Since their inception in the early nineties, CAKE has marched to the beat of a different drum. Eschewing the pop music scene in favor of eclectic, upbeat tunes often peppered with a wicked trumpet solo, the Sacramento-based quartet will be releasing their latest CD, B-Sides and Rarities on October 2.
According to lead singer John McCrea, B-Sides and Rarities is a compilation album that feature tracks that did not quite fit in the theme of previous albums. Originally slated for a mid-August release date, a message on the band's official website suggests the delay is related to their move away from a large record company to a smaller, independent one.
Similar to past CAKE albums, in addition to original tracks B-Sides and Rarities contains covers of other artists' songs, often from a wide variety of musical genres. In a telephone interview a few months ago, McCrea explained, "We're not interested in musical fashion trends so much in that we're interested in songs". Covers in B-Sides and Rarities include unique versions of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs", Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night", and Barry White's "Never Gonna Give You Up", sung by McCrea in his signature droning voice.
The B-Sides and Rarities CD bears testament to the band's uniqueness. Upon opening the plastic shrink-wrap, I was greeted by the light aroma of lavender. A small message at the bottom of the CD insert boasts that the paper cover art was manufactured using 100% recycled paper and vegetable dyes. But how are the actual songs?
As I mentioned earlier, B-Sides and Rarities contains several cover songs, the best being "War Pigs", which is available in both studio and live versions. Although this song has previously been covered by other artists such as Faith No More, CAKE puts their own spin on this classic track, to the point that it almost sounds like a different tune. Unfortunately, as good as "War Pigs" is, some of the other covered tracks don't quite measure up. "Strangers in the Night" sounds rather lackluster, even for McCrea's infamous half-asleep sounding vocals. He sounds as if he ran out of energy while recording this tune. Meanwhile, "Mahna, Mahna" sounds as irritating as the original.
Article comments
1 - alessandro
Wasn't 'Short skirt, Long Jacket' on Comfort Eagle? Great album.