Ryan Adams vs Neal Casal
Right! Soap box time.
My boyfriend introduced me to both of these artists. From the start I loved Neal with a passion & thought Ryan was over rated & wouldn't give him the time of day. However, with the promise of seeing Neal in Ryans band I went to see Mr Adams live. He rocked, even if he didn't do an encore, but the highlight of the night was still seeing Neal as support aswell as in the band.
Does anyone else feel like me that Neal is one of the unsung stars? He is an awkward performer but has the voice of an angel & writes beautiful songs. To me, although I now quite like Mr Adams, he just isn't the talent that Neal is. I think alot of it is that Ryan acts the star on stage, great presence & confidence, which Neal seems to lack.
I am going, yet again to see Ryan Adams, with the lure of Casal supporting (I hope!).
ps Jeff Hill, bass player in Hazy Malaze (band Neal is/was in) now seems to carved himself a career in Rufus W's set up. One of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure to meet.I wish they'd get togethr again soon with that barm pot drummer!
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Above par
I confess that I only know Neal Casal as a member of Adams' band; but I must say that I think that Ryan Adams is very very good indeed. Not all of his output is of a similar standard - Rock 'n' Roll is just appalling, and his albums with The Cardinals largely lack the fire of his best stuff; most of it just sounds too careful for my ears - but Heartbreaker, Gold and Love Is Hell are some of the best albums of the last decade. He gets a lot of stick because (a) he's very prolific, and in this country we tend to associate this with some kind of arrogance; and (b) because he has been on the receiving end of some very high praise indeed - some of which is deserved, and none of which is his fault. Hence the awful term "over-rated": a crime which is very rarely attributable to the artist, and all it means is that people go on about someone a bit more than they should. At his absolute best, he is more than a valid comparison to be held alongside Neil Young. Like Young, he churns out music of widely differing quality and generic definition; like Young, he has some very very good unreleased albums and gigs - The Suicide Handbook, 48 Hours, Destroyer, Live at Exit/Inn in October 1999 - and like Young, he can do roof-crumbling electric rock or painfully intimate acoustic ballads with pretty much equal ease. At his worst he does gormless brainless rubbish like the best of 'em. I've seen him live three times: in 2002 he wasn't only not great but he had Noel Gallagher with him for an encore of What's The Story Morning Glory; this year he was more than formidable onstage support for Cowboy Junkies; and in February 2006 he almost seemed to be having a nervous breakdown on stage - which actually made for some wonderful music. I think he's a serious talent who has done some wonderful stuff. I guess I should check out Neal Casal separately.
Heartbreaker
Indeed, it's my cd of the week, however, my boyfriend kept this little gem to himself & it was one of the last I listened to.
I'm actually getting very excited at the prospect of the gig next weekend! He's definately grown on me, put it that way. My other half has been a fan for a long time & rates all of his different personas, myself I love the live, long jammed out stuff. Hope he plays Halloween head....
As for Mr Casal, his last album No Wish To Reminisce ('o6) is well worth checking out. If you like great vocals & catchy pop/indie/alt country with a bit of Stevie Wonder/Motown thrown in - he's your man!
Casal
Fade Away Diamond Time is the one to get.
Anytime tomorrow
is IMHO Neal Casal's best.
Tough choice
If I had to choose I would go with Neal Casal but it seems a shame to be limited in any way when it comes to these two. Classy stuff all round (and when it comes to Hazy Malaze, with just the right amount of dirtiness).