Eva Cassidy – Simply Eva (Vinyl 2LP)

You may think you’ve heard all there is to hear from Eva Cassidy. Think again. You may have heard most of these classic Eva songs before but, as sure as less is more, you have not experienced anything like this collection of previously unreleased Eva-only, guitar/vocal performances. It’s almost like hearing Eva Cassidy for the first time.

In addition to including Eva’s previously unreleased, re-defining version of “San Francisco Bay Blues,” 2011’s Simply Eva is the first album to include the Blues Alley guitar/vocal performance of “Over The Rainbow” embodied in the “Rainbow” video that triggered Eva Cassidy’s rise to the top of the British Pop Charts in March 2001. Recorded five years after the 1991 version heard on Songbird, Eva’s fully evolved “Rainbow” literally redefined this all-time No. 1 popular song (according to a BBC radio poll).

The differences in the performances of the other songs range from folk versions of “Wayfaring Stranger” and “Wade In The Water,” to three extra verses in the included version of Paul Simon’s “Kathy’s Song,” to the more subtle nuances that grace every individual performance. On a higher level, the overall experience of the first top to bottom Eva-only album transcends specific differences.

Less is more in this instance is not a criticism of the supporting musical performances contained on previously released Eva Cassidy recordings either. Simply Eva focuses on the core of Eva’s recordings, namely, the voice of “one of the greatest interpreters of popular song of the last 30 years” (Mojo) and her superb guitar work which had been a bit lost in the shuffle of other instruments. In doing so, you literally hear Eva for the first time, again!

LP1
1. Songbird
2. Wayfaring Stranger
3. People Get Ready
4. Wayfaring Stranger
5. True Colours
6. Autumn Leaves

LP2
1. San Francisco Bay Blues
2. Wade In The Water
3. Time After Time
4. Kathy’s Song
5. Over The Rainbow
6. I Know Your Heart