Neal Casal – Anytime Tomorrow

Anytime Tomorrow retains the intimacy of Neal Casal’s wonderful acoustic guitar-oriented Rain, Wind, And Speed while adding muscular, densely textured doses of roots rock as well as lovely touches of Beatles-flavored pop. This is Casal’s most musically sophisticated and satisfying outing (particularly noteworthy are John Ginty’s contributions on piano, organ, harpsichord and marching bells), but what ultimately matters is the continual development of his writing.

Rather like a young Bruce Springsteen, Casal uses evocative imagery and quirky details without being pretentious or obtuse. “Fell On Hard Times”, for instance, is a great contemporary road ballad, balancing present pain with colorful, resonant pieces of a healing past: “From fireworks and peaches/To weed, speed and bluegrass/From buses that burn/And barns that burn down/As far as my memory reaches/Since I fell on hard times.”

Moreover, Casal is equally adept at creating expansive, wide-open emotional landscapes (“Can you remember the way it used to be/Rest stops and breakdown lanes/And rain were all we would need,” from “Too Much To Ask”) and the claustrophobic nuances of hanging with the locals (“You really seem to have forgotten/This is a mighty small town,” from “Eddy And Diamonds”).

While there is nothing particularly original about Casal’s ruminations on the price of experience, he never fails to articulate a compelling, intelligent vision. And he never fails to sing with a sweet, candid grace, intimating both intensity and warmth.