That CAKE were still going came as news to me. It's been a long time since 'The Distance,' and their magnificently off-kilter version of 'I Will Survive,' after all. Thirteen years, to be precise. That the four albums they've released since then haven't enjoyed the commercial success of 1996's 'Fashion Nugget,' at least over here, is perhaps something of an understatement.
This may or may not explain the decision to re-release their 1994 debut, 'Motorcade of Generosity,' as a special edition with previously unreleased videos of life performances of four of the album's tracks.
Having failed to investigate the band's output despite loving the aforementioned hit singles, I'm hearing 'Motorcade' for the first time. There's no mistaking it' 90s US college indie. But it's aged pretty well really, and it's also a lot of fun, drawing on a considerable range of often seemingly incongruous styles with aplomb. There's a distinctly Mexican flavour to a number of the tracks, while others, such as 'You Part the Waters' has a touch of the blues about it, as well as some fuzzy funk and jazz riffing melded to some country flavours. Elsewhere, 'Jolene' begins as a fairly standard indie rock kinda song, but winds up a guitar and trumpet wig-out and 'Is This Love' collapses into chaos about two thirds in.
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'Motorcade of Generosity' is quirky, even crazy at times, and deeply irreverent, as titles like 'Jesus Wrote a Blank Check' and 'I Bombed Korea' illustrate.
The archive live videos aren't exactly essential and are mastered with the volume that bit too low, but do demonstrate that CAKE aren't simply about the gimmicks, but can really play.
An extra point for the reissue coming in entirely recycled packaging printed with non-toxic vegetable dyes, and for the band converting their studio to solar power.
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