Neal+casal

Perhaps a more suitable title for this comprehensive retrospective by New Jersey-bred, California native Neal Casal is What Has Taken Everybody So Long to Hear This Artist? It's been 10 years since Casal's exceptional debut Fade Away Diamond Time, yet it and his six other full-length albums have gone virtually unheard, at least on this side of the Atlantic…

If planning to investigate the work of Neal Casal, start here. The album, although a trifle long, is shot through with a genuine and varied musicality. There's a very real sense of play; explicitly with the amused outtakes of the artist's father navigating his way through approximate renditions of old boot camp favorites, and also the eponymous "Kid on Trumpet." Charm aside, Casal's own compositions really take flight on the venomous "No One Said a Word," the quietly foreboding "Basement Dreams," and the bluesy "I Run and Hide complete with distant harmonica.

This extensive 18 track, nearly 80-minute compilation is an excellent and much needed summary of the plaintive singer/songwriter's rather turbulent career. An American who is much better known in Europe, Casal's eight albums and EPs over the titular decade show glimpses of brilliance amidst material slightly less stellar. In other words, his output is inconsistent, which makes this a perfect entry point for those who haven't tuned in previously. Possessing a lovely, lilting tenor voice – at times sounding like Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook – Casal is often compared to Jackson Browne and Neil Young due to introspective songs similar to the former ("Free Light of Day") and the ability to rock out when necessary with layered guitars ("Eddy & Diamonds") of the latter.

Neal Casal's Anytime Tomorrow is arguably a slight step back from Basement Dreams, although more slickly produced. Some of the songs follow a predictable trajectory, while others are obvious in their borrowing of other artists' styles. The wistful/worshipful "No One Above You" is vaguely reminiscent of Eric Clapton's "Let It Grow," while other standout tracks are "Oceanview," which floats along with a gentle dream-like Beach Boys quality, and "Just Getting By," which could almost be a Ron Sexsmith number.