Cake - Motorcade of Generosity

You need to straighten your posture and suck in your gut.
You need to pull back your shoulders and tighten your butt.
Yeah, come Comanche, Comanche, Comanche, commode.
If you want to have cities, you've got to build roads.

So begin the quirky lyrics of Cake's "Comanche" on their first CD, Motorcade of Generosity, released in 1995. Cake is one of the most unique bands of the past decade. Their first major hit I remember was "The Distance" off Fashion Nugget, their sophomore release. Soon after this song I heard a local Stillwater radio station (KSPI) playing samples of every cut off the album. I instantly became a fan of their odd style. I love every one of their albums. However, if you've never heard the band, or only have heard their hits, I recommend starting at the beginning.

Motorcade of Generosity begins with "Comanche," and is a good introduction to what Cake is all about. The lyrics are almost nonsensical but still humorous. John McCrea opens the song singing the verse only accompanied by a simple drumstick tap as eventually the other instruments join in. Cake is known for its wide variety of percussion instruments, as well as their use of the trumpet. The trumpet reminds me of Western Swing. In fact, Cake has often performed in Tulsa's Cain's Ballroom, which was once the home of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.

The next track is "Ruby Sees All" which is the first good example of Cake's guitar style. The song also features the syncopated rhythms the band is known for. This makes Cake a difficult band to sing along with sometimes, trying to anticipate the next word. It makes McCrea's singing style almost William Shatner-esque.

The trumpet work on "Up So Close" makes this one of my favorite songs by the band on any of their five CDs. Also, the lyrics are fun to analyze. Is he singing about examining his love to the point that he doesn't really see her?

The darkest song Cake ever recorded by far is "Pentagram." In a cheery bouncy beat, McCrea singings about casting incantations and varies spells on a pentagram drawn on the floor. The subject of the song is the listener, and probably the most disturbing line ever is "Your feet are dry with the ashes from dead babies." I don't think any other Cake song comes close to that level of macabre.

My favorite Cake song of all time appears on this album, and that song is "Jolene." I like how hard the guitars rock in it, and at first it seems just like any other of their songs. However, this song runs over five minutes in length, which is longer than almost all other Cake songs. Near the end of the song McCrea really gets into it, screaming "Get down! Please get down!" I chuckle at his "Please" almost every time. The guitars also really get going.

The best love song Cake ever recorded is "Haze of Love." The singer obviously has insomnia has he sings about being unable to sleep, but is slowly getting over his lost love. The acoustic guitar is a simple nice touch. After McCrea sings about realizing his love isn't returned, but he's finally cutting through "this haze of love," the electric guitar plays a great solo. This is a song I can relate to.

A grand piano appropriately opens "You Part The Waters." This might be the first song to feature prominently an instrument Cake is very well known for: the vibraslap. I just love that sound. But really what makes this song for me are these funny lyrics:

You got your grand piano
You don't even play piano
I'm the one who plays piano
You don't even play piano
But you part the waters

"Is This Love" has McCrea snarling the lyrics out with a hate only reserved for someone you love. The trumpets are more earnest than ever. The guitars are also very well done in this one. "Jesus Wrote a Blank Check" is quite the complimentary to follow this up with, as McCrea sounds much happier in it. It has a more country feel to it, but just when you think you got a feel for the song, McCrea comes up with this bridge about his desire to live.

Although "The Distance" was the first hit song I remember hearing by Cake, "Rock and Roll Lifestyle" was also a minor college radio hit. It was most famously used on MTV's Daria. This song has jamming electric guitars, and heavy use of the vibraslap. The lyrics point out the costliness of being a fan of Rock and Roll music, as well as the cost of being the rock star who bashes his guitar every show. "How long will the workers keep building him new ones? As long as the soda cans are red, white and blue ones." I really agree with McCrea has he says "Excess ain't rebellion."

"I Bombed Korea" is a fun exercise in modulation. Each verse is a different key than the last one, and the lyrics are interesting as well. "Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die." So says Lord Tennyson, and so goes the theme of this song.
Still relevant today I think...

Mr. Mastodon's Farm is more like a spoken poem over guitars and percussion. McCrea speaks of birds that plummet past his window, and his urge to make sure they don't hit the ground by rising to look out the window. If he doesn't, he shall fail as well.

Motorcade closes out with the short and simple "Ain't No Good." The percussion, acoustic and electric guitars, trumpets and McCrea's syncopated voice come together as the album ends in the same style it began, pure musical fun.

For further reading:
Cake's official web site
All Music Guide's Cake entry
Wikipedia's Cake entry