JOEL CAGE NOBODY by Vanessa Moore

The album cover of Joel Cage's second CD, "Nobody" proved telling of the contents within. Thick paper and a simple green blocked checkerboard pattern with a deceivingly simple ink-lined caricature of Joel hint at his strong clear music. Not just anybody could have written these lyrics, but even so, listeners will see Joel's unique view pronounces the sentiments of nearly all humans. Here, he's a nobody with things to say.

Joel's looking for a lover, but he's got baggage like everybody and if you can handle it, then he's yours. His acoustic guitar is accompanied occasionally by the fretless bass and percussion. At other times something synthesized balances out the melody. Elemental ideas and hopes are infused with lines that give pause and ask for contemplation.

During the title song Joel appears to have enjoyed creating the double entendre and interesting references in the lyrics. The smell of his lover, described in his smooth rhythms is "a scent from which no righteous hound would stray . . .".

As I write this, thanks to a CD ROM, my computer is thrumming with Joel's voice during his heavy "Winter." He describes the instant where loneliness almost becomes all consuming and the sound of one voice comes through, crystal clear, to change everything. Drums and ice crash through this song. Yes, winter is here.

Who are these people? Someone you know, surely. Or you can imagine them easily since they are so real. Scars on his face, cooking dinner alone, Joel's comfy voice describes them like photographs, though not all of them are suitable for framing. These are the images of "Nobody".