Late Singer’s Fifth U.K. Top 5 Posthumous Release
SIMPLY EVA, the newest collection from the late singer Eva Cassidy, rose to #4 on the U.K. music charts today (Sunday, February 13), becoming the artist’s fifth Top 5 posthumous release in the U.K. It is ten years since her CD debut SONGBIRD reached Number One in Britain. Sales of SIMPLY EVA were only surpassed by top-sellers Adele, Bruno Mars and Rihanna. In the U.S., SIMPLY EVA was the #1 best-selling album at Border Books and Music national chain this week and is #8 on the Billboard Folk Chart. SIMPLY EVA, from independent Blix Street Records, comprises 12 acoustic versions of previously-unheard guitar and vocal only performances.
The songs on SIMPLY EVA are alternative acoustic versions of known Cassidy songs with the exception of the redefining performance of “San Francisco Bay Blues,” which is already picking up radio airplay in the U.S. These “Eva only” recordings are straight from the original tape without any alteration.
Born in Washington, DC, Eva Cassidy recorded and performed in the area for several years until her untimely death from melanoma in 1996. She left behind a small, but impeccable body of recordings that have been meticulously curated and compiled by Blix Street Records with the support of her parents, Barbara and Hugh Cassidy.
In April, 1998, Blix Street posthumously released SONGBIRD, a collection chosen primarily from two other Cassidy albums, LIVE AT BLUES ALLEYand EVA BY HEART. It featured Sting’s “Fields of Gold” and Eva’s unqualified signature performance of “Over the Rainbow,” the video of which triggered Eva’s rise to #1 on the U.K. charts in March, 2001. Eva Cassidy became an “overnight sensation.” By the end of that year, the album had been certified triple-platinum in England (for sales of more than 900,000 sold) and gold in the U.S. (more than 500,000 units); the album, now six times platinum in England and platinum in the U.S., eventually hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Internet Albums chart and topped the publication’s Pop Catalog survey for 32 weeks.
Eva Cassidy has now sold over eight million records and achieved an unprecedented three consecutive posthumous U.K. No. 1 albums as well as the No.1 single, “What A Wonderful World” (a posthumous duet with Katie Melua).
What the critics have said:
“This album is like a fine cashmere blanket for the soul. ‘Over the Rainbow’ will break your heart before ‘Songbird’ and the acapella ‘I Know You By Heart’ gently puts it back together. VERDICT: Bliss” –OK! Magazine
“From her tender rendering of Christine McVie’s “Songbird” through her bluesy folk renditions of “Wayfaring Stranger and “Wade in the Water” and her soaring transformations of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” and “Time After Time,” this album is truly flawless.”-muruch.com
“Today’s collection gathers stripped-down (just voice and guitar) versions of fan faves that feel both intimate and finished, tugging anew at the heart strings.” -Philadelphia Daily News
“One can only imagine how far this magnificent singer might have gone had she not lived such a short life.” -Newhouse News Service
“If you are a fan of Eva Cassidy’s, or simply are looking for some amazing acoustic folk with a voice that will leave you longing for more, I can’t recommend picking up a copy of Simply Eva enough.” -blogcritics.com
“If you’re a fan, you need this; if you’ve been wondering what all the fuss is about, the naked intimacy of Simply Eva is among the most convincing arguments yet for her posthumous reputation.”-allmusic.com
“There couldn’t be a more suitable title for the album. All the listener is given on this album is Eva Cassidy’s voice and her acoustic guitar. While that doesn’t sound like much, it’s more than enough. It’s hard to ignore the hyperbole surrounding the praise of Cassidy’s voice but at the same time it’s easy to see where that praise is coming from and just how stunning her voice is.” –Washington Times
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