British guitarist analyses Eva Cassidy performing 'Over the Rainbow' live in 1996.

On the agenda tonight we're looking at a video from the vaults! Originally blocked on copyrights almost three years ago but now available, it's Eva Cassidy performing 'Over the Rainbow' in 1996!

For more, check out my other sites!

Twitter - @wingsofpegasus
Insta - @wingsofpegasusofficial

[tiffsaver]

I'm 75-years old and have been a professional musician for over 50-years. In this time I have never heard a rendition of this song better than Cassidy's. On every conceivable level, from her otherworldly vocal technique, to her remarkable phrasing, to her tasty guitar fills, I've never heard better, by anyone, from any era. This is definition of an musical purist who put artistic integrity before commercialism. I only hope she found the fulfillment on the other side that she never received here.

[johnatyoutube]

I grew up near Eva. She worked at the nursery in my hometown. I saw her many times. She was a quiet, humble, and giving person. I didn't know that she was a singer until later in my life. To my great surprise, I discovered that the greatest singer of our time had helped me buy an African violet. She was literally an angel on earth. And gave us a glimpse into her soul in her music. There will never be another Eva. But thank goodness she left us with recordings of her divine singing. Although I've heard her sing this song many times, I can never get through it without my heart fluttering and shedding a tear. Thanks so much for honoring her, Fil.

[TheWerequat]

I've seen her many many times. I've played with people she's performed with, and I'm so sad that she left us so soon. She was one in a million.

[JR-prjb]

This guy is an excellent analyst, very specific, even technical, musician-savvy observations, no broad, pointless raving. Not that Eva shouldn't be raved about.

[firemedic]

Eva was suffering with a cold during this performance. You are correct that Eva would take a song you thought you knew, and take it and make it a brand new song that was hers. I have all the CD's that were released of her. An angel that was taken to teach the heavenly angels how to sing. She is missed, but as long as her music lives, so does she.

[courtneysmith]

The pain in her vocal is so visceral, so vivid, so tangible, so palpable. In this one vocal, Eva captures the essence of the human condition.

[jimpowers]

I discovered this great musical artist back in 2005, after hearing her on a public radio station on the way home from work. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Having been a musician since 1963, I never heard music sung and played that truly reached in and grabbed my soul. I cried like a baby. Even now when I hear this song, it affects me the same way. She was special and a gift from God.

[tammydoolittle]

I have never heard this version of Over the Rainbow before, but this was a beautiful version and a bit tear jerking. Eva was another singer who had a beautiful, soft, smooth, and angelic voice, who was taken away from us way too early in her life. May she RIP! 😥❤

[cindypowers]

I had not heard of Eva until now, and I gasped when you said she died from cancer shortly after this. She had such a lovely voice, and the arrangement here of "Over The Rainbow" was so beautifully captivating....I applaud her for wanting to play her music her way. She was a shining star. Damn cancer. I hope Eva found her rainbow. Nicely done Fil.🌈

[LazaroJordan]

Eva Cassidy, for me, is one of the few artists who can transport you to a mood that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. It is one of the most musical voices I heard. It is an incomparable, superb, almost out-of-this-world experience.

[lynndow]

Still gets me like it did when I first heard it on the car radio and had to pull over to listen. It's not safe to drive crying. Beautiful analysis befits the beauty of the performance, glad the block has been lifted.

[abcf]

Every song she sang, she made her own. What a gifted musician she was.

[kestrelle]

The look in your eyes was one I hadn't seen from you before. The look of a child that just found out that music can be magical. She touched your heart.

[mihmqvs]

Love her rendition of "Fields of Gold" by Sting - so powerfully delivered! Golden and shimmering! An amazing performer!

[jimmytakayesu]

Another Reactor said Eva was singing a duet with her Guitar! That seemed like a perfect characterization of this Angelic Magnificent Performance. Perfect Beauty!

[nordseeistmordsee]

Never ever has a voice touched me so deeply...

[celestearellano]

Judy Garland was so young and you could hear hope in her voice. I never heard of Eva Cassidy or her story. So melancholy is her voice, and so sad is her story. I cried as I listened as Fil said "if this doesn't move you?" Well Fil you introduced me to a true song bird of phenomenal talent whose voice and weeping guitar I'll never hear live. You gave her homage and posthumously the praise is well deserved. Thank you for all the work you do, without you I'd never known the grace of this lovey lady.

[jeffstumpf]

Now we know how great she was. I’m so grateful for those who insisted on putting the little that we have of her recorded out there for us to appreciate. Thanks, Fil for spreading the word.

[ClarenceHW]

So fragile yet so strong, Eva is more than talent, a direct connection with the soul of the song. Beautiful!

[fraserhenderson]

"Autumn Leaves" was just another popular ditty until Eva got her hands (vocals and guitar) on it. Then it became the most sublime composition and performance in my experience.