Search - Eva Cassidy :: No Boundaries

Voice muffled in the tribute

Craig Radden Henderson | Mesa, AZ USA | 12/31/2000

(2 out of 5 stars)

"As a dedicated fan of Eva Cassidy's music (my wife and I own all of her CD's), it is amazing to me that this batch of songs was released at all, especially under the title "No Boundaries." This tribute saddened me. The recordings on the CD (not a single good track) place her spiraling voice against a wall in an overcrowded room. Her "boundless" talent is treated as a secondary instrument; she deserved so much better. I implore people who have never experienced Eva's amazing vocal abilities to leave this CD alone and purchase one that puts Eva on center stage. For example, this CD has none of the intimacy, energy and improvisational surprise of "Live at Blue's Alley." If the uninitiatied find Eva through another avenue, they'll fall in love with her spirit, and with jazz."

A Different Facet of a Diamond of a Voice

Tonya Pletz | Allentown, PA USA | 04/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"No Boundaries has been the CD of Eva Cassidy's collection to have seemingly received the most mixed reviews, but I would highly recommend it as a must have for Eva enthusiasts who love the beauty of her voice. I think what upsets most people is the sharp contrast in vocal delivery from a CD such as Songbird. On several of the tracks, Cassidy's voice shows a grittier edge, but I don't think it's vocal postering. (ala Whitney, Mariah or Celine...if Eva was placed on the same stage with those divas, she could have easily outshined them all...including the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin! Cassidy does a rendition of "A Natural Woman" that would have even impressed Franklin!) On No Boundaries, Cassidy is merely showing a different side of herself as an artist. To confine such a broad vocal talent to only being capable of doing ballads, classics, and folksy tunes is doing Cassidy a terrible disservice. Yes, the tunes on No Boundaries are more pop and rhythm and blues orientated than on some of her other CDs, but forget the useless musical genres. No Boundaries is aptly titled because that's exactly what Cassidy was able to create with the power of her voice. Had she lived to be able to give us more music, she could have easily crossed any musical boundary. Without No Boundaries, the scope of what Cassidy was able to achieve with her voice would remain incomplete, so it's a must have."

Pure [junk]

Tonya Pletz | 03/21/2001

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Eva is the greatest singer ever, but vocal abilities alone can't do poorly written, poorly produced, and poorly arranged songs justice. Eva did a lot of studio work for songwriters while she was alive. They would pay her to sing their songs, so they could shop them around. At least one of the songs is from an album released in 1988 by a band called `Method Actor'. Now that Eva's name is popular, the songs have resurfaced under the name Eva Cassidy of course (cashing in!). I have been told by a source that Eva's parents did not want this released. The sleeve on this CD thanks her parents and the Eva Cassidy foundation for their support, so that is misleading. Take it from a friend of Eva's...she would never have released this under her name. It should have been released under the songwriter or band's name, NOT Eva's. I would also say not to trust all the reviews regarding this album. I would surmise that people involved in releasing this CD posted a lot of the reviews. NOTE: This is a completely different record company than the other CD's. All the CD's released by Blix Street are of quality material. Although, be aware that `Songbird' is a `best of' type of album, with no new tracks."