Eva Cassidy, "Fields of Gold"

[George Tropicana]

I don't think there's a topic on this yet.

What a beautiful song. Millions watched Michelle Kwan skate to this elegant song at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic exhibition after she missed the gold medal the night before.

What a powerful performance and song she chose to skate to. Michelle teared up at the end.

"The crowd was so supportive, so loving, and it was amazing. And, in the middle of my performance, I started crying, because I can...there was so many emotions, you know? I love skating because it’s such a beautiful sport, so soothing, so comforting. That night I felt like, this is why I love it, this is why I’m here."

There are links to download the performance here: heatherw.com/fog/ Enjoy.

[reception]

It's boring. But I like the remix.

[George Tropicana]

Ooh.. I didn't know there was a remix. Thanks! :)

What a beautiful song and what a beautiful program by Michelle Kwan!

[Nicholas2.0]

I'd still have no idea who she is, if not for the program (presumably on NPR) that my dad heard on her a few years ago. Her voice was so pure and unaffected.

Her story's pretty interesting. She died of cancer in her 30's several years ago and was completely uninterested in the music business, if I remember correctly. All her CDs have been posthumous, if I'm not mistaken. Dig up her bio if you're interested. It's too late for me to find one tonight.

[Pet Shop Boy]

Her rendition of 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' is absolutely breathtaking.

[giovannina]

I didn't think Eva's CDs were done posthumously, just that they became popular after her death, especially after Ted Koppel did a Nightline special about her.
"Fields Of Gold" is a beautiful song, and I think Eva does it much better than the guy who wrote it (Sting).

I also like her version of "Over The Rainbow," but I'm still partial to Judy Garland's version. Eva changed the tune too much, I think (which is OK I guess since most people probably know the real tune to the song, but the tune is a classic and I would hate for it to be "lost" because of too many remakes that change it - and I don't even know if that's making any sense - LOL).
On FOG, Eva manages to make the song her own without obscuring Sting's melody.

[Chato]

Great tune!

[johnnywest]

I've always liked Sting's version so I'll have to give this a listen.

[rr1981]

I love this song, it's so sad and haunting. Eva Cassidy was an amazing vocalist. I would recommend her Songbird CD to anybody who just loves good music because she can sing everything from gospel ("Wade In The Water") to folk music (her version of "Fields Of Gold") to showtunes ("Over the Rainbow") and literally make them her own.

My favorite song from her is "Time Is A Healer" -a jazzy/bluesy number which she sings and scats with so much heart and emotion tears came to my eyes the first time I heard it. I mean this woman was amazing.

R.I.P. Ms. Cassidy.