Customer Reviews
I found it disappointing - By: Book Lover, 06 Sep 2008 
I'm a longtime fan of Eva Cassidy's wonderful voice & style. I think I have all her albums & those albums provide a lot of the background music for my life. Her all-too-soon death took a marvelous talent from this world.
That said, though, I found this album a bit disappointing. I think that with every now-deceased beloved artist, there exists a file somewhere of recorded songs that were considered for earlier albums & put aside because they weren't quite good enough. Then, when the artist dies, there's a scramble to unearth these items & create an album from them. It doesn't always work: those songs were filed away for good reason.
And while I find this album enjoyable, that seems to be the case here. I don't find it nearly as good as her earlier offerings.
Music from the graveyard shift - By: Arthur Dooley, 30 Aug 2008 'The graveyard shift'in radio are those late late hours when all good folk are tucked upin bed & Alan Partridge-esque DJ-s are playing undemanding soulful muzak to factory shift workers & long distance lorry drivers.
Now Radio Norwich listeners whiling away the wee small hours can find a new selection of Eva Cassidy songs bulking out the tired & unimaginative playlists of their tired & unimaginative Djs.
Without wishing to be too unkind to the late Eva Cassidy who certainly had a fine voice & who recorded some half decent songsin her time. I will be unkind to her record company who appear to have a limitless supply of unreleased EC songs at their disposal. How many more sub local radio friendly songs are locked awayin the archives I wonder ?
They are certainly exploiting the mother lode for all its worth! What a pity Eva herself is not here to oversee the apparent never ending release of sub standard material.
For die hard EC fans only.
Breathtaking...and then some! - By: S. Ball, 29 Aug 2008 
I was introduced to Eva Cassidyin the late 90s & have purchased every CD of her work released since then. This new release caught me by surprise, discovering itin Amazon's New Releases section on the very day it was released. Boy am I glad I didn't miss it! Despite Live At Blues Alley being one of my all-time Top 10 albums, this isin great danger of becoming my favourite Eva album to date.
It is certainly better produced than previous works (not over-produced) with the luxury of Eva's own backing vocals now being added into the mix, along with retrospectively recorded instrumental parts. The light & shade of the album, therefore, shows greater disparity than ever before. Eva's cover of Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colours is sungin her trademark mellifluous style, which, rather than wrenching out your heart & dancing on itin stilletto heels as Dolly does, simply bathes youin the love felt by the singer for her mother's kindness. My Love is Like a Red Red Rose & A Bold Young Farmer are drawn from the folk tradition that Eva seemed to have flowing through her veins. Both interpretations are without doubt the best performances of those songs I have ever heard. Her cover of Walkin' After Midnight is so different to the versions I know well (Patsy Cline & The Cowboy Junkies) that it took me a while to recognise - she brings a depth to the song I had not heard before.
Saving the best for last, though, the inclusion of the self-penned Somewhere as the album's closer is a masterstroke. I hope it is a hint of more of Eva's own songs lurking away on a shelf & destined for a future release. Somewhere is up there with her versions of Over The Rainbow, Fields of Gold & What a Wonderful World as an absolute masterclassin vocal performance. She moves from subtle-without-being-boring (eat your heart out Katie Melua) to storming into your ears & demanding your attention, without her voice ever losing its shape, its depth or its warmth (are you listening Christina, Mariah & the rest of the Wailers?). It's softly gospelly layered backing vocals, from Eva's own multitracked voice alone, support her stunning lead to passionate, triumphant effect. Even if you're not a fan of Eva, this last track alone will have you convertedin an instant. It's not often you hear a genius at work, but this is one of those rare occasions. Buy it & revelin the glory of one of the best tracks ever recorded.
An American Master Crosses All Musical Boundaries - By: S. Peterkin, 28 Aug 2008 As a long time Eva Cassidy fan this album caught me off guard. It is not the smooth flowing series of ballads one would expect from this singer yetin many ways it just could be something better! The album is a direct response to recording companies who originally tried to limit Eva to one type of music. Eva had the ability to master Standards, Country, R&B & Folk & herein lies the proof.
Fans of Eva's cover of "Fields Of Gold" will be quick to internalize the heartbreakin "A Bold Young Farmer", sung with trademark vocals which attack the nervous system faster than any virus known to man. Another folk selection, "Red Red Rose", is a close secondin this emotional breakdown category because it is sung more true to it's origin as a Burns poem than as a bold ballad. This rose is a true love letter sung as if written on parchment.
The award winning album, Live At Blues Alley, might have been even better had it included two songs from this new album. "Ain't Doin' Too Bad" retains her vocals from the historic Jan 3, 1996 appearance while also adding a new backing by original band members plus a horn section. If you ever wondered what Eva would have sounded like accompanied by the full complement of musicians she deserved this is the answer. Fans of the band will applaud the piano introduction by Lenny Williams, Keith Grimes's guitar solo & Raice McLeod's "made to order" drums. Chris Biondo, Eva's long time producer & band member (bass), is superbin his producing of this track.
Eva's country music fans will immediately notice the Dolly Parton song, "Coat Of Many Colors", & an americana version of Don Hecht's "Walkin' After Midnight". In both songs, Keith Grimes offers sublime support on guitar.
Eva sings without the safety net of her regular bandin "Early One Morning". The album liner notes contain a photo of Eva's handwritten lyrics offering the first of two songs that indicate her skills progressed far beyond interpretation. Dobro & slide guitar work by Rob Cooper are perfect complements to Eva's vocals.
Reinventing American Popular Song Standards was one of Eva's most unusual skills. Those who applaud her treatment of Irving Berlin's "Cheek To Cheek" on the Blues Alley release will quickly agree that she has pulled another musical rabbit out of a tophat with her version of the Gershwins "Summertime". This take is one that sits so easily under a shade tree that you will spend hours trying to think of similar versions. Don't waste your energy. Eva's folk based interpretation is a true original.
Any discussion of Eva's potential as a songwriter is now closed with the addition of the recording's title song, "Somewhere". Co-written with Chris Biondo (music), Eva's lyrics are far from casual & suggest a longing for love that may also apply to her need to create music..."and I like an arrow straight for love I went again". Fans of Eva Cassidy will only understand her full creative force when they hear this song complete with her own multi-voice background vocals, dynamics that change within verse, & phrasing that always finds the maximum emotion. To borrow from the lyrics, "for a moment or for a lifetime" this is Eva Cassidy.
YAW DROPPING! - By: jazzy jeffrey, 27 Aug 2008 Is there nothing Eva Cassidy can't sing? I don't think I've heard such a complete vocal masterclassin one album before, simply breathtaking. Anyone into music will LOVE this album.
