Live At the Apollo - The Proclamation

Much was made of Live at the Apollo: The Proclamation, Byron Cage's third solo outing after his days with Purpose. A press release heralding the album's arrival crowned Cage the "first gospel artist to record live" at the famed Apollo Theater — a huge misnomer, considering the Mighty Clouds of Joy beat the so-called Prince of Praise by some 25 years. Cage himself didn't do his homework and ran with the faux pas, thanking the Apollo staff in the liner notes for helping him "make history." All of this would be forgivable if the high and mighty Proclamation lived up to the hyperbole, but even for Cage — who cut his teeth leading worship at Bishop Eddie L. Long's megachurch New Birth Cathedral — seeing his name in lights on the Apollo's marquee got the best of him. Cage always had a knack for leading the saints in song — his beloved hits "The Presence of the Lord Is Here" and "I Will Bless the Lord" proved that much — but here the intentions aren't congregational. Instead, it's show time for all those involved, including Cage, a choir led by Tri-City Singers alumnus DeWayne Woods, urban gospel knobturners PAJAM, and guests Kim Burrell, J. Moss, and Dave Hollister. It's all a celebrity parade, where the glitterati and the grandstanding are more prominent than the songs themselves, all of which try hard to distinguish themselves but get buried beneath the pyrotechnics. Cage himself is so ensconced trying to make the audience sing, he hardly does any singing himself. It's unfortunate, because Cage does have a commanding voice and admirable stage presence, two qualities that take a backseat to showmanship, flashiness, and at times plain cacophony.