Cherie Call

 

One of the finest of our local artists is Cherie Call. Self penned songs such as "Believe", "Gifts", "Memphis", "One Good Woman" and "Holding On" have become classics to her many fans. The acoustic version of "Holding On" is particularly fine. Cherie"s been on the scene for quite awhile. I first heard her many years ago at Provo city's down town Freedom Festival. We'd go down to the court house to watch the 4th or July parade and for many years there were musical acts on stage at the court house grounds. That's where I first became acquainted with her work and while I didn't pay a whole lot of attention that day, I made a mental note to check into her stuff more thoroughly. That took quite awhile coming and didn't really happen until I was listening to a Christmas broadcast on FM100 a few years ago where she was featured. At some point in the concert one of the MCs asked if she had written anything new recently. She said she'd written a new song the night before but was hesitant to perform it in public. Well, after much coaxing and cajoling she finally relented and sang "Broken Hearts Like Mine" for the very first time in front of an audience. It was what you could only describe as a "moment". You could tell even from listening to the radio that the audience and hosts were stunned. I was driving at the time and almost had to pull over to keep from wrecking the car. That song deeply touched every heart that heard it that day. Awesome experience! From what I've just written you'd have to say I consider Cherie one the best song writers around and that'd be the truth! Cherie's latest offering is an album called "Grace". As the name implies you'd conclude that there were some Christian themes included. If you know Cherie you'd know that she doesn't stray too far from songs of faith, hope, love and family. That's exactly where this album goes and does it very well indeed! I consider this album her finest, taken as a whole. The consistency of it, the quality of the song writing, singing and production put it in a place where few of Nashville's finest are capable of going. Gotta love it! Favorite tracks are: "Grace Is Amazing", "Walk You Through the Night", "Hurricanes" and "River of Tears". "River of Tears" is a noteworthy re-write of a very old song from the British Isles, "The Water Is Wide". She adds a whole new dimension to a song of love, even tragic love in some of its incarnations, totally re-working it into a song of faith. Lovely and amazing! For more info check out her website by clicking on her name at the top of this post. Happy listening!

Eva Cassidy

Seems like high time I got to one of my ultimate favorite singers, Eva Cassidy. I believe her story is fairly well known and has been told many times and in many places by people far more able than me, but I'll touch on some of the important aspects of her story and refer the reader to other locations if more info is desired. Eva spent her entire life in the Washington, D. C. area and really only received the kind of local notice you expect of someone with her talent in the latter years of her short life. Eva died from metastatic melanoma at the age of 36. During her lifetime she never received national or world wide notice which probably suited her fine since she was extremely shy. She finally landed a record deal just before her passing, record executives having previously recognised her talent, but being put off by her eclecticism. Her compilation album, "Songbird" went platinum in the U. K. after her rendition of "Over the Rainbow" got air play on the BBC. Her subsequent releases have all sold well across the pond, but her popularity in the U. S. has been a slow process. Many people think a movie based on her life which has been talked about for a number of years will be the catalyst to really launch her to the top of the charts on this side of the pond. I'm here to let you folks in on great artists that don't receive the attention they deserve, so here's  a secret to chew on: Eva Cassidy is very possibly the greatest interpreter of popular vocal music in the last century! A bold statement indeed, but I'm sticking by it. Perhaps the best evidence is her latest album recently released by Blix Street Records, "Simply Eva", which as the title suggests is an album featuring Eva's vocals with minimal backing. In this case the accompaniment is supplied by Eva herself playing solo guitar, providing ample evidence of her outstanding talent as a guitarist. This album features the Blues Alley version of "Over the Rainbow" which I find beautiful beyond description! The audio in the attached vid is the same recording. Being a lover of vocals over accompaniment I rate "Simply Eva" as my personal favorite of the 8 albums Blix has released and give it a hearty recommendation!

Probably the best source for all things Eva is this website run by Eva's cousin, Laura Bligh: http://evacassidy.org/eva/

To Eva:

You left in autumn
The leaves were falling.
I see your sweet smile
I hear your laughter.
The joy you give me lives on and on,
Cause I know YOU by heart!

The Civil Wars

Thanks to a Facebook posting by wonderful local singer/songwriter Cherie Call I was recently made aware of a most interesting new musical duo, The Civil Wars. The Civil Wars consist of a pair of singer/songwriters, Joy Williams and John Paul White. In a most serendipitous twist of fate they met when their names were drawn to work together at a songwriter's conference. They had immediate chemistry and decided to join forces to become a working singer/songwriter duo. This was less than 2 years ago. They recently released their first album “Barton Hollow”. It placed #12 on the Billboard Hot 200, #2 on the Billboard Folk Chart and #1 on iTunes. The reasons for this tremendous initial success are due to a combination of things. Most importantly would be the chemistry as mentioned. Their approach to songs is quite different within the folk, alt-country genres. They make much more use of dynamics than you would expect. They can be delicate at one moment and powerful the next. Their voices intertwine, weaving around and through a song in a complex, compelling manner. Their harmonies are exquisite. Their sound is very vocal oriented with accompaniments kept simple and non-intrusive. In short they've got something beautiful, new and unusual. They've also made full use of savvy marketing, offering free downloads that include a sound board recording from their second public outing called “Live At Eddie's Attic”. Their “Poison and Wine” played on an episode of Grey's Anatomy generating immediate internet interest. They've appeared on the Tonight Show and Taylor Swift lists them as one of her favorites. It sounds like a bit of luck may have entered in, but I think there's a lesson in here somewhere for other indie acts looking to expand their audience. Don't look for these folks to be on country radio any time soon. Be grateful that it's a whole new world and we need not depend on the radio to find good music. I just now purchased “Barton Hollow” from iTunes. It's cool to compare the same songs from the live setting and see how they've recorded them in studio. The instrumentation is somewhat fuller on the record but still restrained. The vocals are definitely their signature.

Check 'em out at:  http://www.myspace.com/thecivilwars