Neal Casal
Roots & Wings
(Fargo, 2009)

For a man who has spent the last four years playing with the notoriously unstable Ryan Adams, Neal Casal cuts a surprisingly balanced figure on Roots & Wings. The guitarist and vocalist, who is a key member of Ryan Adams’ group, the Cardinals, has finally released his first set of all new material since 2006’s No Wish to Reminisce. The singer-songwriter crafts a soothing, breezy release, driven by acoustic guitars, sweeping melodies, and Casal’s warm, smooth tenor. With this impressive effort, and the impending dissolution of the Cardinals, Casal, who has been professionally toiling in rock music since the early ‘90s, finally seems set to step out of the considerable shadow of Adams.

The disc opens with “The Losing End Again”, which typifies Casal’s ability to effortlessly create catchy, major key melodies with a touch of melancholy. Like most of the album’s 16 songs, it clocks in at around the four-minute mark and recalls a “Peaceful Easy Feeling”-era Eagles feel. Though it is certainly lighter and less dramatic than most of the recent music that he has worked on with Adams, the country-tinged number wouldn’t seem altogether out of place on the Cardinals’ Lost Highway releases Easy Tiger (2007) and Cardinology (2008).

From there, Casal glides into “Back to Haunt You”, which, if it were the mid-’70s, would almost certainly be a favorite in rock radio. A mid-tempo number with an undeniable hook gives us our first taste of Casal’s tasteful, dynamic lead guitar playing. Anyone who has seen him play will gush about the guitar acrobatics he is capable of, but on Roots & Wings, he staunchly refuses to overplay, instead opting to serve up tasty little morsels of his virtuosity. Some great players let their chops interfere with the natural progression of their songs, but Casal knows that the leads should be there to highlight the song, not the other way around.

Somewhat ironically, despite their difference in temperament, Casal and Adams both share a need for an editor. While there is no such thing as too much good music, after 16 tracks of fairly straightforward alt-country, some of the material can start to bleed into each other. He may have been better off saving a couple tracks for subsequent releases, because, while I wouldn’t say that the album features “filler” songs, I would say that the middle of the album feels a touch uninspired.

That said, there are true standouts laced throughout the album, but sometimes you have to get through a few forgettable ones to get there. For example, the 12th track, “Superhighway”, is a stellar, emotive meditation, reminiscent of a long drive through the Southwest. Other highlights are the beautifully woebegone “So Far Astray” and “Cold Waves.” Casal leaves us with the haunting, pedal steel-kissed ballad, “Chasing Her Ghost.” In the tradition of the whiskey-soaked blues of solo Gram Parsons, Casal’s stirring piece finds the singer longingly emoting for a lost love. “Searching high and low / For someone to help carry the load… All of my life / I’ve been chasing her ghost.”

Due to Casal’s past work with Ryan Adams, Roots & Wings will be mostly investigated by die-hard fans of the Cardinals. If only Cardinals fans get into this disc, it will be a shame, because an album this good deserves a bigger audience. As an Adams fan myself, I can safely say that this is not the work of a man riding on coattails. Casal’s superb songwriting and powerful voice should guarantee him continuing success, regardless of whether Adams’ decision to disband the Cardinals remains permanent.

Listen: Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

Tags: Neal Casal, Ryan Adams, Roots and Wings, Fargo Records

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