B-Sides and Rarities

by

CAKE

Edit

Cake is a band that doesn't break a whole lot of new ground. The production values have gone up significantly since their Motorcade days, but the overall sound is much unrefined, at least in spirit. This album is a collection of B-sides, meaning if you have done your homework, you should have heard most or all of this before. It contains almost entirely material that was not included on previous studio albums, and then a few live cuts. I really like their version of 'Strangers in the Night' as well as 'Subtract One Love (Multiply the Heartaches). Also notable are 'War Pigs' and 'Conroy' for some good instrumentation. Also it has a alternate take of one of my favorites 'It's Coming Down.' I will say again, most of this stuff you can find in other places but is fun nonetheless.

There are some live cuts that in my opinion, add very little to the album. 'Short Skirt' is a song I was tired of the first time i heard it, and 'War Pigs' is unecessary, even considering the Flaming Lips cameo. A studio take and a live take together on one collection is filler to me.

So I dunno buy the album if you like cake. Its not expensive. It's good. The liner notes smell nice.

The main reason to get this is the version of "War Pigs." It's the goofiest thing here, and at least makes sense in the band context. After that, things are a really mixed bag. The number of country covers is telling, but frankly, Cake brings nothing to them in the way they reinvented "I Will Survive" ("Ruby Don't Take Your Love to Town" comes close: see also The Killers' version on Sawdust).

As is the case with most B-Sides collections, the majority of the songs were recorded as larks or left unfinished for a reason. If you're new to the band, stick with Fashion Nugget or Prolonging the Magic. You'll be glad your ears weren't forced to listen to Cake's version of "Manna Manna," which was cute on Sesame Street with muppets, but not by adults.

PS - The Vanilla Icing smell is NASTY.