Wasn't sure which video to put here, so here's my New Year's reaction 🥳 https://youtu.be/Rmw8dBgZb9c

I've heard this described as "Judy was singing about Oz, and Eva was singing about Heaven" and i couldnt agree more.

I don't know why, but her voice brought me to tears like four times in five minutes.

Eva was very disappointed with how she sounded after first seeing/hearing this video to the point of tears. She had had a cold and some notes dropped off,but in the end,in my opinion,that just added to the emotional vulnerability of her performance. I just love Eva!❤

Her renditions of Fields of Gold, Autumn Leaves and O Danny Boy bring me to tears EVERY time, just like Over The Rainbow.  Thank you.

it always makes me think, especially at the end where she breaks "why oh why can't i....", that she is fully aware of her impending fate, and wishing it weren't so.  this is a woman baring her soul before our eyes.  stunning.

And she was sick when this recording was made.  They recorded the previous night but there was an equipment failure so she had to do it all over again  while she was ill.  There are several other songs in the set including a fantastic Autumn Leaves.

Her voice stills the air, pauses time.

She has some really beautiful renditions out there: Wade in the Water (if you want to hear her belt), Autumn Leaves, and Fields of Gold.  Sting says he never ever listens to covers of his own songs, but he did listen to Eva’s version of that song and it brought him to tears.  She has such a way of reaching into your chest, grabbing your heart, and squeezing it tight. I’ve loved her music for at least a decade.

She had a cold when she performed this at Blues Alley & passed away 11 months after.

Oo thank you so much to the Patron who requested this song!🙏 I love Eva Cassidy, she was such a talented artist! Over The Rainbow is one of my favourites of her performances!🌈❤ So much emotion, such a soulful performance! She had such a beautiful voice, amaizing technique! In her performances, she painted every single note with emotion. A true storyteller and a very talented guitarist! So sad and tragic that she died so young. Her voice always bring tears in my eyes!

Loved your analysis! As always,your commentary was very insightful and i loved everything you explained on the chords Eva's performance and her guitar playing!
Thank you so much!🙏❤

She died very soon after this performance without the recognition she should have enjoyed. Thank you for this.

Eva use to sell her homemade cassette tapes out of the trunk of her car to support herself. She was also a very avid painter and worked at a plant nursery, her paintings were mainly nature scenes and floral designs, we have one of her flower still life paintings on our kitchen wall, titled Flowers for Dorthea which I believe was her aunt. Tragic story for a beautiful talented humble human ❤️

🌈I rarely say an artist "is like", "sounds like", but I'll make a very slight exception in Eva's case.  I think the reason we are captivated by Eva is for all the same reasons we are captivated by "The Queen", Emotion.  You are invited to "sit on every line", challenged to "make you think", "never knowing exactly, but anticipating what's coming next", resonance that is POWERFUL but "soft around the edges", "very digestible", and is begged for by the song's meaning, not the "compare high notes" critics.  

Eva's dynamics, airy voice, chest voice (and her "posture"), and dissonance everywhere guitar accompaniment not only seemed "unaffected by her surroundings" but also looked EFFORTLESS.  I'm not sure which I enjoyed the most, the singer or the classical guitarist.  Like Lara, Eva seems FEARLESS.  Perhaps, its easier when you have nothing to loose?

You simply walk away, after being transfixed by Eva, asking yourself, "what did I just hear"?  Something different, something memorable, something that transformed me out of my body onto that stage like I was sitting next to her, listening to her tragic story.  Yea, that is very "Lara-esque".  Wherever, however, Eva learned how to sing, bottle it, put it in a time capsule labelled "How to Inspire humans through bravery and music".  Like Lara, I can't choose a "favorite" song (there is an entire popular posthumous album full of great songs). I'll just say its the next one I get to hear and watch Eva sing.  A "never forget her" Eva Cassidy new playlist, please?

While there is no evidence that Eva Cassidy knew clinically her cancer had returned at the time of her Blues Alley performance, it is plausible she sensed “something was wrong”.  By then, the disease was likely already spreading, and the emotional power in her voice that night carries a haunting awareness of mortality.  And hearing Eva sing "over the rainbow🌈 why oh why can't I", knowing what we know now, feels like witnessing a quiet prophecy she never intended to write.

RIP Eva....🌈

"Kev"

Terry Wogan was the one who heard this and started playing it on his radio 2 breakfast show.  People loved it and thats how she became known in the UK.  Its so sad that she was taken so soon. She had the voice of an angel 💜

It is rare to have a cover be better than the original. This is it! Her phrasing is impeccable and original. Consistently beautiful, capturing the essence without showing off. Her spectacular range is demonstrated subtly.

This is my favorite rendition of Over The Rainbow. Yes she has a beautiful singing voice but it’s her phrasing that got me! I think this performance was only a year or so before she passed. 💔

Your observation that she didn't care what people thought but in a humble way is spot-on. If you see documentaries on her she was a very seemingly-generous person but was completely uncompromising on her artistic choices! Hope you find time to see more of her! She's one of my favorite artists!!

That was such a beautiful rendition of this song. So sad that she is no longer with us. She died at only 33 years of age. I also love the version by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole. Sadly he also died young at 38 years of age. At least we have their music left as a legacy.

Truly made this her own.  Performance was heart touching.