Cage the Songbird
{{for|the song by Elton John|Blue Moves}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Cage the Songbird
| type = Album
| artist = Crystal Gayle
| cover = CrystalGayleCagetheSongbird.jpg
| alt =
| released = October 17, 1983
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio = Sound Stage, Nashville, Tennessee; Warner Bros. Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California
| genre = Country
| length = 31:16
| label = Warner Bros. Nashville
| producer = Jimmy Bowen
| prev_title = True Love
| prev_year = 1982
| next_title = Crystal Gayle's Greatest Hits
| next_year = 1983
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Cage the Songbird
| type = studio
| single1 = The Sound of Goodbye
| single1date = October 1983
| single2 = I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love
| single2date = February 25, 1984
| single3 = Turning Away
| single3date = June 1984
| single4 = Me Against the Night
| single4date = October 27, 1984
}}
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = Allmusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}} [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r109282|pure_url=yes}}] }}
Cage the Songbird is the eleventh studio album by American country music singer Crystal Gayle. Released on October 17, 1983, it peaked at #5 on the Billboard Country Album chart.{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}} Four of the album's tracks became Top 5 hits on the Country Singles chart, with two of them reaching #1. Chronologically they were "The Sound of Goodbye" (#1), "I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love" (#2), "Turning Away" (#1), and "Me Against the Night" (#4).
The title song, "Cage the Songbird", was co-written and first recorded by Elton John in 1976 album, Blue Moves. "Victim or a Fool" was originally recorded by the songwriter, Rodney Crowell on his 1981 eponymous album.
"Take Me Home" was originally sung by Gayle on a Tom Waits composed 1982 soundtrack album called One from the Heart for a movie of the same name. The version on this album is a re-recorded longer version.
Track listing
{{track list
|title1 = The Sound of Goodbye
|writer1 = Hugh Prestwood
|length1 = 3:12
|title2 = I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love
|writer2 = Joey Carbone
|length2 = 3:15
|title3 = Me Against the Night
|writer3 = Pam Rose, Mary Ann Kennedy, Pat Bunch
|length3 = 2:49
|title4 = Cage the Songbird
|writer4 = Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Davey Johnstone
|length4 = 4:09
|title5 = Turning Away
|writer5 = Tim Krekel
|length5 = 2:55
|title6 = Come Back (When You Can Stay Forever)
|writer6 = Chris Waters, Bucky Jones, Tom Shapiro
|length6 = 2:55
|title7 = Victim or a Fool
|writer7 = Rodney Crowell
|length7 = 2:35
|title8 = You Made a Fool Of Me
|writer8 = Melissa Cordell, Eric Borenstein
|length8 = 3:30
|title9 = On Our Way to Love
|writer9 = Norman Sallitt
|length9 = 3:21
|title10 = Take Me Home
|writer10 = Tom Waits
|length10 = 2:35
}}
Personnel
- Crystal Gayle – lead vocals, harmony vocals (7)
- Charles Cochran – electric piano (1, 2, 4, 7, 9), grand piano (3, 6, 9)
- John Barlow Jarvis – grand piano (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10), electric piano (3, 6, 7)
- Alan Steinberger – synthesizers (1)
- Bobby Wood – organ (3, 5)
- Billy Joe Walker Jr. – electric guitars (1-5, 8, 9), electric lead guitar (6, 7)
- Reggie Young – electric guitars (1-9)
- Chris Leuzinger – acoustic guitars (2, 3, 6-9)
- David Hungate – bass (1-9)
- Matt Betton – drums (1-9)
- Jim Horn – piccolo flute (1), saxophone (2, 5, 6, 7), flute (4, 8, 9),recorder (4)
- Larry Muhoberac – string arrangements (1-4, 6-10), string conductor (1-4, 7, 9, 10)
- Billy Strange – string conductor (6, 8)
- The Sid Sharp Strings – strings (1-4, 7, 9, 10)
- Nashville String Machine – strings (6, 8)
- Ava Aldridge – harmony vocals (1, 5, 6, 9)
- Cindy Richardson – harmony vocals (1, 3-7, 9)
= Production =
- Crystal Gayle – album direction
- Jimmy Bowen – producer, recording
- Lee Herschberg – engineer
- Steve Tillisch – engineer
- Ron Treat – engineer
- Paul Brown – second engineer
- J.T. Cantwell – second engineer
- Mark Coddington – second engineer
- Vicki Hicks – second engineer
- David Hassinger – remix engineer
- Glenn Meadows – mastering at Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Simon Levy – art direction
- Laura LiPuma – design
- Harry Langdon – photography
Chart performance
| class="wikitable"
! Chart (1983) ! Peak |
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums
| align="center"| 5 |
| U.S. Billboard 200
| align="center"| 171 |
{{Crystal Gayle}}
{{Authority control}}