Eva Cassidy - Songbird
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Free Music Notes for Songbird
Free Music Review: Songs of Gold
Hit: 5 Stars
A few days ago, my daughter gave me a CD of Eva Cassidy songs. Since then I've been unable to stop listening to it. I went to the local library, checked out every one of Eva's sadly few CDs (she died at 33 before she even had a record contract), found that all were spectacular, and then bought my own copies on Amazon. Here's this mostly classical listener's verdict: Eva Cassidy is one of the finest singers I've ever heard, without regard to genre. Her voice is lyrical, her clarity on a par with that of Ella Fitgerald or Elly Ameling, her diction as perfect as Sinatra's. She has the soft sound of a popular favorite but the control and sustained power of a Lied veteran. She's also a musician of the first rank--a great arranger and a wonderful guitarist. As if that weren't enough, she has a staggering breadth, handling pop, folk, gospel, and blues with equal finesse.
If you're looking to try out just a disc or two, I recommend Songbird, Time after Time, and Imagine, in that order. Among the many beauties you'll find on Eva's discs are some that come as close as anything I've ever heard to definitive: Fields of Gold (Songbird), I Know You by Heart (Songbird), Kathy's Song (Time after Time, and yes it tops the version of the great Paul Simon himself), It Doesn't Matter Any More (Imagine), Early Morning Rain (Imagine), and Danny Boy (Imagine). Her Stormy Monday (Live at Blues Alley) is superb. To confirm my sense of just how good, I went to the iTunes store and sampled all of the nearly 120 renditions of this famous song. Couldn't find one I liked better. Topping them all is Over the Rainbow (Songbird). Judy Garland set the standard; Eva set a new one. If this doesn't reduce you to tears, see a psychologist.
Curious about the power of Harold Arlen's great song, I built an iTunes playlist of the dozen or so different versions of Over the Rainbow that I have and began comparing them. What struck me is the fact that even when the song is interpreted by an indisputably great artist such as Frank Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald I don't get the feeling that the artist really belives in the music; it's a platform for a performance, not a trip over the rainbow. Not so with Eva. She's able to draw the listener into a world in which one can indeed travel over rainbows. This is a quality of all of her music, and a quality that distinguishes it from the work of artists who in other respects (quality of voice and technique) are her equal. Her emotion is totally invested in what is going on in the song and therefore so is ours. The mark of art at its greatest is this ability to create a secondary world of imagination and emotion, which, while we're in it, is the only place we want to be.
Why is it that such talent passes so quickly? You'll find yourself asking that as I do when you listen to Eva's hauntingly beautiful singing. Fortunately, we have these few songs at least to remember her by. After you've listened to these for hours on end as I have, you may find yourself thinking that she was singing for all of us in I Know You By Heart:
The joy you gave me lives on and on.
'Cause I know you by heart.
Free Music Review: Retrospect to a songbird, taken from us too early
Hit: 5 Stars
Following her defeat by Sara Hughes at the last Winter Olympics, figure skater Michelle Kwan skated to a female cover of Sting's "Fields of Gold" at the exhibition round, after the competition, ironic considering what she was shooting for. Later, at another competition, she skated to the same tune. Turned out that it the cover was by Eva Cassidy, a folk/easy listening singer/songwriter who had died of cancer aged 33. This is a compilation from Cassidy's four albums, Eva By Heart, Live at Blues Alley, Time After Time, and The Other Side, and highlights her an evocative crystalline singing voice, reminiscent of Christine McVie and Joan Baez. Much of the selections are relaxing and peaceful.
Her haunting voice works and simple arrangements, be it acoustic guitar or piano adds to the gentle, oft-melancholy atmosphere. Songbird starts with "Fields of Gold," which is a scaled back version with Cassidy's acoustic guitar, with some electric guitar from Keith Grimes, and more haunting than Sting's original. Her cover of "Autumn Leaves" consists only of guitar and piano, the latter courtesy of jazz musician Lenny Williams. "I Know You By Heart" is a fond song of remembrance for someone long departed, whether it's permanent or temporary, who knows. But the violin enhances the song's mournful yet beautiful ambience.
The title track is a cover of Fleetwood Mac's song from Rumours, and I first heard that on Love Actually, in the scene of Sarah's apartment with Sarah (Laura Linney) and Karl. It actually rivals McVie's version, with Cassidy's tender vocals, layered backing vocals, and guitar making this one of the better songs here. Another song of healing is the gospel-like "Time Is A Healer" with its backing chorus and soulfully soaring Cassidy vocals.
She does a decent cover of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready," later covered by Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck, and her gospel/country-tinged "Oh, Had I A Golden Thread" by Pete Seeger, whose Hammond organ gives it a somewhat 60's flavour.
The final track, "Over The Rainbow," is the song that garnered her a posthumous audience in Britain. It has Eva on guitar and keyboards, and no one else! Given her untimely demise, it seems a poignant valedictory on a too-brief career.
She also covers traditional songs, such as the bluesy "Wade In The Water" and Wayfaring Stranger," which has a cool blues-samba feel to it, but whose uptempo rhythm at one part makes it the most upbeat track here.
I've noticed two styles of songs, the more haunting ballads, that has Eva either alone or with two or three musicians, adding to its sweet simplicity, and others where Eva has a full band and the songs are a bit more uptempo and louder.
It seems a cruel irony that she'd get more attention after her death, particularly in Britain, where subsequent compilations have topped the charts. Some of this style of music would be carried on by the likes of Norah Jones.
Free Music Review: Heaven's Songbird
Hit: 5 Stars
Eva Cassidy . . . she was and is and always will be "Heaven's Songbird". So many of her cd's contain the most beautifully and soulfully emoted perfromances of song ever to be heard on this earth. (Her "Imagine" cd has the most moving delivery and performance of "Danny Boy" ever . . . it will bring tears to a grown man's eyes . . . too bad it wasn't included in THIS particular cd, "Songbird" . . it would have fit in perfectly with the set . . but perhaps might have created a emotional overload for the listener . . so all works out well afterall.)
Stng's "Fields Of Gold" is song here exactly as it should have been . . it ssounds and stires the soul precisley as it was intended to . . i prefer Eva's version to Sting's original by light years more than i can express.
"Autumn Leaves" actually carries us to "autumn" . .whatever time or season the the year we are in or season of life we are living, Eva transports us to "that eternal autumn" which we all face in our own lives and in the lives of those we know and love. The haunting melody and tone of her voice is repectfully proper to the sad nostalgia of all of our autumns.
The spirituals, "Wade In The Water" and "Peope Get Ready" incarnate the exact spirit of our journey to that heavenly home to which we all are destined.
Christine McVie's "Songbird" is also transported to new heights . . while Christine's own version with Fleetwood Mac is great . . Eva again eclipses the original.
"I Know You By Heart", the most apporpriate "goodbye" to Eva herself. It leads one to say within himself, "Eva, now we know YOU by heart".
And on "Oh, Had I Golden Thread", the Pete Seeger song, Eva outdoes herself . . her voice and vocal performance just tears into your heart and soul and wrenches from you the last drop of emotion you can muster . . and you just have to "play it again".
And finally, "Over The Rainbow" . . . every child's dream . . and i'm sure it was Eva's dream that there IS such a place somewhere over the rainbow. . . and that is exactly where Eva is now.
This entire album is colored by the realization that Eva passed away and from us from cancer . . .and most of her fame is and has been posthumous . . . but that is also probably just as it was meant to be . . she reaches out from her heaven now and stirs the hearts of us who ramain here . . and so she is not gone afterall . .she has just moved closer . .she now resides in the hearts of anyone and everyone who hears her soul poured out in these songs.
Eva, thank you for the most beautiful songs you left us . . thank you for the 'soul' you left remain with and among us on your music cd's. You are truly, "Heaven's Songbird".
Free Music Review: Sometimes, I'm just too stubborn...
Hit: 5 Stars
I didn't buy this, originally, because I thought it maudlin to reissue Eva's songs after her death...newly discovered material yes, but why songs she had already released? Boy, was I ever wrong!After wearing out two discs of "Live at Blues Alley", I went back in time to purchase "The Other Side" -- a jazz/blues/funk collaboration between the incredible Eva Cassidy and the funky Chuck Brown. Most fans of Eva have gone back to Blues Alley, where she originated "Autumn Leaves" and "Fields of Gold" -- two of the best tracks on "Songbird"; on Songbird, the audience appreciation has been eliminated, giving a welcome second listen to two songs that Eva makes her own (sorry, Sting). "The Other Side" contains her original version of the classic, "Over the Rainbow". Has there ever been an interpretation of an old classic that has touched people in the way that Eva touches you with "Over the Rainbow"? I think not.
With Brown, Eva gets down and funky, and the true jazz leanings of her voice really stand out. Catch her rendition of "Fever", and you'll forget the original.
But, I digress, on to "Songbird". I resisted its pull because of the way it was put together, simply collecting many songs that Eva had released while she was alive. But I've changed my mind and now purchase this CD for anyone who will listen -- there is a quality and a magic to this collection that transcends definition. Forget the tragic circumstances of Eva's death, and just celebrate her life with "Songbird", where her voice and eclectic mix of songs and arrangements transcend the Norah Jones', the Diana Krall's, and yes, even the Emmylou Harris' of the world.
In addition to the incredible versions of the three standards mentioned above, Eva gives you 7 other songs, done exquisitely. From her gospel voice on "Wade on the Water", the old standards "Oh, I Had a Golden Thread" and "Wayfaring Stranger", done as only she could do them; from the title track of "Songbird", where she stretches over and beyond original artist Christine McVie; Eva takes you home on perhaps the CD's most enchanting piece, "I Know You By Heart". In this, which may have been a signature song, had she lived, Eva shows you all that an artist can add to a beautiful song -- with tone, timbre and feeling, she will make this song, and this CD come alive for you.
With 498 reviews prior to mine, a rating of 4 stars, and being in the top 100 on Amazon this many years after release, you can bet that "Songbird" is the kind of a classic that everyone should own. Enjoy it, over and over.
Free Music Review: "The voice of God"?
Hit: 5 Stars
That seems blasphemous. I read every one of the 250+ reviews that have been posted here so far and I was touched by one that described Evas voice as the voice of God. Thats high praise indeed <g>. But I think that it is very close to the truth! Im not an especially religious person but what else can explain music that causes a 65, 300 pound, 40-year-old businessman to pull off to the side of the road and weep like a baby? This album will touch you.If you are a student of music, then Im sure that youll love Eva Cassidy but you might say that an earlier reviewer was exaggerating when he said, This album will change your life. But if youre just an average Joe like me who listens to the radio, approximates singing in the shower, and owns a handful of CDs, then you might be surprised at how true it is. Before I heard this album, I wouldnt have described myself as a music lover. But Eva Cassidy has taught me that music can be more than entertainment. It is more than background noise and the stuff that you dance to at weddings. It is a gift. It is art. It is an expression of the soul that can lift your spirits and make you cry at the same time. It is . maybe the closest thing that Ill ever hear to the voice of God.
Of all of the reviews here, you can count on one hand the number that rate this album with fewer than five stars. How many albums can say the same? Of that handful of disappointed reviewers I can only say: I hope some day that I will have been exposed to so many other angelic artists that Ill be jaded and unimpressed by the voice of Eva Cassidy. Or maybe I hope that I wont.
Yes, Eva died, and thats tragic beyond words. But, contrary to what some detractors have suggested, that doesnt cause me to exaggerate her talent. Having recognized her gift, it makes me savor it like sips of a rare wine because, sadly, I know that there will be no more.
Ill never sing like Eva. But Im going to learn to play the guitar, doggoneit. This is my tribute to Eva Cassidy. Each of us should be so lucky as to leave this Earth having touched another person in such a way.
PS: Many people have said that they were first exposed to Eva Cassidy by a story on Nightline. You can see the full video of the story at
http://abcnews.virage.com:80/cgi-bin/visearch?user=abc&template=template.html&squery=%2BVideoAsset:abcnl070401
(If there is a line break in that URL as you read it here, then cut and paste the pieces into the top of your browser and press ENTER). Be sure to view all 3 video segments of the story!