Boston singer-songwriter Joel Cage is what is known as a seasoned professional. He has been a professional musician since he was 16, and has performed with the impressive likes of Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Money, Peter Wolf, Bo Diddley, The Four Tops, Roy Orbison, Ben E. King, and many others. He spent three and a half years with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, a national touring/recording band before fronting his own bands, which include Big Sixteen, Gramolini, and The Subterraneans. A year ago, he struck out on his own. He recorded and released his first solo, mostly acoustic CD, Last Hard Road. With the exception of two songs, Cage played all the instruments and sang all the vocals on the disc.
Given his long career (he's played gutar since he was six), one wonders why it took him until 1995 to record a solo album. Cage says during the years after leaving The Jukes and before the making of Last Hard Road, he formed, ran, and performed in several rock and roll bands. The Subterraneans had a great run, he adds, coming close to signing a contract, but didn't quite make it.
" When I look back now, I'm not sure that would have been the best thing after all, but maybe that's just sour grapes. It took many years of trial and error with bands to get to the point where I just wanted to do it all myself."
For Cage, this do-it-yourself strategy was the most satisfying part of recording the CD.
" (I got to) realize my own vision with no unwanted outside opinion. I stress 'unwanted' because I did seek advice and comments from those in whom I had great trust while feeling the freedom to take it or leave it without ramification.I have always been this way."
Judging from the reviews of Last Hard Road, and from the quality of the CD, which Cage recorded on an eight-track recorder in his bedroom, he might have to endure mandatory kudos from others in the near future. His efforts have been called "amazing", his guitar playing "skillful", and his vocals "impassioned".The14-track CD exists in a sort of netherworld between folk and rock. Cage's music is more aggressive than folk and more complex than standard rock. This isn't a bad thing; it just makes it more difficult for music journalists to pigeonhole him. From "Stand And Fall", the rousing first track to the haunting and magical final track, "Talkin' Carny," Cage manages never to sound the same thanks, in large part, to his accomplished guitar playing.
Growing up in a musical family, Cage has had enough experience in the business to know what the disappointments can be, but he also values the experience and the stature it has given him in the Boston music scene.
" Te experience and notoriety I gained due to the relative magnitude of this position has allowed me to enjoy acceptance and respect amongst my peers. I feel fortunate to have the friends that I have (here). It is the knowledge of their friendship and respect that gives me the strength to persist in the face of frustration, as well as embellishing the pleasures of achievement."