I Can Only Be Me

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Lukes, the 18th century former Anglican London church that currently serves as the London Symphony Orchestra's home, conducted by Chris Egan.

Tall Trees in Georgia" is one of Eva's most haunting performances,” explains arranger Christopher Willis. Perhaps her hometown paper, the Washington Post said it best: “The saddest part of the mostly heartwarming story of singer Eva Cassidy is that she had to die to get the renown she deserved.When singer Eva Cassidy wandered into producer Chris Biondo's studio in Glenn Dale, Maryland to make extra money by singing on a band’s demo, she began an unprecedented journey that would lead to more than 12 million albums sold worldwide, largely posthumously.

Like everyone who listens to Eva’s voice, I’ve felt like I’ve gotten to know her as I’ve worked on the album,” explains Willis.Sadly , I never heard Eva perform live, but I was a fan from the moment a friend pressed a cassette into my hand in 1998. Records that aren't in picture sleeves will either be in a company sleeve or a generic plain sleeve. In an interview with The Independent, Cassidy's former bandmate and arranger Chris Biondo shared, "Eva had a fantasy of one day having a full orchestra back her up . Eva’s recording career was problematic because her wide musical diversification came into conflict with the record company’s focus. I Can Only Be Me features redefining orchestral versions of classic repertoire including ‘Songbird’, ‘Time After Time’, ‘Autumn Leaves’ and ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’.

I CAN ONLY BE ME, the album's title track, is a radical reworking of a little-known song by Eva Cassidy's musical hero, Stevie Wonder, while the album's eight other tracks receive their own special reimagining. Engineer Dan Weinberg, who handled the audio restoration, adds: “Eva’s original vocals stem are basic live recordings with limited audio data for restoration, so we used a multi-stage process of machine learning, with delicate, almost forensic, editing of sounds—from cymbal bleed to the crockery noise of people eating dinner a few feet away from Eva (at the Blues Alley nightclub in Washington, DC where many of Cassidy’s live performances were recorded). As achingly intimate as the original, now with widescreen grandeur courtesy of the London Symphony Orchestra, the new version offers a fresh take on the song.Eva Cassidy’s original vocal parts have been isolated and accompanied by new arrangements written by Christopher Willis (Schmigadoon! Two-time Emmy™-winning producer/arranger William Ross, who created the album’s “Autumn Leaves” track, said: “I can’t possibly find the words to adequately express my thoughts and feelings about Eva, one of the most unique, hypnotic, and powerful singers of all time. To celebrate what would have been her 60th birthday (on February 2), Blix Street Records will release a landmark new album, which pairs Cassidy’s impeccable voice with the backing of the legendary London Symphony Orchestra. But as I went deeper into Eva’s life story and catalogue, I came to understand the extent to which she herself had experimented in the studio and had been looking for new ways to record her songs. The album’s title track is a radical reworking of a little-known Stevie Wonder penned song, Eva Cassidy’s musical idol.