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Topic: Songbird-Eva Cassidy |
Glenn Suchan
From:
Austin, Texas
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Posted 14 Nov 2006 6:33 am |
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In another post b0b mentioned Willie Nelson's new CD, "Songbird". I've listened to all the cuts (I don't own a copy, so my listening is restricted to partial songs), my opinion: It's OK, but that's about it. I think the main problem is Willie doesn't try to step out of his normal song-delivery to give the varied selections their due.
One song in particular is the title song, "Songbird". This is a song penned by Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac fame (some may remember her as Christine Perfect with the band Chicken Shack). Songbird is a gorgeous song that soars beyond most of the pop crap Fleetwood Mac "pushed" in their U.S. incarnation.
Willie does his usual, laid-back, Texas hill-country treatment for this song. Which is fine, but it falls short of beauty and emotion of the song. By comparison, listen to the version by the amazing, but sadly, deceased Eva Cassidy. Check the Amazon.com link: http://www.amazon.com/Songbird-Eva-Cassidy/d p/B000006AKD/sr=8-1/qid=1163513432/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-0416895-1502516?ie=UTF8&s=music
Like Willie Nelson, Eva Cassidy was not afraid to put songs from multiple genres on a single CD. But unlike Willie Nelson, her singing totally adapted to multiple styles. Combine that with the strength and purity of her voice and she made every song/genre her own. A true vocal genius, which is so rare in this day of "American Idols".
Keep on pickin'!
Glenn
To the moderator: I realize this has nothing to do with steel guitar, so feel free to move it over to the "Music" section. Sorry 'bout that.  [This message was edited by Glenn Suchan on 14 November 2006 at 06:37 AM.] |
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2006 8:12 am
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In my humble opinion, Eva Cassidy was the best voice I have ever heard. She could sing any kind of song and make it sound good. That was evidently why she never achieved much fame before she died, she didn't fit into any one genre of music. I still get chills when I hear her sing "Over The Rainbow".
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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording
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David Phillips
From:
San Francisco CA , USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2006 10:20 am
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The remember the first time I heard Eva Cassidy on the radio.
I waited by the radio for over 30 minutes after the song finished just to find out the name of the voice that touched me so profoundly.
The song was "Fields Of Gold."
[This message was edited by David Phillips on 14 November 2006 at 10:21 AM.] |
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Ivan Posa
From:
Hamilton, New Zealand
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Posted 14 Nov 2006 11:32 am
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Darvin and Glenn,I agree with you about Eva Cassidy. She was a very rare talent. Her album Songbird is top of my favourites,
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2006 12:21 pm
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My wife loves her singing so I hear her recordings and I think she had a very unique voice that could be both soulful and an tender-a rare quality. She played cello also in addition to her sparse guitar playing.
Sting liked her "Fields of Gold" cut. He said that he usually does not care for what others do to that song, but he especially liked her rendition.
Very sad her passing so young to cancer. |
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Jelle Biel
From:
the netherlands
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Glenn Suchan
From:
Austin, Texas
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Jim Phelps
From:
Mexico City, Mexico
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Posted 14 Nov 2006 3:07 pm
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| In an interview Sting says that when he heard her rendition of Fields of Gold it actually brought him to tears. I can believe it. |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2006 3:20 pm
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I believe forum member ... Dave "The Hula Monster" Giegerich ... recorded some with Eva Cassidy.
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Dustpans LTD.
The Casteels
HSGA
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Brint Hannay
From:
Maryland, USA
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Posted 14 Nov 2006 9:19 pm
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| I, too, think Eva Cassidy is the greatest singer I've ever heard. Her "Fields of Gold" has brought me to tears more than once. Likewise "Over the Rainbow". I deeply regret that I never heard her live--though I live in the D.C. area where she lived and performed, I never heard of her till she was gone. |
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Paul Redmond
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 16 Nov 2006 8:13 pm
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Eva Cassidy was IMO one of the best female vocalists of the 20th century along with Ella Fitzgerald and Karen Carpenter. I have 6 of her CD's including 'Songbird'. Her albums are still being handled by Blix Street Records. They just moved to, I believe, WA state. Their website is - - www.blixstreet.com
She was quite the lady!!
PRR |
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Paul Redmond
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2006 2:18 am
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Just an added thought before I call it a night, why can't we hear and enjoy the musical gifts and the very talents of Eva and recording artists like her on mainstream radio as we know it?? That really baffles me!! I used her rendition of "Over The Rainbow" to fashion my version of the song on steel and have played that very song that way on several occasions without accompaniment of any kind to audiences over the past several months only to discover that there wasn't a 'dry eye' in the house. I sure would like to be driving down the road and hear one of her many recordings coming from a local station. I guess I ask too much. What a truly remarkable talent. What a truly vast wasteland radio has become over the years. Radio stations really ought to start playing 'real' music instead of the garbage we are constantly being force-fed. I stand by my previous post. . .she was one of the all-time greats. God bless her!!
PRR
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2006 7:29 am
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Paul, we all know talent has nothing to do with getting airplay, its how much moolah passes under the table.
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Darvin Willhoite
Riva Ridge Recording
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Mike Wheeler
From:
Delaware, Ohio, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2006 9:53 am
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I just listened to the YouTube cuts of Eva. My God!!! What an incredible voice! I've never heard such emotional performances layed out song after song. She was truly the most masterful vocalist I've ever heard. She sang with her whole heart on her sleeve, and held nothing back...you could see it in her eyes.
Excuse me....I've got some album buyin' to do!! |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 17 Nov 2006 9:53 am
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I chanced to discover this wonderful talent several years ago. It was her guitar work that initially caught my attention then the voice simply grew upon me. I couldn't believe this young woman was doing the intricate chord work I was hearing. But alas, all of that beautiful music is there on the item that was posted here.
What a happy day it was to get to SEE and hear her at the same time. THANK YOU for sharing this rare prize with the rest of us.
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Glenn Suchan
From:
Austin, Texas
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Kurt Kowalski
From:
Kendall, NY USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2006 2:28 pm
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God Bless Eva Cassidy!
Eva was one of the MOST Talented singers ever, bar none.
I miss Eva...
Everytime I hear one of her songs... I get all choked up with tears.
She is certainly missed.
We miss you Eva!!! Sing on forever, girl!!!
kk |
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Michael Breid
From:
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, USA
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Posted 17 Nov 2006 9:06 pm
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They play Fields of Gold and more Eva Cassidy songs on KBVA in Bella Vista, Arkansas. 106.5 They never say who the artists are, so for about two years I went around with the song Fields of Gold on my brain until I sauntered in my local beverage house for my medicinal box of red wine, and the girl behind the counter gave me a CD with some cuts by a girl named Eva Cassidy. I about flipped when I heard her. What a beautiful voice and what a great loss to the musical community. May she sing with the angels.
Michael in the Ozarks |
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 18 Nov 2006 11:49 am
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Eva was amazing.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow, broke right after she died,
and it broke BIG.
The multiple record execs who at tried
to pigeon hole here were just shown to be
total twits. They came ready to sign, and she was gone.
I heard from her brother a few got fired because of it.
He was supposed to play violin on a session in France
with an english friend of mine,
but had to got to Iceland.
Sting Covered Fields Of Barley,
but I think she did it forst.
And an awesome version.
I have a compilation cd I did with
Eva Cassidy
Mandy Barnett,
and a super bluesy/jazzy lady from John McGann's band
Wayfairing Strangers.
Liza Constable.
One of the best lady singer cd's ever
to go in my player.
[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 19 November 2006 at 01:47 AM.] |
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Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
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David L. Donald
From:
Koh Samui Island, Thailand
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Posted 19 Nov 2006 1:53 am
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Jim thanks, that really puts a good spot in the day!
It also shows up the logic of the record execs
who think an artists vision should be repackaged
to fit into a single definable style
and only that.
Rather than THEY package the artist's styles
to more than one market segment,
and win them ALL!
We should have all been listening to this lady
for years, BEFORE she passed on.
But the execs couldn't figure if she was fish nor fowl nor RAP.
So they did nothing.
God knows who else we are missing
because of this myopia.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 19 November 2006 at 01:55 AM.] |
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 19 Nov 2006 7:28 am
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| Well said, David. She is astounding. |
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Rick McDuffie
From:
Benson, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 19 Nov 2006 12:14 pm
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Songbird... Eva Cassidy singing a Christine Perfect song... my two favorite female voices. Wow. My daughter, Faith, turned me on to Eva 4 or 5 years ago. There is a certain melancholy quality to her music and, knowing that she had passed on, I had trouble listening to some of it without getting teary-eyed. But I think music is supposed to be emotional... if not, it's just noise.
It's awe-inspiring to witness what she could do to a song. Watch those Blues Alley Videos. No pitch correction or punch-ins there brothers and sisters. That's how it's supposed to be done.
There is no instrument as beautiful as the human voice.
When I get to heaven, I hope to jam with her.[This message was edited by Rick McDuffie on 19 November 2006 at 12:21 PM.] |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 19 Nov 2006 3:30 pm
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| There are quite a few singers who have a reputation for "getting inside to the heart of the song" and making an emotional connection with listeners ... Sinatra, Patsy Cline, Billie Holiday, the list goes on and on. Eva Cassidy's singing touches me more deeply because there was a purity about her voice with none of the coarser aspects of their lives that for me, sometimes colors the music of the folks listed above. How can you listen to Eva sing Fields of Gold and not have her break your heart? Like Bill Evans playing Haunted Heart and Joe Stafford singing Shenandoah, as many times as I've heard it it she gets me every time. The amazing things is that Eva could turn around and sing jazz and gospel with equal power - now, that's almost unique. What a talent! |
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Terry Farmer
From:
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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Posted 26 Nov 2006 5:51 pm
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| God Bless Eva Cassidy. I tracked down her music after hearing "Somewhere over the rainbow" on the television show American Inventor. Bought some CDs, did some research and was just blown away. One of my favorites is "Oh, had I a golden thread" of the Songbird CD. She is truly and angel and has moved me to tears many times. Music doesn't get any finer than this. I would like to meet her in heaven one day. |
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