All Directions

You don’t have to be a Neal Casal disciple to dig this 19-song-deep collection of live recordings, B-sides, demos, and previously unreleased tracks. Those unfamiliar with the man’s work may even find *All Directions* a good starting point. “You Don’t See Me Crying (Live at the Paradiso) opens with Casal singing and playing a piano sounding like Emitt Rhodes’ take on Paul McCartney. “Freeway to the Canyon (With Ryan Adams & The Cardinals) (Live)” follows to reveal that Casal is much more than a Cardinal – Adams recognizes the man’s talent enough to let him play one of his slow burning ballads during a live show. The demo of “Grand Island” is of course more stripped down than the lushly produced studio version, but you get a glimpse of the song’s basic skeleton with flowing arrangements, easy-on-the-ears melodies and Casal’s self-harmonies putting the magnifying glass over his charismatic inflections. With an acoustic guitar and some reverb on his voice, Casal transforms Beachwood Sparks’ “The Reminder” into a beautiful desert dirge while turning Terence Trent D’Arby’s “Wishing Well” into a playful party romp.

All Directions is a companion piece to No Wish To Reminisce released by Fargo Records in France. It features live versions and demos of the songs on No Wish, along with a few rarities like Neal’s cover of The Beatles ‘I’m Only Sleeping’ and Terence Trent D’arby’s 80’s smash ‘Wishing Well’, which features Neal’s most soulful, R&B vocal stylings.