Album #21: Comfort Eagle (2001)
Cake
Genre: Alternative
Dedicated to MB Member: Big3
1. "Opera Singer"
2. "Meanwhile, Rick James..."
3. "Shadow Stabbing" – 3:07
4. "Short Skirt/Long Jacket"
5. "Commissioning a Symphony in C"
6. "Arco Arena"
7. "Comfort Eagle"
8. "Long Line of Cars"
9. "Love You Madly"
10. "Pretty Pink Ribbon"
11. "World of Two"
It’s not as if I’d forgotten about them, I just had other music filling up my time and to be perfectly forthright I didn’t realize how much I liked the band and this album in particular. But inspired a few weeks back by Brennan’s Discography thread, I re-listened to the albums I owned, and not only found myself thoroughly enjoying the entirety of their catalogue but this album above all else. It’s moved into my regular rotation and I find myself finding more and more nuance with every track and having a whole new appreciation for the music and its makers. The bands fourth studio effort released in 2001 it got caught up in the maddening wake of the 9\11 tragedy in New York City. The album was meet with apathetic and dismissive reviews and only rated average or slightly above by most publications and critics.
The CD begins with “Opera Singer” which is a cavalcade of sound that reeled me in from the first brass section fill. The groove continues to stream into the next track “Meanwhile, Rick James” which is a funky mellow march towards ambiguity. The meaning is impossible to predict and the lyrics are impossible to ignore. The third track “Shadow Stabbing” is the highlight of the album for me. Acting as a precursor to the initial radio single “Short Skirt\Long Jacket”, there is never a dull moment amongst the blissfully melodic madness. Following the popular fourth track, the album begins to move in a new direction. Starting with “Commissioning a Symphony in C” there is a distinct middle eastern influence in the sound, particularly in the short but sweet instrumental track “Arco Arena” (A reference to the bands Cow Town roots) and the enigmatic title track that follows. The heaviest and most intense track on the album, with a satirical lyrical composition and an intense musical progression the song has an unmatched charisma. Finally, the gruelingly dynamic “Long Line of Cars” featuring a myriad of songs surrounding a discipline and repetitive rhythm section. The last third of the album includes the albums second radio single “Love Her Madly” which holds up well, the low point of the album for me in “Pretty Pink Ribbon” and the satisfying if maybe anti-climactic “World of Two” A melancholic finale with enough heart and a little heartbreak to boot.
One of the common criticisms I hear from people lukewarm on the band is the repetitive nature within the songs and the similarity of said songs within the albums. My counterpoint is why change what works. I never find the songs boring, quite the contrary actually. The bands ability to layer their songs and arrange them in such an order as to tell a brief if not interconnected then at least related chapters with a consistent tone and an unmistakable air of acquiescence and humility. The first four songs are immaculate, the first seven are fantastic, the whole album is more then acceptable it’s irresistible. “To resist it is useless; it is useless to resist it”. When I think of the band, I think of artists with a unique interpretation of their influences producing a sound that expresses an undeniable to enjoy the music the make and allow the people around them listening to share in that exhilaration.