Hello. I recently heard "Songbird" and fell in love with her voice. I looked at this album, but it appears to be half studio/half concert tracks. Is this her best album? Which of her albums would you recommend? Thank you!

jillybean said:

It's an excellent one to begin with because it's effectively a compilation.

If you like her version of 'Songbird', then I suspect you will also enjoy her interpretation of 'Fields Of Gold', 'Autumn Leaves' and 'I Know You By Heart' also on the album. There are also more upbeat gospel/folk songs which she delivers with some joy. It also has her version of 'Over The Rainbow'.

Here are the amazom.com Editorial Reviews:

"Songbird cherry-picks tracks from the three locally released albums of Eva Cassidy, whose hauntingly beautiful vocals went virtually unheard outside her native Washington, D.C., during her short 33 years with us. Lost to melanoma in 1996, Cassidy sang with an unaffected purity and an astonishing ability to make both classic and contemporary songs sound like they were written just for her. Sting's "Fields of Gold" finally lives up to its title through the alchemy of Cassidy's transcendent rendition, while other tracks on this anthology showcase her ease in the realms of pop (Christine McVie's "Songbird"), soul ("People Get Ready"), gospel ("Wade on the Water"), and traditional standards ("Autumn Leaves" and "Over the Rainbow"). Framed by understated jazz and pop arrangements, Cassidy's clear, soulful voice and exquisite phrasing make her that rarest of vocalists whose interpretations are a complement to any song. A fine introduction to a true talent. --Billy Grenier

"People
[T]he CD is rendered hopelessly poignant by the knowledge that Cassidy died two years ago at 33 from melanoma.... Whether in jazz, folk or inspirational music, Cassidy's potential was huge, and this album stands as a testament to popular music's loss.

"Album Description
Songbird is a posthumous anthology culled from the album Live At Blues Alley and her other solo release, Eva By Heart, along with one track from her 1992 duet album with Chuck Brown titled The Other Side. Blix label."
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[This message was edited Fri Jun 4 15:44:10 2004 by langebleu]

Thank you, langebleu. I see that she also does covers of Etta James' "At Last" and The Beatles "Yesterday". I just may have to hunker down and buy several. But 'Songbird' will be my starting point. Thanks again.

Her version of 'Over the rainbow' is divine.