Live at Blues Alley by Eva Cassidy (CD, Sep-1997, 1 Disc, Blix Street Records)

Without a doubt Live At Blues Alley is my favorite album from a singer who had an unbelievably perfect voice she could wrap around gospel, blues, folk, jazz and any other style of music she wanted to sing. I don't know that she ever knew how good she was; she just loved to sing but was too shy to pursue a career in a field that chews up and spits out much stronger personalities. But Eva commanded the stage when she sang. Listen to what she can do with Sting's "Fields of Gold," Billie Holiday's "Fine and Mellow, Buffy Sainte-Marie's "Tall Trees in Georgia" and "What A Wonderful World." Her voice singing Paul Simon's "Bridge over Troubled Water" simply makes my soul ache. This album contains 4 tracks from her 1998 breakthrough legend album, Songbird, but this intimate portrait of a singer in love with song and an audience in love with her pitch-perfect voice is my absolute favorite.


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