His dad, the legendary Jim Croce, would be proud. Just considering this new album's lyrics exist on a level that surpasses some of the most successful singer-songwriters' best efforts makes A.J. (Adrian James) Croce's music essential and that much more of a "find." Previously, he recorded seven critically-acclaimed albums, was compared musically to Leon Russell, Dr. John, Billy Joel, Randy Newman, and Tom Waits, and was produced by hotshots like T-Bone Burnett and John Simon; yet the name "A.J. Croce" astonishingly has eluded the kind of status you imagine an artist of this caliber would have experienced by now. Well, don't be surprised if that changes with his new release.

Let's pretend it's day one and you've just heard of this cat. You need an entry point to his material, one that shows both his artistic side, depth as a person, and musical prowess. A.J.'s latest effort,Cage Of Muses, should serve quite nicely as it spreads his cred. "My goal was to make a 'live' concept album," A.J. reveals, then admits, "if I would have had a budget for this, it's hard to say if I would have had the restraint to produce such a minimalist collection of songs." Whatever took place behind the scenes financially was a blessing since the result was an understated album that encompasses big topics, unique melodies, a variety of tempos, interesting vocal approaches (that help create a kind of Glenn Tilbrook sound), minimalist arrangements, and delicate mixes that capture the performer and his crew--guitarists Michael Bizar and Nick Kirgo, bassist Davey Faragher, drummer Brian Macleod, and pedal steel player Greg Leisz--performing at their best.In the first track, "Gold And Green," A.J. takes on society's greed from many angles, one of the best examples involving "specialists" who are "Lookin' for a patient instead of lookin' for a cure 'cause there isn't any money in a cure anymore."

His phraseology is reminiscent of another famous offspring, Arlo Guthrie, but the production puts it solidly into pop crossover land, a block away from One Tree Hill. "Most of this album deals with the way all of us relate to the world and one another," A.J. says, and the personal variety is explored on "You've Said Too Much." The track plays like a word game on the subject of communication, and it employs both unique phrases you've never heard utilized quite this way before plus purposeful clichés. After its Beatles-ish "Hey Jude" piano intro, "Coraline" suggests Billy Joel with a twist of Lennon. Its verse declares, "Though she calls me crazy, well, she calls me nonetheless, she's as helpless as the mistress lying in her bed undressed," and it's followed-up by the infectious sing-a-long, "She sang la-la-la-la..."

That John Lennon comparison also applies to "I Want It All," whose high-pitched vocals and cool "Watching The Wheels" wink (especially at the song's end) will have you heading for your Double Fantasy vinyl. "There is a fair amount of social commentary," A.J. points out, and "Bury Me Standing" contains one of the finest examples of that lyrically (especially given our past, disastrous global approach and current economic crisis): "The world was painted black, we all stood around to pat the painters on their backs, we paid 'em well to give us hell, now we need a light." It doesn't beat you up with any further heavy-hitting hooks or messages, and that adds to its effectiveness. "The songs I like on my records are rarely catchy and almost always slow, introspective, or both," A.J. confirms. "In this case, 'Bury Me Standing' is one of my favorites."

In yet another of the album's best songs, "What Do You Believe," A.J. accurately visits dumb tenets of organized religion asking the obvious question its title suggests. The essence of Crowded House's Neil Finn comes a-knocking on "Now And Then," a simple treatise on what happens post a relationship. The song's lingering line, "I didn't mean to call...I just accidentally dialed, that's all," introduces a Thomas Dolby ...Flat Earth-era watery sound collage, and then we get another relationship-thrown-to-the-gutter track in "It's Gone." The intimate "I've Been Changing" is another example of A.J.'s piano playing serving as the beating heart of most of this album's musical "feel," that earlier-discussed low production value allowing songs like this to breathe deeply throughout. The album's strummy mood waltz, "Where Are We Now," might have benefited the most from the frugal approach, and A.J.'s vocals sound so much like Maury Muehleisen's (Jim Croce's back-up guitarist) that the initiated will hear the similarity immediately.

Every composition here is well done, and with any artist, that's pretty rare. It probably was the result of the holistic approach A.J. took with Cage Of Muse's successfully deployed material. He says, "When I sit to write a song, I think twice and write once. These songs were different, I kept coming back to them. They became the cage and the muse," though he now must be feeling a great release after completing such a terrific yet simple album. "As I have gotten older, I seek out simplicity. In my songs, I am able to edit myself and I do my best to figure out the simplest and most interesting way to say the most and least at the same time." That last point he makes is the key to most of the great works of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, and, of course, Jim Croce. Yeah, his dad would be proud.

Tracks:
1. Gold And Green
2. You've Said Too Much
3. Coraline
4. Bury Me Standing
5. I Want It All
6. What Do You Believe
7. Now And Then
8. It's Gone
9. Where Are We Now
10. I've Been Changing