Ship of Fools and Mountains of the Moon Release
The Grateful Dead’s “Ship Of Fools” and “Mountains Of The Moon” were recorded by Neal and released with new instrumentation added by Circles Around the Sun (CATS).
Neal co-founded CATS in 2015 to provide set break music for The Grateful Dead's Fare Thee Well 50th anniversary concerts held that year.
"Mountains of the Moon" was initially recorded by Neal and CATS keyboardist Adam MacDougall in 2014 for a limited edition Record Store Day 7-inch released via Royal Potato Family and was used again as an instrumental piece for the Fare Thee Well sessions that ultimately resulted in CATS debut double album release, 'Interludes For The Dead' on Rhino. Neal's solo version of "Ship of Fools" was initially released as a bonus track on his 2009 solo album 'Roots & Wings.'
Daze Between presented by The Rex Foundation
The surviving members of Circles Around The Sun, bassist Dan Horne, keyboardist Adam MacDougall and drummer Mark Levy, cut new parts to go with Casal’s recordings earlier this summer. These re-imagined tracks were debuted during the virtual festival, Daze Between, in August 2020, honoring Jerry Garcia who passed away 25 years ago. They were officially released to streaming platforms in September 2020. All proceeds from the pair of Grateful Dead covers benefit the Neal Casal Music Foundation.
Watch Neal perform "Ship Of Fools" with The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and Donna Godchaux and discuss his appreciation of the song.
