“it gives me joy that Eva’s music is still giving so much pleasure to so many people” : Eva’s mother, Barbara Cassidy

Eva Cassidy
‘Somewhere’
12 previously unreleased songs

UK album released on August 25th
On Blix Street Records

“It was clear that fans of Eva’s music wanted a new album but it was important to us that any new record was made up of songs that had not been heard before and that were of a high quality. We are really pleased with the album, it is long overdue.” Eva’s father, Hugh Cassidy

Ten years after the release of Eva Cassidy’s seminal album ‘Songbird’ Eva’s legend continues with the release of ‘Somewhere’, a collection of 12 previously unreleased songs. The songs have surfaced from a variety of sources close to Eva including her brother Dan, her school friend Rob Cooper and her guitarist Keith Grimes.

In 2003 Keith found a box of Eva recordings that had been packed away and forgotten. These recordings, that had lain un-noticed for many years, formed the backbone of Eva’s UK number 1 album ‘American Tune’. Three of the remaining songs, ‘Coat of Many Colours’, ‘Won’t Be Long’ and ‘Walkin After Midnight’ {all recorded in 1993}, appear on ‘Somewhere’ in their original form.

‘Early One Morning’ is one of two songs on the album which were co-written by Eva. Recorded in April 1987 in Rob Cooper’s home studio in Maryland, and based on the traditional English folk song, Eva’s family were unaware of the song’s existence until early in 2008. The second of the Eva-penned songs was written with Chris Biondo in 1990 but remained unfinished until this year when Chris, with considerable help from former Eva band mates Lenny Williams and Raice McLeod, finished the recording in the style in which it was originally conceived.

‘If I Give My Heart’ is a song that Eva often played at her solo performances and this version, which features Eva’s brother Dan on fiddle, was recorded by the siblings in Iceland.

When asked how, as Eva’s mother, she feels on hearing these new songs Barbara replied “It is very painful to listen to some of the songs, but it gives me joy that Eva’s music is still giving so much pleasure to so many people”

The vocals on ‘Ain’t Doing Too Bad’ and ‘Chain Of Fools’ were recorded “live at Blues Alley” on the same evening as the celebrated 1996 album. Chris Biondo commissioned horn arrangements from Leigh Pilzer for both songs and, in the case of ‘Ain’t Doing Too Bad,’ enlisted the help of Lenny, Keith and Raice to adapt their parts in a studio setting – the result being what is arguably the musical high point of the album. In addition to the new horn arrangement and the background vocal talents of Leonie and Amba Tremain, London producer Steve Lima provides a different take on Eva’s version of the classic ‘Chain Of Fools’.

‘Somewhere’, perhaps her most diverse album to date, constantly surprises as Eva Cassidy once again takes us along on her unique musical journey.

 

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