Cake
Comfort Eagle
Columbia

Having spent most of the 90’s on Columbia’s mailing list, I’ve been able to listen to every Cake record ever released for free, and it’s a damn good thing I didn’t have to pay for all these Cake records, cuz I woulda felt cheated. Cake records are like a lotta old Bowie records…the man knew how to pick the hit single, and every long player Bowie ever made had at least one or two, but the rest of the record was a stinker, or was just mediocre by the single’s standards. Since I’ve never had to pay for the privilege of having all of this Cake, I’m not angry with them. To the contrary, I’m a bit in awe of how a band of their marginal talent can continue to thrive for so long in such a fickle business. They don’t get by on their looks…in fact, they’ve never put their picture in the cover of any of their records, and they don’t even appear in their new video (which is a funny and brilliant clip). They are not trend mongerers…their sound hasn’t changed since Motorcade Of Generosity back in 1994. They are not a production machine, exactly…four albums in seven years, that’s something like forty-five or so songs, seven of which are great, and the rest, forgettable, and that’s why people love getting music from the internet!

There are two tracks you may want to have from Comfort Eagle, don’t even bother with the rest, unless yer just jonesing for a "College Rock" fix and yer burned out on Weezer. The single, "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" sounds great on the radio in the car with the windows down! Seriously. It has plenty of clever images, too many to list here, but you’ll hear it on the radio, don’t panic! Turn on yer FM, it’ll be on any minute, or, you can see the video on MTV at 3:58AM, when MTV isn’t promoting movies for children to run out and see cuz they have nothing else to do with their summer cuz they are somewhere above menial summer labor, like bagging groceries, parking golf carts, etc., but fall somewhere below the class of family that sends their children off to summer in Tuscany to have a "worldly experience." At any rate, stay up ‘til 3:58AM and watch MTV and you’ll see the clip and you’ll think it’s brilliant too, and, if yer paying attention (like me) you’ll notice the Lou Reed thing in full bloom. What I mean to say is, I’ve long thought that Cake crooner John McCrae often sounds like Lou Reed when he does that speak-sing style vocal thing. The first time I heard "How Can You Afford Your Rock And Roll Lifestyle" on the radio years ago, I almost pulled the car over, thinking "Shit…Lou Reed got a sense of humor? How? When? Hooray!" but it was John, not Lou, and on "Short Skirt", listen close and you’ll hear a variation of the guitar chords from "Sweet Jane." Honest you will.

Oh, the other good song (the second of two out of a total of eleven tracks for those of you keeping score at home) on Comfort Eagle…is called "Comfort Eagle" (the title track) and it is again full of clever lines and a nice marching percussion rhythm that kids will love, cuz kids love anything that they can practice exaggerated body movements along with. The kids will also love to sing the "Dooooooood!" part too, especially if the kids are in a group of six in a minivan with a decent stereo.

At a list price of $17.97, (oh fuck off, Columbia) you don’t need this, unless you feel the need to support Cake’s rock and roll lifestyle, and that’s fine…there are worse things you could do, like pay to attend Ozzfest, or buy an Insane Clown Posse record. However, my advice is rip and burn the afore mentioned singles and go see Cake play all their hits live when they come to your town. And bring the kids.

— Jeff Noise

Track Listing:

1. Opera Singer
2. Meanwhile, Rick James
3. Shadow Stabbing
4. Short Skirt/Long Jacket
5. Commissioning a Symphony In C
6. Arco Arena
7. Comfort Eagle
8. Long Line Of Cars
9. Love You Madly
10. Pretty Pink Ribbon
11. World Of Two

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