Eva Cassidy - Songbird
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Free Music Notes for Songbird
Free Music Review: Bittersweet
Hit: 5 Stars
A rare combination of musicianship, vocal power and let-'er-rip emotion from a person you never heard of and whose name you'll never see in lights at a big concert venue. My advice, play the first track (Fields of Gold) and the last track (Over the Rainbow). I've never heard any other rendition of Fields of Gold, but I don't want to. "Rainbow" is Judy Garland's tune. I've heard it as a young woman's innocent lament in "Oz" and I've heard it as a middle-aged woman's regret in Judy's "Carnegie Hall Concert" recorded at the end of her career with her voice showing the effects of too much drink and too many cigarettes. But Eva has deconstructed the song and re-assembled it into something that is transcendant. If you're not about to lose it emotionally by the time this song reaches its coda, your heart is made of stone. She's that good. The best of the other cuts are those with a similarly simple arrangement. The star here is Eva; and she shines brightest with minimal accompaniment. There's no doubt that she can sing Gospel with the best, but somehow those tunes don't move me. Maybe it's because she's pulling her sidemen along and, frankly, outclassing them. Or maybe its because she's as good as -- but not better than -- Roberta Flack doing the same kind of material. But, for me, "Fields" "Autumn Leaves" "Heart" "Songbird" and, of course "Rainbow" are just beyond compare. I suppose its because Eva was unafraid to let the full strength of her emotion flow through her delivery of these songs and she had the musical and vocal tools to convey that power.Free Music Review: The best female vocalist I've ever heard!
Hit: 5 Stars
In 1949,when I was an little boy of 5 or 6, my mother took me to see the Wizard of Oz. I was scared to death of the movie! I screamed and howled and tried to hide under the seat. Finally, half way through the movie, my mother had had enough and bruskly took me out of the theater. I didn't like the movie, I didn't like the actress/singer and I didn't like the song. Years later I out grew my "fear" of the movie, but I still didn't care for the singer or the song - until 6 weeks ago when I first heard Eva Cassidy sing her version of Over the Rainbow at the end of an evening news program. When she finished, I had tears in my eyes and I could bearly see to write down her name so I wouldn't forget it. Over the Rainbow, sung by Eva, is now the number one song on my list of favorites!I can remember such favorites as June Christie, some of Billy Holliday, Aretha, Mahaila, Odetta, Joan Baez, Judy Collins and Barbara Streisand in the early years. Of late, Jewel, Whitney, Fiona, Charlette Church, Sarah MacLachlan-all are good, some are great, but roll all these voices up into one and you have the best-Eva Cassidy. She has the versitility, the range, the power, the perfect pitch, the emotion and technique of delivery to sing the songs in all the vocal catagories that each of these women are noted for. And sing their songs as good or maybe better than they did! Ballads, Blues, Classics, Gospel, Soul-Eva could have sang Webster's Unabridged Dictionary if she wanted to and still send shivers up and down your spine! Her album, Songbird, is a good introduction to this "once in a lifetime" vocalist extraordinaire!
Free Music Review: If you don't know Eva, start with this CD!
Hit: 5 Stars
It is perfection. From Eva's voice to the songs included, it is one of my favorite albums ever. If you don't know Eva, start with this CD. I have all of her CDs and this is definately her "greatest hits". They've taken the best of the rest and put them onto this one disc. (But you'll probably fall in love like the rest of us and get the rest too!)However, while I love the title song and Eva's version is amazing, it may actually be my least favorite song on the album. (Duncan Sheik does an amazing cover of "Songbird" that I think surpasses Fleetwood Mac's version and even Eva's version.) I'm a huge Sting fan and "Fields of Gold" is one of my favorite songs of his, but I've got to give Eva credit for finding a "mood" for this song that turns it into the most beautiful song you'll ever hear. And for me, "Autumn Leaves" and "I Know You By Heart" are both touching ballads that hit like few other songs you'll ever hear.
"Wayfaring Stranger", "People Get Ready" and "Oh, Had I A Golden Thread", all of which have been recorded countless times by countless artists, get a wonderful mellow make-over that shows why Eva interprets songs better than most any other artist out there.
Finally, last but certainly not least, "Over The Rainbow" is amazing. While Judy Garland may forever own this song and be the definitive artist, Eva comes in a close second. Especially in light of her tragic story, you can't help but fall in love with this bittersweet song. If you are at all hesitating about buying this album (and I cannot imagine why you would be) don't waste another minute and just get it. You won't regret it!
Free Music Review: This really deserves six stars
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the best voice I have ever heard. Eva Cassidy easily ranks with Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, and Billie Holliday in the ability to express pure emotion through voice. You probably know her story, and it is tradegy. This album is a compliation of previous recordings. Several tracks are live, and the album's producer chose to edit out the applause. You won't be able to tell the the studio from the live tracks unless you look at the CD sleeve. That's impressive. There is no bad track on this disk. Song styles range from folk to gospel to ballad...it doesn't matter what she's singing or what your musical preference is, if you HAVE a soul, her voice will hook you and reel you in. Sting's "Fields of Gold," is the first track, and it somewhat showcases her ability to make a song hers. She does this by putting her soul in her vocal. After hearing this rendition a couple of times, you'll forget that some other guy wrote this song. "People Get Ready," a popular popular cover tune, really shows the range of her voice. Man, she can belt it out. My favorite song on the album is "I know You By Heart." This is the most beautiful/sad song I have ever heard. Period. My wife has a hard time listening to this disk because it is so sad, between the power of emotion Miss Cassidy sings with in addition to her tragic demise. This collection of different genres is ultimately the blues, sung with passion only rivaled by the greats mentioned earlier. I hope she can here all of us listening to her music and have the ability to understand the depths her music is able to move its listeners.Free Music Review: A superb overview of the magic of Eva Cassidy
Hit: 5 Stars
A sort of "Greatest Hits Of" album of Eva Cassidy's work, this album does a nice job of showcasing her ability to swing effortlessly among gospel, jazz, folk rock, traditional tunes, standards, and more. If you can only buy one Eva Cassidy album, this one may be the most representative of her range.On "Wade in the Water," a traditional gospel tune arranged by Eva Cassidy, she joins the sultry warmth of her voice winningly with an electric organ and Chris Walker's muted trumpet. It's a joy. "Autumn Leaves," that great Johnny Mercer tune, becomes in Cassidy's able hands, a tribute to regret and the loss of love. She manages to sound as though she is literally gazing out the window at falling leaves as she sings--such is the immediacy and intimacy inherent in her superb voice.
I find myself wondering if Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie has listened to Cassidy's version of "Songbird"--McVie might find herself both impressed and jealous at the purity and emotionalism Cassidy brings to the song. On Pete Seeger's "Oh, Had I A Golden Thread," Cassidy sounds as though she's singing from the choir loft in a Baptist church somewhere in Alabama--the richness and church-like serenity with which she imbues the song would be perfectly at home in church, and the song takes on layers Pete Seeger might never have known he had in there when Eva Cassidy takes control of it.
This album is a pleasure to listen to, all the more so for the flexibility and astonishing range it shows us of Eva Cassidy's unforgettable gift with song. Those who love her miss her.