SINGLED OUT (THE INDEPENDENT SINGLES)

This collection gathers together McEvoy’s singles from the past decade. It’s a testament to her consistency and quality control that the results hold together like a proper album.
She explores the tribulations of growing older on ‘Days Roll By’ while the self-deprecating ‘You’ll Hear Better Songs Than This’ is exquisitely wrought with sparse piano, upright bass, and a distant muted trumpet. Also well worth revisiting is ‘Make Mine A Small One’, inspired by Sinatra’s closing-time lament ‘One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)’
Covers include ‘Shame On The Moon’, by her one-time collaborator Rodney Crowell. More ambitious is her take on Marvin Gaye’s soul classic, ‘Mercy Mercy Me’ ,which she performs with an acoustic guitar. It all adds up a handy primer for those who missed out on the original albums.