Neale Eckstein - Never Too Late (2024) Hi-Res

14 original songs. My 75th birthday present to myself to release my first album where I sing all the lead vocals. It's Never Too Late.

This singer-songwriter has a voice that can make you cry. My father used to tell me if a singer can do that they’re a great singer. The lead-off “Masterpiece” is just that. A masterpiece. It’s well-written & excellently sung with all the intonation, poignant phrasing, and tone to put Neale in a John Prine frame if not an early Tom Waits one (“Martha”).

Eckstein doesn’t have a gruff voice. He’s not Jackson Browne. He has a lived-in experienced voice. The words he chooses — perfectly suited to the people, places & things he sings about.

There are 14 tenderly etched melodic characterizations on Never Too Late produced by Neale (vocals/acoustic & electric guitars/Veillette Gryphon/uke/synth) with Matt Nakoa (vocals/acoustic & electric guitars/bass) in Massachusetts.

Neale’s work is shaped more by emotional creativity & nostalgia. Not solely musical tradition. The songs aren’t melancholy, but Neale manages to tell the unvarnished truth & doesn’t wallow in sadness he describes life as a place, not for the weak-hearted. Neale delivers each song with John Prine-conviction (“Like a Poem Needs a Rhyme”) & by the time you hear the last lines you’re more uplifted & reflective than dour.

“One Month Crazier” is a sophisticated ballad. Neale deals the sad cards with a wink & a grin. In 1928 a song recorded by both Lee Morse & Annette Hanshaw called “If You Want The Rainbow, You Must Have the Rain.” Neale’s equivalent is if you want to be happy, you’d have to understand what sadness is.

“Devil’s Gate,” comes on with more seasoning & a cello with a lite punctuating guitar & strings mindful of many of the late Harry Chapin’s lesser-known ballads. Set aside that Neale came to songwriting late in his career after producing projects for other artists. He never believed he had the lead vocal tenure but he’s far better than most. Not all singers have the soulful rawness of Ray Charles, the expertise of Paul McCartney, or the sheer power & range of Elvis Presley.

But artists like Dean Martin, Bob Dylan & Tom Waits have proved that some singing relies more heavily on style than vocal prowess. On these tracks, Eckstein never overreaches. He wisely stays in a wonderfully warm lane & never goes into the fast lane where the vocal timbre needs range.