After seven posthumously released and well-received records, the tragic story of Eva Cassidy has passed into the realm of cult legend. The notoriously shy D.C. -area performer with the most powerfully gentle voice could render any song, no matter how well-known, no matter how frequently turned to by other singers, into her own. In fact, this eighth release, AMERICAN TUNE, contains a reworking of perhaps the most covered song of all time, the Lennon-McCartney ballad “Yesterday,” and despite thousands of versions, she discovered a new interpretation hidden within the folds of the familiar. At this point, it's practically impossible to disassociate “God Bless The Child” from Billie Holiday's original, and many have added their own takes, but Cassidy's voice earnestly and artfully rolls over the tune and a new angle emerges. Most remarkable about AMERICAN TUNE is despite the diversity of the sources, her voice forges a discernable, undeniable thread between songs; Cassidy is as comfortable with soul as traditional folk, pop as jazz, and her irreplaceable voice could wrap around just about any song. Usually, by this point, the well of a talent that passed so young would have long been tapped, but Cassidy proves so strong that her music seems inexhaustable, and AMERICAN TUNE rises far above pastiche into a stunning, consistent album of its own. Eva Cassidy fans surely feel something akin to relief when another cache of tapes is opened for release. The singer's 1996 death at the age of 33, after all, rendered her output finite in the saddest and most frustrating way. American Tune ‘s modus operandi is similar to previous Cassidy CDs in its mix of standard repertoire (here, everything from “Yesterday” to “God Bless the Child” and Ray Charles's “Hallelujah I Love [Him] So” rubs shoulders) and fine, less obvious choices (Joe Simon's early-’70s soul hit “Drowning in the Sea of Love”). The sometimes pedestrian backing does little to spoil the pleasure of Cassidy's pure tone and the surprises she's able to wring from the material–on the Charles tune, she even suggests a distaff Lyle Lovett. She'd no doubt be pleased to know that tracks uncovered at this point now sound like, well, notes from a missed, much-loved friend.
