by
Rob Jones
At the tender age of 33 Eva Cassidy sadly passed away and most of a then solid following stemmed from her Washington DC concert output. Live at Blues Alley rocketed her reputation and this 1996 release fell in the same year that Eva was cruelly taken away with melanoma.
After her passing this American artist has grown in global fame and a series of precious recordings have built into a posthumous catalogue that has become treasured. The good news is that Walkin’ After Midnight has appeared and a series of previously unreleased stage songs are now available for our delectation. 11 of the 13 tunes have appeared on other recordings but not in this format – and, to be honest their majesty has never been better.
There is no doubt that Eva is currently entertaining within the gates of heaven because that would be a fitting venue for her angelic tones floating on to fluffy cloud arrangements. She is indeed a songbird who can take it from delicate to a more demonstrative approach – but, not at any time does the sound do anything other than take the listener on the road to relaxation. An impromptu line up augments Eva’s acoustic six strings with Keith Grimes (guitar), Chris Biondo (bass) and Bruno Nasta (violin) also helping turn an Annaplolis, November 1995 gig into a timeless experience.
Eva takes her audience over the rainbow to a land where the gentle breeze caresses us on a warm day while a tranquil river flows by. Simple accompaniment makes for an ‘A’ grade acoustic amble as we tread into the arenas of blues, country, folk, jazz, soul, pop and more. The cover of Bill Withers – Ain’t No Sunshine brings that yellow ball in the sky into our focus and a sizzling Summertime atmosphere is created.
Melody Cassidy skips through a lucky thirteen compositions – and she has plucked many classics from the vaults of her heroes but at every opportunity she applies her own take on proceedings. Eva can sing a lullaby or go up a gear but her aim is to satisfy with a smooth sonic tonic.
From a George Gershwin show style to seventies Eagles aplomb and never to be forgotten anthems such as Route 66, Honeysuckle Rose and Fever – these charming cherubs show that Eva still lives on many moons after her tragic departure. The vinyl release really does the music further justice on what is a pristine production.
If you are aiming to chill after a stressful day then this E.C. listening is just the medicine……
