Repeatedly unexpected. Spare, care-ful arrangements, each specifically formulated for each song, each matching her rich, dark alto. First and foremost, serious jazz, but also something entirely different, reflecting an eclectic song choice (e.g., Robert Johnson, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Ann Peebles, herself). Sometimes a primal awareness, but mainly a remarkable artistic sensibility. She DEMANDS attention, completely remaking even old favorites into something totally new. S: tr 2-Come on in my kitchen; tr 4-Children of the night, tr 5-Hellhound on my trail; tr 7-Sankofa; tr 10-Tupelo honey.

Hands down one of the best covers of Tupelo Honey I've heard. For some reason this stands out as one Cassandra's best recordings to me. Great range of voice and songs in this outing.

Of all of the vocal jazz albums released in the 1990's, this remains one of the best. Ms. Wilson shows tremendous range and diversity here: from a cover of "Tupelo Honey" that outdoes Van Morrison (if that's even possible), to a wonderfully evocative "Hellhound on My Trail", to "You Don't Know What Love Is". to the African-based trio in the middle of the set, it doesn't get much more eclectic than this. Yet, it's all interesting, with always interesting instrumentation. I think Cassandra Wilson falls in the mold of Billie Holiday--one with a relatively limited voice who just brings it all to the table--but with wider diversity. Very highly recommended.

Ms. Wilson has a wonderful voice that reminds me somewhat of that of Cleo Laine. The problem for great voices--now I'm also thinking of Whitney Houston--is that they don't always make great albums.

This one is what I would describe as late night music, the kind of thing that you put on when you have arrived home having drunk rather too much, and want to hear something clear and pure to clear your head.

My favorite track on this is the Robert Johnson number Hellhound On My Trail, which is beautifully done with solo guitar accompaniment. I would like to have heard more of Ms. Wilson in this mode, but this album is a bit of a sampler--eclectic if you like--mixing blues, jazz and country, with violins creeping in every now and again.

Not a bad album at all, but I suspect that Ms. Wilson is capable of an even better one, so I reserve judgement a bit. I also have a feeling, and this is just a hunch, that this album may appeal more to female listeners than to the guys.

My star rating system goes like this:

5 stars--an absolute classic
4 stars--the artist is on top form here, a good buy
3 stars--fans of this artist should enjoy this album
2 stars--some good stuff, but inconsistent
1 star--just not good enough

So Cassandra's "New Moon Daughter" is a gem too, but this album is less known and, while it didn't make an immediate impression on me, I now listen to it a lot more. There's basically more variety in song style and arrangement and, if you like Cassandra, then just the sound of her voice is heaven. (If you haven't heard her, her voice is about as distinct as Nina Simone's.) The key point with Cassandra is: nobody sounds like her so if she isn't in your collection then nothing like her is in your collection. Her voice is deep and sultry, her music spacious, unrushed -- there's something distinctly southern about it. She is one of Nora Jones' inspirations, but where Nora's voice is a gentle breeze, Cassandra's is a gathering cloud, and there is no lounge sound to Cassandra's music -- the instruments bleed raw notes.