Blue Light 'til Dawn

As of March 1996, the album sold over 250 000 copies. While recording the album, Wilson's father, jazz bassist Herman Fowlkes, died. In an interview for New York Magazine Wilson explained that the album's name refers to a certain time of night. Says Wilson "At a party you have a blue light to have a certain vibe. The title refers to that light, that blue, giving way to the dawn. It's after after hours, the predawn twilight".[9]

Rolling Stone reviewer John Milward gave the album three and a half stars out of five. He praised Wilson's choice of blues tracks by Robert Johnson and guitarist Brandon Ross' arrangements. He also liked Wilson's title track, but was less fond of her interpretations of Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow" or Ann Peebles' "I Can't Stand the Rain".[10] Ron Wynn of Allmusic gave the album a rating of five stars out of five. In contrast to Milward, he enjoyed Wilson's "piercing version" of "I Can't Stand the Rain".[11] The Buffalo News review by Jeff Simon noted, "When the disc is good... it makes the disc hard to get off your turntable. It's erratic, though, with some of her headstrong notions panning out less well than others. At its best, though, it's sublime."[2]

1. "You Don't Know What Love Is" (Gene DePaul, Don Raye) — 6:05
2. "Come on in My Kitchen" (Robert Johnson) — 4:53
3. "Tell Me You'll Wait for Me" (Charles Brown, Oscar Moore) — 4:48
4. "Children of the Night" (Thom Bell, Linda Creed) — 5:19
5. "Hellhound on My Trail" (Johnson) — 4:34
6. "Black Crow" (Joni Mitchell) — 4:38
7. "Sankofa" (Cassandra Wilson) — 2:02
8. "Estrellas" (Cyro Baptista) — 1:59
9. "Redbone" (Wilson) — 5:35
10. "Tupelo Honey" (Van Morrison) — 5:36
11. "Blue Light 'til Dawn" (Wilson) — 5:09
12. "I Can't Stand the Rain" (Don Bryant, Bernard Miller, Ann Peebles) — 5:27
13. "Black Crow" (Joni Mitchell) — 6:30
14. "Skylark" (Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael) — 8:40
15. "Tupelo Honey" (Van Morrison) — 7:13

Songs 13–15 are bonus tracks of the 2014 re-issue.

• Cassandra Wilson – vocals
• Olu Dara – cornet
• Don Byron – clarinet
• Charlie Burnham – violin, mandocello
• Tony Cedras – accordion
• Gib Wharton – pedal steel guitar
• Chris Whitley – resophonic guitar
• Brandon Ross – acoustic guitar
• Kenny Davis – bass
• Lonnie Plaxico – bass
• Lance Carter – drums, percussion
• Bill McClellan – drums, percussion
• Cyro Baptista – percussion
• Jeff Haynes – percussion
• Kevin Johnson – percussion
• Vinx – percussion