Customer Reviews

Method Actor

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

It's not terrible, but it's just not great. I know and love all of Eva Cassidy's albums, and it's clear after listening to this once or twice that she really was just developing her style and musical preferences when she recorded this album. The voice is there, yes, but her heart just isn't, and that is the crucial element which is what makes her later singing so incredibly powerful. If you are a serious Eva Cassidy fan, it's worth a listen just for interest, but you probably will not listen to it very many times. "Eva by Heart" or "Live at Blues Alley" are much better introductions to her incredible singing.

As this material came from the start of her career it is more demonstrative of where she was going to rather than where she was when her career came to it's tragic end. The CD is worth having for more than just the purpose of completing your Eva Cassidy collection. I did enjoy it very much.

I had read some of the bad reviews here & almost passed on this CD. Glad I don't believe everything I read! I really enjoyed this disc! Technically, it's got much better recording quality than I had anticipated. Listening to this is kind of like listening to the Norah Jones CD "New York City" with the Peter Malik Group. Both were recorded before the singers were well recognized & both show a stylistic divergence from the singers' main body of recorded work. However, the opener "Getting Out" is a gritty blues with Eva well embodying the material with a full-throated Joplinesque wallop. All but one track is penned by David Christopher & are originals. "Stay" is a lovely melody with Eva's gorgeous voice hitting the high parts angelically and expressively nailing the lyric, "I stare into the night, thinking of the times we had, never know just how you feel, I wondered if you cared for me, hearts always side by side but never quite together." On "End the Rain" Eva projects a haunting Dusty Springfield feel. Method Actor will be a disappointment if you expect Eva to sound exactly as she does on "Imagine" or one of her other excellent discs. However, as an early recording, this does have consistency and her powerful vocals smack dab in the middle, which makes this worth the cash! Enjoy!

This is so different but yet so familiar. This is apparently the original Eva recording, originally released on LP. Eva's raw talent and ability still shine even on more rock oriented material. It would have been nice to have seen this released on CD a few years ago, but I'm still glad I have it now.

The Method Actor CD is as different as the No Boundaries CD, both having such entirely different flavor than any of the other "softside" Eva recordings (so different it makes no sense to attempt to compare them to Eva by Heart or..., and yet they are both a very important part of the Eva Cassidy musical legacy. It's unfortunate that we haven't heard much about them. (probably sense they are not on the Blix Stree label). Hopefully, all including the Eva purist will be able to appreciate her as an incredibly diverse and gifted artist with unmatched potential.

I am a fairly recent fan of Eva Cassidy-I discovered her music and about her life by accident about a year ago. I became curious about the beautiful voice singing Fields of Gold accompanying Michelle Kwan's skating. I then researched her name on the Internet. I have all of her main CD's such as Songbird, Imagine, Live at Blues Alley, etc and so much accolades have been written about these which I concur with, so it was with a little hesitation I bought Method Actor which is less known and has not had equally good reviews. However I was very pleasantly surprised when I listened to this album.

To fully understand this album, the context of the original vinyl recording has to be known. Eva was only 25 when she did this recording (although her greatness even shines out brightly at this time). She was merely a part of this band known as Method Actors-she was not singing solo. She was inexperienced and shy at the time but that certainly was not apparent in her outstanding singing.

The soft side of Eva's music is not lacking in this album. Track 7 "Forever"is my favorite (Now, I won't ever be alone because your love is inside of me, and your heart is in my soul). This is the strongest track.

"Look in my Eyes" is another lovely ballad. (Your heart controls my every move when you look into my eyes).

"When it's too late" another wonderful track written by David Christopher who was Eva's high school friend (When it's too late to mend a broken heart, when it's too late to show how much you care)

Track 10 "The Waiting is Over" - great interpretation by Eva (I notice a feeling awaken in my heart the moment my eyes turn to you...the waiting is over forever)

Other good tracks -Laugh with me, Stay, End the rain, How will it end (the beautiful and exquisite voice of Eva Cassidy resounds)

The remaining tracks Getting Out, Little Children are not the soft side of Eva but they show the soul blues part of her which made her into such an unbelievable singer.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the tracks in this album. After reading comments from her fans that she is the greatest singer of our generation, I can very easily see why they believe this. And I know because as I said, I am also a fan. I absolutely recommend Method Actor by Eva Cassidy.

This is mundane material in over-blown and over-sung arrangements that seem archaic. The virtue the CD has is that Eva's voice stands out. She could sing the phone book and it would swing. Don't buy this CD expecting much, but the sweet, strong voice of Eva Cassidy makes a few tracks good, especially "Getting Out" and "Forever." Listening to this CD, even if I had never heard of Eva Cassidy, it seems so clear that she was an exceptional singer. Why didn't anybody notice her when she was alive?

Eva Cassidy could have sung the phone book and sounded good however, this CD displays the strength of her voice and her range. I really like the music and the arrangements of David Christopher, all 10 tracks are great.

More David Christopher would be welcome and if he has anymore of Eva's work please publish it.

I have most of Eva's solo albums and love them dearly. I regularly give them as gifts. When I received Method Actor I couldn't wait to give it a spin. Boy was I disappointed. This album is nice if want to hear her before she found her wings. But that is no reason to listen to it again. Overly dramatic music and lyrics, technically perfect, emotionally stale. Do your heart and head a favor and listen to "Live at the Blues Alley" instead. This songbird was too new out of the nest.

The Method Actor CD is now available for the many Eva fans who requested it. It should be noted that this is not a Eva solo release so don't expect it to sound like Songbird. Method Actor was the band Eva sang with when she was introduced to Chris Biondo and these songs represent her first efforts in a real studio. It's really for the Eva fan who cant get enough.

Even at this stage, her harmonies are very well developed and some of the songs really showcase her range and ability. Some of it is a little off the mark but when it is good, it is really good. "When It's Too Late" and "Look Into My Eyes" are two of my favorites here. If you are an Eva aficianado, you will probably want this. Too bad the artwork is not bigger. It is pretty interesting too.