Eva Cassidy didn't want fame - she was happy just to sing what she wanted at local venues, never considering that she was any better than many other local singers, performing up and down the land in clubs and bars. Others knew differently but record company scouts heard her diverse material and were put off. They liked her voice but wanted her to specialize, so Eva never got that major recording contract. Meanwhile, a local producer took every opportunity to record her over a period of several years. We are fortunate that he did as it is provided a treasure trove that is gradually being exposed. Eva's premature death from skin cancer became the subject of a newspaper article, following which many records were sold. The legend of Eva Cassidy, the blonde lady who could sing the blues and much else besides, began to spread across America and around the world. Eva's eclectic mix of songs appealed to millions of people, especially in Britain where this compilation became the first of three of her albums made it to number one in the album charts.
If Eva were to specialize, she would have been a jazz and blues singer - there is more jazz and blues in her music than anything else. However, pop and folk music are also strong influences. Here you can find covers of Fields of gold (Sting), Autumn leaves (a French song that became an American standard after translation into English), Wayfaring stranger (a traditional folk song interpreted as a jazz song), Songbird (Fleetwood Mac - a song from their classic album, Rumours), People get ready (Curtis Mayfield), Oh I had a golden thread (Pete Seeger) and Over the rainbow (Judy Garland). Eva sings each song her way, always managing to do something different with each song - even Over the rainbow, which has been recorded by so many different singers down the years.
As an introduction to Eva's music, this is outstanding. You may think you know many of the songs already, but unless you've heard Eva sing them, you haven't really. If, by some fluke, you haven't heard any of Eva's music, give her a listen.