Eva Cassidy
Album: Nightbird
Label: Blix Street
Tracks: 33(2cd)12DVD)
Website: http://evacassidy.org/

There can be very few lovers of music, almost irrespective of personal style preference, that are not familiar with the Eva Cassidy story. Dying in 1996 at the age of 32, her music may well have disappeared forever for listeners in the UK until Terry Wogan decided to start playing her songs on his BBC2 programme. From that point on, her albums went stratospheric as did her popularity. It is such a shame that she never got so see how many lives she had an impact on.

Since her death, a number of albums have been released. The latest, "Nightbird "is a full concert recording made in January 1996 at the Blues Alley Jazz Club in Georgetown. If there is ever an album that truly portrays the vocal and musical talents of this remarkable woman, then this is it. Thirty one songs including a mix of gospel, jazz, blues, folk, rock and country were recorded on the night some of which have never been released before. Her voice soars, drags you into her world and in many cases then leaves you totally drained. The best example of this being Sting's "Fields of Gold" which gets me every time I hear it.

An eclectic mix of standards, ballads and blues numbers give full rein to her vocal range whilst her band give excellent support without ever taking the light away from the real star of the night. Moving from "Route 66" to "Bridge Over Troubled Water" her voice is effortless and she was also a pretty good guitarist too. "Ain't No Sunshine" is quite simply superb.

A favourite track? Impossible to choose as the variety is so extensive. As it is a live album, it is also nice to hear Eva speaking in between some of the songs. The crowd noise is generally fairly low and respectful so you can easily forget that this is a live album and not a studio recording.

It is almost impossible to review this album without having a serious lump in your throat. Mean, moody, magnificent and melodious. Eva brings soul and feeling to every song that she sings and the world is a better place for her very brief stay in it.

If you only buy one Eva Cassidy album, buy this one. It has everything that you would ever want to hear from this truly beautiful and charismatic singer. RIP Eva and thanks for the music.

Rory Stanbridge