An album to grow old with
Mr.May | 04/01/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Quiet, eclectic, superb Neal Casal. I'm sure there's a huge underclass of underappreciated singer/songwriters out there and everybody adopts one as their pet artist to patronize, and frankly: Neal's mine. The people he works with and the songs he writes all seem to touch base with the same pool of craft, passion, and wisdom, from which they create real real music. Musicians making music. Not enough of those.
It's a quieter album than either his first or his most recent, but whereas the former felt like an album of songs written because they had to escape and the latter is an album of experiments, "Basement Dreams" is composed of songs written by an artist at ease. These are graceful, beautiful songs in an album with no pretentions to be anything more than humble, humorous, and wise."
Superg acoustic music and songwritig
Moyogi | Asheville, NC | 12/02/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you're a fan of modern acoustic folk music such as John Gorka, David Wilcox, or Dave Alvin or even the sounds of Jack Johnson, you'd probably appreciate the pickin' and singin' of neal casal. This album is almost entirely unplugged, with great sounding songs that play themselves out wonderfully. One of his best sounding songs, 'Me and Queen Sylvia' is on the album, which is an awesome acoustic ballad. I'm surprised Casal hasn't made a bigger mark in the alt-country or modern folk scene, but I'm looking forward to hearing more of his work. If you're looking for some great sounding acoustic songs, do yourself a favor and check this album out."
Track Listings (23) - Disc #1