Search - Cake :: Comfort Eagle

Comfort Eagle
Cake
Comfort Eagle
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (11) - Disc #1

When two-fifths of Cake defected to form Deathray after the release of their sophomore album, Fashion Nugget, some wondered if Sacramento's answer to Camper Van Beethoven would disappear into the land of one-hit wonders--e...  more »

     
   

Larger Image

CD Details

All Artists: Cake
Title: Comfort Eagle
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 1
Label: Sony
Release Date: 7/24/2001
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
Styles: American Alternative, Adult Alternative
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 074646213223

Synopsis

Amazon.com
When two-fifths of Cake defected to form Deathray after the release of their sophomore album, Fashion Nugget, some wondered if Sacramento's answer to Camper Van Beethoven would disappear into the land of one-hit wonders--especially since Cake's lone hit, "The Distance," had been penned by departing guitarist Greg Brown. But true to bandleader John McCrea's deadpan cover of Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," Cake turned around and repeated their success with 1998's Prolonging the Magic and its infectious hit, "Never There." Now comes Comfort Eagle, and, with it, news of drummer Todd Roper's departure (which probably explains the addition of drum programming to McCrea's ever-expanding credits). Like Beck, McCrea's self-sufficiency is only matched by an overriding ironic sensibility. It serves him well on the title track where, above mock Middle Eastern drones, he takes on all poseurs ("Now his hat is on backwards, he can show you his tattoos / He's in the music business, he is calling you 'dude'"). By comparison, "Short Skirt/Long Jacket," a song that dates back to McCrae's coffeehouse years, sounds formulaic (which probably explains its selection as the album's first single). No matter, tracks like "Long Line of Cars" and "Meanwhile, Rick James..." are sufficiently intriguing to make up for it. Factor in the distinctive trumpet embellishments of Vincent DiFiore, the band's other original member, and Comfort Eagle seems guaranteed to ensure that, no matter what happens, Cake will survive. --Bill Forman

Similar CDs


Similarly Requested CDs

 

CD Reviews

Cake
NDL | 02/11/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was a replacement for the identical cd that left my possesion. That's how much I like this cd. Quirky, fun to listen to- what's not to like?"
...
jokamachi | california | 07/31/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)

"I suppose this review could apply to any of Cake's recordings, because, if there's one thing McCrea and company does well, it's maintain a creative consistenty throughout all of the records they have produced over the years. The overall sound of the band doesn't change all that much, either, but why mess with a good thing? Who could have applied horns, polyrhythm, and counterpoint so effectively but this unique upstart from Sacramento?



If I had to point to one aspect of McCrea's writing that I particularly like, it would be the overall narrative. When he isn't pointing fingers or rooting out hypocrisy, hMcCrea weaves some of the most compelling tales about people other than himself.



Opera Singer, Rick James, Commisioning a Symchony in C, and I Bombed Korea, to name but a few, are just the tips of the storytelling iceberg for McCrea, and something tells me he isn't through by a long shot.



Hey, John, it's 2009. How about another album?"