[legoman]

I bought Eva Cassidy's "Live at Blues Alley" a week ago and although some of the arrangements would be usually too sweet/traditional/etc. for me, there is something about this recording, the directness, the rawness, the intimacy, that draws me in and just wows me.

How do her other albums compare musically and sonically? Anything I need to get or will it all a disappointment compared to this highly acclaimed recording?

Thanks,

Legoman

 

[Hirsch]

"The Other Side" that she did with Chuck Brown, is the only CD besides "Blues Alley" that was released while she was alive. "Eva by Heart", which she was working on at the time of her death, is fantastic. "Songbird " is a compilation of cuts from those three, but uses alternate takes for the overlap with "Eva by Heart". "Time after Time" is also good. It's a posthumous release made up of tracks that Eva recorded at various times (inlcuding some more Blues Alley cuts). The CD's above make up the "official" Eva collection. If her singing reaches you, you owe it to yourself to own all of them.

The "unofficial" Eva album is "No Boundaries", which was released without consent of her family. It is some studio cuts that she did for some friends. She didn't pick the music, and her lack of involvement with the songs shows. If any will disappoint, this is it.

She also made an LP with an early band, "Method Actor", for which she also did the cover art. These are going for over $500 on ebay, so it may be awhile before I hear it

A good site for info on Eva Cassidy is maintained by her cousin, Laura Bligh:

www.evacassidy.net

 

[kaiwei]

If anything else, you MUST hear her version of You Don't Know Me with Chuck Brown. I tell you the hair on me still stands everytime I hear it. It's simply beautiful.