To a certain degree, the ongoing posthumous repackaging of Elvis Presley and, more recently, Johnny Cash is understable, if not always forgivable. Both had lengthy careers and amassed shelves full of unreleased material, much of which is of genuine interest to fans, regardless of its quality. With Cassidy, however, it’s harder to check your cynicism at the door.
Many of these songs have been heard in Eva’s voice since her death in 1996, but the marketing hook this time round is that it’s the first album to entirely feature recordings of the singer accompanied only by her acoustic guitar. Yes, they’re previously unreleased, but there’s little difference between these takes on Fleetwood Mac’s Songbird or Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time than those fans will already have in their collections.
The Blues Alley club recording of Over The Rainbow (ie, the one from the oftscreened video that brought her to the broader public’s attention in the first place) also features, though it’s arguably lost its impact, seeing as every talent show wannabe seems to attempt Eva’s octave-swooping rendition rather than reference the reserve of the Judy Garland classic. Cassidy was a great singer, that’s beyond debate, but surely it’s time to pack up the tent and move on.
