Anytime Tomorrow

Neal Casal | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 9, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sw-South West Label Group
• ASIN: B00005QDDF
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,680 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Willow Jane

2. Fell on Hard Times

3. Lucky Stars

4. Sweetvine

5. Ocean View

6. No One Above You

7. Eddy and Diamonds

8. Just Getting By

9. Camarillo

10. Time Down the Wind

11. Raining Straight Down

12. Too Much to Ask

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT Album!!, January 26, 2002

By 

JD Cetola (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anytime Tomorrow (Audio CD)

Neal Casal is a talented songwriter and musician from New Jersey (although he grew up in various US locations) who has put out six of the best rock n' roll albums recorded in the past ten years. Unfortunately, for stateside listeners reluctant to send check's to Casal's PO Box in NJ for cds (or order them from the Glitterhouse web site), most of his excellent output is not being heard outside of Germany. And that's too bad, because all of his cds are very much worth hearing and 'Anytime Tomorrow', while not as good as his sensational debut (a peerless, must own cd), is no exception.

On 'Anytime Tomorrow', Casal is backed by many of the same musicians who performed on his previous albums including organist, pianist John Ginty and pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz. The music on this disc ranges in style from West Coast rock (think Jackson Browne or the Eagles) to the alt-country/Americana genre (think Gram Parsons or early Jayhawks) and focuses on themes of heartbreak, disappointment, and love. The writing is honest and literate and the playing is first rate. Casal's voice is smooth and the tunes are moving, lyrical, and vary from plaintive ("No One Above You", "Time Down the Wind") to driving ("Eddy & Diamonds", "Raining Straight Down", "Camarillo"). There's not a weak song on this disc and very few cds can be recommended as highly as this one. Do yourself a favor, and check it out (of course, you will want all the other Casal discs once you hear this one). Very Highly Recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Half-Great Album by a Whole-Great Singer-Songwriter, July 14, 2011

By 

Andrew H. Lee "Constant Listener" (Snohomish, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anytime Tomorrow (Audio CD)

Neal Casal might be one of the most underestimated singer-songwriters in American music but this is not his best work. Half the songs here seem like run-of-the-mill little rock numbers with regular lyrics and conventional instrumentation. These are pleasant on the ear to be sure, but relatively shallow and uninspired compared to what I know Casal and his top notch session players are capable of with a producer like Jim Scott (Wilco). These lesser songs on the album sound like something a local band might play at a local food festival, almost convincing me to buy their self-recorded, self-released album between bites of my hot buttered corn and chocolate-dipped strawberries on a stick.

Fortunately the other half dozen songs on Anytime Tomorrow have something special to offer. The first three gems are at the heart of the album on tracks 5-7. Oceanview uses its instruments and vocals (including a high-register sing-along chorus) to create an oceanic, breezy effect that had me imagining the band playing on a cliff with wind in their hair. "No One Above You" is a gentle love song that contains both an invitation (come and watch the evening go / sinking down into the sea) and a memorable declaration - the singer loves his subject but so does everyone else and this is the twist that makes the song work:

Everyone around you / they all feel it too / there is no one above you / everybody loves you

The resignation in the lyrics to "Just Getting By" combine with the bouncy shuffle of the music for an interesting contrast that gives this song a dynamic and depth that is missing from the lesser tracks on the album.

"Camarillo" and "Time Down the Wind" appear on tracks 8 and 9 as sister songs, one telling the story of leaving town "with a broken heart and a twisted arm" and the other of a homecoming that finds the town just as it was and everybody wondering "where have you been."

The album closes with the doubt and nostalgia of "Too Much to Ask" wrapped up in soothing trumpet lines, tinkling piano licks, and gently reverberating guitars.

This is a half-great album by a whole-great singer-songwriter.

Like it.