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Lisa Loeb's previous two albums were tremedously good, which made me become a fan of her music. For this third album, it seems that Dwezel Zappa has enhanced, and yet, slightly also screwed up Loeb's musical sensibility. Loeb can't make up her mind on what she's trying to present here. Is she siren folkie, a pop wannabe gyrator, or a loose college rock rehasher? Don't get me wrong...you can input a myriad of musical stylings into an album. But, if it's not tied well together, the results are more than likely unbearable. Also, Lisa Loeb's voice is lacking in its overall usual tone and quality.....on some tracks.

Because of all this, 'Cake & Pie' takes a couple of listens to get used to Loeb's updated arrangements. So, once that issue has been rectified, most of the tracks on this album do in fact reveal their listening staying power (in fact, all but two songs: "Everyday" and "The Way It Really Is").

The best songs, by far, are "Underdog" and "Kick Start"!

So by comparing this album to her two previous ones, you'll be slightly put off at first, but you'll eventually be smiling after a few more thorough listens.

It's good to see that Lisa Loeb continues her nice musical journey, while some of her other fellow female contemporaries are putting out lame tracks.

Enjoy :-)


Not just for dessert anymore.   March 18, 2002
 15 out of 16 found this review helpful

When an artist we think we know takes a dramatic turn off her established path, it's a touchy thing for fans. Newbies come to the party with a different frame of reference (like folks who first heard U2 after Zooropa), but for long-time listeners, such a departure can usher feelings both of elation and betrayal. I admit vacillating between the two before concluding that Cake And Pie is a tasty disc indeed, more consistent in theme, yet more musically diverse than Lisa Loeb's two previous releases.

The elements that define her body of work thankfully remain intact: intelligent personal lyrics, courageous bare vocals, exquisite guitar playing, and infectious pop arrangements - but there's a broadened level of musical experimentation that takes us outside the familiar turf of Tails and Firecracker.

Lyrically, the songs delve into the mysteries of human incompatibility; of how, whether in a relationship or not, we fail to see plain truth before our eyes; and finally why we crave impossible ideals that inevitably disappoint. As is often the case with Loeb's compositions, her solid pop sensibilities make the songs easy to swallow and belie the depth of longing within.

With this new recording, her first for A&M, Lisa has expanded her level of collaboration to include such heavyweights as Glen Ballard and Randy Scruggs. Dweezil Zappa adds a crispy electrified influence to several tracks. The result is a richly textured stew, full of nuance and spice, but at a cost. It's a difficult to define subtlety, part recording and part performance, that I would call intimacy. Make no mistake - this is real, honest songwriting, but this album is a larger production than Lisa's earlier one-on-one sessions with producer Juan Patino, and as such, the flavor is different.

Still, it's great sound: exceptionally clean drumming, crisp acoustic guitars, and tastefully applied distortion. Splendid dynamics abound - Loeb is really good at this. And the best part: she's not afraid of a microphone, or of recording her vocals dry. In fact, the reverb on the single "Someone You Should Know" is an uncharacteristic surprise. Also unexpected is the Wurlitzer electric piano on many tracks - a convincing condiment.

In the confessional "The Way It Really Is," obsessive analysis of a relationship drives Loeb from pole to pole (panning from speaker to speaker) as she questions the validity of her own perceptions. Smothering vines of doubt and dreams twist from her imagination, fertilized by an unwillingness to accept anything at face value, and nurtured by the truth that we can never really know someone else. In the end, Loeb's sole voice amidst a sparse bed of strings is lovely, fragile, and utterly alone.

Twin acoustic guitars paint a gorgeous stereo image in "Underdog," a heartbreaking song about being invisible and misunderstood, and craving love. These sonic and emotional themes continue in "Everyday," where a moving Calypso beat and a surprising chorus mate with delicious percussion to deliver a standout performance. This is Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories in full band mode, and from gleaming Fenders to delicate woodblocks to pounding floor toms, the dynamics are stellar.

By comparison, the sparse "Drops Me Down" recalls the Beatles, with a guitar solo that is positively Harrisonian. More derivative still is "You Don't Know Me," an eighties time warp with razor guitars and a metallic snare that sounds like a Brian May / Go-Gos collision. In "Too Fast Driving," squashed unison vocals reference nineties power pop, and there's a dreamlike break with fat bass and a flanged wall of sound that descends into something mental. "Payback," a soulful seventies jam must have been a blast to record, with nods to Rick Wright and Stephen Stills. Showing my age, I wish this one were longer!

Certainly some listeners will find these odd songs incongruous, and they might make the album seem schizophrenic, but Loeb explains that these diversions pay homage to artists she grew up on. It's a dense, unusual grouping, but ah, the bookends...

By far the most striking songs on Cake And Pie are a pair of acoustic ballads. "She's Falling Apart" is an unsettling tale of a girl's eating disorder, and "Kick Start," which pleads with raw honesty for action against inertia, is a lyric that strikes chords universal about the state of the human condition. It's a wonderful a song that could transcend even this magnificent performance where drone flattops and subtle percussion leave air for Loeb's vulnerable, close vocals.

Having two desserts implies too much of a good thing, but Cake And Pie is not overly sweet. Inside each song is a woman desperate to connect. And while Lisa Loeb begs our indulgence of her experiments, we are ultimately rewarded with courses that comprise a full and varied meal. This is no mere confection.


Often imitated never duplicated   December 3, 2003
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

My teenagers hate Lisa Loeb. They complain whenever I play her CDs. They say she's "Pop" ( the ultimate insult). They complain they don't understand her lyrics. This leave me with the question, "What did I do in raising my children that would make them be so wrong?"

Cake & Pie was the first CD by Lisa I bought after reading a review of it in the newspaper. The biggest reason I bought it was because Dweezil Zappa was on it and I am a huge fan of his father. I was blown away. The lyrics were insightful and adult. The rhythms, choruses, and bridges were far from predictable. This was too intelligent to be "Pop," yet the melodies are engaging and memorable without being trite or simplistic.

Overall, Cake & Pie is her best overall effort, although Tails and Firecracker have some songs, such as Taffy and Dance with the Angels, that are supperior to any thing on this offering.

Her songs are well crafted, not over-produced, and have an authentic edge to them. I hear many "pop" artists trying to sound like Lisa, but their attempts are so pathetic. I also appreciate that Lisa has spaced her offerings until she can fill them with memorable songs rather than cranking out pulp on a yearly basis.


New Hope?   March 4, 2002
 5 out of 7 found this review helpful

Perhaps the reason I gave Lisa Loeb's new album 5 stars is because I'm partial to most anything Ms. Loeb does. Or.. it could be because I'm overjoyed at seeing a friendly face in the midst of what most people my age refer to as "music" these days. Or maybe it's because Lisa just... made a great new album.

No, not a "good" one... a great one.

I'm not a music critic. I can be.. but I'm not, if you know what I mean. I don't go to coffee houses because the music you'll find in these places hasn't been Folk since about 1974. I'm also not a cell-phone toting college kid who feels the need to rebel against the very parents who raised me.. which is probably the reason why I can enjoy Lisa's so-called "syrup-y" lyrics and not be ashamed, afraid my friends will disapprove.

What I use to measure the quality or great-ness (if you will) of an album is a little thing called common sense: "Does it sound good? Well.. yes, I suppose it does. Great!"

Do yourselves a favor folks: Buy an album by a respectable Artist who's goal is not to shock you, make you change the way you dress or just plain get your money. Buy it because it's one of about a dozen new albums that isn't just another example of what a sick joke the music world is today.

Thanks Lisa, for giving New Hope.