, is a stylistic island unto itself. Still, most fans of easy-listening contemporary music (particularly the adventurous ones) should find this an agreeable assortment of music from artists who infuse their craft with stronger-than-usual spiritual and emotional subtexts. --Terry Wood