Life has been hectic of late, and
I’m a bit knackered as a result. I’m going to try to get this review written on
what reserves of energy I’ve got left and then hit the sack.
Disc 1044 is…Comfort Eagle
Artist: Cake
Year of Release: 2001
What’s up with the Cover? Another typical Cake cover,
consisting of a background the colour you paint all the rooms in your house
right before you decide to sell it.
There is
also a graphic of a lovely early sixties couple enjoying a cocktail. These two
look smashed. I imagine that he’s about to confess that he lost the Jaguar in a
late night card game and she’s working up the courage to tell him she’s been sleeping
with the pool boy.
How I Came To Know It: I was already a Cake fan when
this album came out so this was just me buying their latest release.
How It Stacks Up: I have seven Cake albums, which at this point
is all of them. Of the seven, “Comfort Eagle” is my favourite – so #1, baby!
Ratings: 4 stars
“Comfort
Eagle” is one of those great albums that I played a bit too much when it came
out. Despite all that overplay, I still enjoyed every minute of it when the
Odyssey deemed it was time to return.
Cake is
one of those bands that have created their own unique sound. They channel sixties
lounge, seventies funk, eighties synth and a bit of modern indie detachment.
The combination is a mix of heavy groove and catchy beats that gets your head
bobbing and your toe tapping.
“Comfort
Eagle” is the band’s fourth album and is more of the same formula, but with a
bit more polish. The production values are superior, and the arrangements are
inspired. These guys just seem to know when the bass should lay down a riff,
when the horn section should fire a blast and when to calm it all down and let
lead vocalist and writer John McCrea deliver a few lines with the perfect
phrasing and timing of a beatnik poet.
Thematically
the songs are a mix of idle observations and impressionistic character studies.
The opening song, “Opera Singer” is
the story of an opera singer; temperamental, difficult but brilliantly
talented. On “Pretty Pink Ribbon” you
get the sense of a spoiled girl, navigating through life on her looks. Neither
character is particularly likable but they’re so well drawn you can’t help but
want to know them better.
The album’s
best song is also the band’s most famous. “Short
Skirt/Long Jacket” is part character study and part wishlist of what the perfect
girlfriend might be like. The song always reminds me of my own girl,
particularly the line:
“I want a girl with a mind like a
diamond
And eyes that burn like
cigarettes.”
That
latter part is only when I’ve said something stupid, of course.
The
whole record has a rolling incessant energy that makes you want to be behind
the wheel of a car, driving slightly too fast. On the surface, songs like “Comfort Eagle” make you want to get somewhere
in a hurry, without overthinking about where exactly you’re going. Just drive. Yet for all this urgency and celebratory
hand-clapping (which many of the songs feature) there is a subversive quality
to the lyrics, exposing the emptiness of modern culture even as they showcase their
allure with a catchy beat.
Songs
like the title track make you want to sing along when the man in the music
business calls you ‘dude!’ even as
you also recognize he doesn’t have your best interests at heart. Also, for
songs that are so good for driving, Cake once again delivers a solid
anti-traffic song with “Long Line of Cars”.
As the song admonishes, “This long line
of cars…is all because of you.” If you’re wondering who caused the traffic
jam take a look in the rearview mirror and see your reflection looking back at
you.
Like a
lot of great music, “Comfort Eagle” can be appreciated on multiple levels. You
could just bob your head and enjoy the beat, or you could consider the deeper
message Cake is delivering about the dangers of ego and self-absorption at both
the personal and the societal level. It is best enjoyed when both experiences
impact you at the same time.
I enjoy this
album every time I put it on. I may have been guilty of playing it too much
when I first bought it, but with music this good, it was a victimless crime.
Best
tracks: Meanwhile
Rick James…, Short Skirt/Long Jacket, Commissioning a Symphony in C, Comfort
Eagle, Long Line of Cars, Love You Madly
No comments:
Post a Comment