STANDING AT THE CROSSROADS

Tony Peyser
Mirror contributing writer

   There are some terrific songs on Songbird, a 1998 album by Eva Cassidy. She’s making quite a name for herself now, even though she died from cancer at age 33 in 1996. 
   A producer at BBC Radio was sent a copy of Cassidy’s extraordinary version of “Over The Rainbow.” His listeners were soon as wild about it as he was. Cutting to the chase, Songbird hit the top of the British album charts earlier this year. You couldn’t make this stuff up. Cassidy (who lived in Maryland but often performed in Washington, D.C.) also recorded memorable covers of Sting’s “Fields Of Gold” and Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready.” Her taste in picking material was as good as her singing. This is an enchanting album, made all the more haunting by the saga behind it. 
   Another release with a sadly similar back story is The Earth Rolls On. This new CD is by Billy Joe Shaver and his son, Eddy. Billy Joe is one of the outlaws of country music who’s had songs covered by people like Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson and The Allman Brothers. Eddy, a rising guitarist whose playing has often been compared to Stevie Ray Vaughn, overdosed at the end of last year. 
   There are two photos of Billy Joe and Eddy in the CD booklet in which they’re standing next to each other without looking at each other. Like a lot of fathers and sons, they spent many years trying to bury a busload of hatchets. This is a very strong album with more than a few songs that will break your heart. 
   For one, there’s the tough as nails and take-your-breath away “Blood Is Thicker Than Water” which is the Shavers’ only duet together. And then there’s “Star In My Heart” which Billy Joe wrote for Eddy. It opens with these aching lines: “You’ll have to do the best you can/Good friend of mine/Some days our paths may cross again/In a better time.” It reminded me of Steve Earle’s “Pilgrim” with its look at people with torn up lives hoping to find peace in one yet to come. 
   Fittingly, Earle’s Twang Trust also produced the Shavers’ album. Despite Eddy’s passing, there are some upbeat gems here, especially the astonishingly bouncy opening track, “Love Is So Sweet,” which Dwight Yoakam might want to slip onto his next album. 
   Another soulful new release is Hellhound On My Trail: The Songs of Robert Johnson, a tribute album with sharp contributions from Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Alvin Youngblood Hart and many others. There are great recordings of Johnson’s most famous song, “Crossroads,” from his own in the 1930s, to Eric Clapton’s rocking version with Cream in the 1960s and Ry Cooder’s gospel rave-up in the 1980s. “Crossroads” is done here by the always reliable Taj Mahal. It’s slower than Clapton’s or Cooder’s but it’s got the confident strut of a man who literally feels like he’s sinking down but sings with his spirit still standing up. It’s a stunner. 
   CDNow has Songbird for just $11.88, The Earth Rolls on for $13.49 and Hellhound On My Trail for $14.99. 
   The Goofy Band Name Of The Week is...Action Slacks.