Released 2022
2-LP(180g Vinyl), SACD(Sold Out), CD
Craft Recordings
I sat down to begin putting together the December edition of The Muse. But before I sat down to compile articles for this edition, I decided to listen to Bill Evans You Must Believe In Spring. It turns out that listening to this album was a bad idea because I'm still listening to what is, for me, a mesmerizingly relaxing album, and I've made zero progress with The Muse.
The original
You Must Believe In Spring was released in 2001, a few years after Bill's death. Fans of Bill Evans will recognize this album as one of his most popular. I never heard the original version on vinyl, but I'm very much enjoying the music on this remastered release. Released in 2022 on the Craft Recordings label and engineered by GRAMMY®-award winning engineer Paul Blakemore, Bill is accompanied by bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Eliot Zigmund on what would be their last studio album together. Doug Sax mastered the original 2001 recordings.
I was pleasantly distracted by track after track on this album. The album begins with the slow rhythms of "B Minor Waltz (for Ellaine), "a sad dedication to his former partner Ellaine Schultz, followed by "You Must Believe In Spring," which introduces the talents of bassist Eddie Gomez, after which the tempo begins to pick up. Many of the songs on the album begin slowly but finish with an upbeat tempo, like "Theme From M*A*S*H," "Without A Song," and "All of You."
You Must Believe In Spring is a magical album from start to finish. I've definitely found a new favorite Bill Evans album.