“Someone Else’s Shoes,” the second single from the forthcoming Neal Casal archival album No One Above You (The Early Years 1991–1998) is out today. The song’s release is accompanied by a lyric video illustrated by Casal's friend, fellow musician and filmmaker Deren Ney (Listen/Watch/Share). Compiling previously unreleased demos and studio recordings from the late artist's formative years, the 13-track collection covers the years 1991 to 1998, offering a deep-dive into the beginning of Casal's career that would ultimately result in his debut solo album, Fade Away Diamond Time.
More than just a collection of raw, unfinished work, the album’s producers: longtime manager Gary Waldman, Cardinals' bandmate Jon Graboff and Grammy Award-winning engineer Jim Scott, added a handful of subtle musical additions to the original recordings, with performances by John Ginty, Dan Fadel, Angie McKenna, Jeff Hill, Graboff and more. For “Someone Else’s Shoes,” Alex Koford was called upon to add drums and percussion to the original tracks.
For the song's premiere at Relix, Waldman explains: "'Someone Else’s Shoes' is a song Neal wrote and recorded in the spring of 1992. I think it’s part autobiographical and part about a certain friend of his. I’ve always loved this tune and the beautiful melody and vocal harmonies with Angie McKenna, plus Neal’s layering of multiple guitar parts. At that point Neal was writing so many songs that this one just got left behind and overtaken by other songs he was more excited about, so it never appeared on any of his records. I’d always wanted to hear what it would sound like with drums on it, so a couple of years ago when we started planning this release, I called up Alex Koford and asked him if he could add a drum part. Alex had played drums at various gigs with Neal at Terrapin Crossroads and Neal loved his feel. He went in and played over the song maybe one or two times and it was done and the song just came to life. He even pitched in an additional vocal harmony in a few spots. I think Neal would have loved the way it turned out."
No One Above You (The Early Years 1991-1998) is due September 12, 2025, via the Neal Casal Music Foundation / Royal Potato Family / Harper House Music Foundation. It’s being released in conjunction with a companion photo memoir No One Above You (Christy Coleman + Neal Casal - A Love Story In Photographs) compiled by Casal’s former wife Christy Coleman. The book provides a vital document of this same era that these early songs and recordings were being created. Coleman shares images of Casal’s life in those days, culled from pictures captured by herself, Casal, and a few friends along the way.
Pre-Order for the book and the album on vinyl, cd and digital formats, along with two limited edition tees designed by Nashville-based clothing brand imogene + willie—one in vintage white, the other in faded black—each featuring an original SX-70 Polaroid from the book, is available here. All proceeds benefit the Neal Casal Music Foundation.
