Eva Cassidy - Imagine
Eva Cassidy - guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals, background vocals [click here to see more vinyl featuring Eva Cassidy]
Darrel Andrews - percussion
Chris Biondo - bass
Dan Cassidy - violin
Adrian Green - drums
Keith Grimes - guitar, electric guitar
Raice McLeod - drums
Larry Melton - bass
Bruno Nasta - violin
Lenny Williams piano - vibraphone
Kent Wood - organ, synthesizer, synthesizer strings
1 LP, standard sleeve
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio & Live
Record Press : Optimal Media
Label : Blix Street
Original Label : Blix Street
Recorded live :
- A1 at Pearl's (Annapolis) on September 24, 1994.
- A3 in the winter of 1995 at the King of France Tavern located in The Maryland Inn Annapolis
- A4 at Blues Alley, on January 3, 1996 and Mixed in March, 2001 at Mad Hatter Studio, Los Angeles
- A5 & B3 at Chris Biondo's Glendale, MD studio in 1996
- B2 & B5 at Pearl's on September 10, 1994
Recorded in studio :
- A2 at Black Pond Studios, Glendale, MD in 1991
- B1 at Golden Triangle Studio, Columbia, MD in 1987
- B4 at Black Pond Studios, Rockville, MD studio in 1990
Mastered by Robert Vosgien
Originally released in 2002
Reissued in 2014
Tracks:
Side A:
- It Doesn't Matter Anymore
- Fever
- Who Knows Where the Time Goes?
- Tennessee Waltz
- Imagine
Side B:
- Early Morning Rain
- You've Changed
- Still Not Ready
- I Can Only Be Me
- Danny Boy
Reviews:
“A desperate clamoring from fans worldwide is no doubt the last thing the late singer could have imagined when she was at clubs and at home singing and doing rough recordings of the tunes that would someday be chosen for this magnificent hodgepodge. But many years after her death in obscurity in late 1996, she became a true phenomenon, with enthusiasts who find in her voice a true connection to heaven (take that in any number of ways). So even if the songs are rough, they're still Eva Cassidy. Another precious listen to her transcendent voice -- so brilliant in all genres; wispy and angelic one minute, soulful and guttural the next -- is worth all the dusty shelf-searching this compilation no doubt entailed. The songs recorded at the now-defunct Annapolis club Pearls -- the obscure chestnut "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," which Paul Anka gave to Buddy Holly; Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain"; and the tearjerking "Danny Boy" -- present Cassidy at her purest, her simple acoustic guitar riding along behind increasingly emotional vocal lines. "Fever" is an alternate take from the version that wound up on Chuck Brown's The Other Side, beautifully torchy and featuring a sly violin line by brother Dan Cassidy. She recorded a folky rendition of the Sandy Denny classic "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" at the Maryland Inn, her voice rising and falling over a subtle violin. Her smoky jazz chops -- think Norah Jones with a lot more fire -- are in full force on "You've Changed" (recorded at Blues Alley in Washington, D.C.). Probably the richest performances are the powerful home-demo renditions of the title track and "Tennessee Waltz," given off-the-cuff readings (with only simple guitar lines) that show off Cassidy's casual genius. Finally, Cassidy's dad found a few formal early studio recordings, "Still Not Ready" and "I Can Only Be Me," a heartrending song Stevie Wonder wrote for Spike Lee's School Daze but never recorded. That's OK -- Cassidy's unintentional penchant is for redefining songs and creating new and definitive versions. Most likely, no major label would ever put out a new artist recording with this kind of a mixed bag, both stylistically and production-wise. But this hardly matters, as listeners seek more and more from the angel who left long before the world fell in love with her. The continuing heavenly serenade is hard to resist.” AllMusic Review by Jonathan Widran
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4?5 / 5 , Discogs : 4,24 / 5