Time After Time

by

Eva Cassidy

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What a voice... At times she evokes the great Sandy Denny with a small vocal nuance, sometimes she sounds like a great jazz diva from the 30s. But always Eva. A remarkable voice that got no real attention while she lived (while scads of talentless boy and teen bands are hyped to death, don't get me started).

Starting with a lovely version of Paul Simon's Kathy's Song that leaves out the self-pitying middle verses, this album is one great vocal performance stacked on another until the final, gospel-tinged Way Beyond the Blue. There are standouts along the way, including a smoky Ain't No Sunshine and Time After Time. There are other songs that are not great, but are made better by the vocal treat that is this amazing voice. The tracks never mesh into a single album, though, as the jazz of Time After Time veers oddly into the country of Penny To My name and the varying recording qualities are obvious from track to track.

The album is worth having (hell, get anything you can by this amazing artist), but it's not the place to start an Eva Cassidy collection. Get Live at Blues Alley (oh, what a wonder that one is). Get Songbird (which repeats parts of Blues Alley, but has some real standouts from other sources). Then get this to listen to when you've played those two to death.

Of all the Eva Cassidy cd's, Time After Time is the weakest though this is no fault of Eva. She sings gloriously and without fault. But when compared to classic's like Eva By Heart, it starts to show its flaws.

On Eva By Heart, each song was crafted to perfection by the producer and her fellow musicians as they sought to pay tribute to her life and her art. The result is one of the most moving works of our time.

By contrast, Time After Time seems slapped together with very little embellishment. Just make sure the vocals sound o.k. and let her go.

If you like simple, girl with a guitar kind of music, you might enjoy it. But if you want to hear a great CD, try Eva By Heart.