'Somewhere' worth going

Often, when a music label releases a bunch of posthumous albums of a dead singer, they’re just trying to squeeze some money out of the pockets of die-hard fans. The albums are usually hastily thrown together, the sound quality is sub-par, and the tunes themselves are not up to standard.

But the release of Eva Cassidy’s album Somewhere is quite a different story. Cassidy failed to achieve much success or recognition until after she died of melanoma in 1996 and her famous version of “Somewhere over the Rainbow” was released. The producers of this new album have clearly done her memory justice. Somewhere compiles an album die-hard fans as well as casual listeners of folk, blues, jazz, gospel and R&B will enjoy.

Somewhere contains Cassidy’s patented reinterpretations of covers along with a few never-released songs recorded for a live audience that have since been enhanced in the studio.

The album opens with Cassidy’s slower versions of Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors”  and Robert Burns’ “My Love is Like a Red Red Rose.” One assumes that the producers decided to open with these tunes to showcase Cassidy’s beautiful, silky voice right off the bat in the hopes of reeling in new fans.

The songs are fine and Cassidy’s talent is obvious, but they would have been smarter to open the record with the bluesy, horn-blaring “Ain’t Doin’ Too Bad,” a much more upbeat tune and arguably the best song on the album. This pace continues with the best “Chain of Fools” cover I’ve ever heard and “Won’t Be Long,” a fantastic R&B song that recalls Ray Charles.

Indeed, these three songs alone are worth paying the album price. Luckily, there are more great tracks, most notably the Patsy Cline song “Walkin’ After Midnight,” the English folk track “Early One Morning,” and the chilling cover of George Gershwin’s “Summertime.” Even nonfans of the slower tunes can’t deny Cassidy’s astonishingly beautiful voice.

Somewhere will most definitely keep long-time Cassidy fans interested and attract newcomers to a great talent who left us way too early.