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 :-)

Often imitated never duplicated
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.

(Arguably) Loeb's best CD
I'm assuming you already know Lisa Loeb's style, and want to know if this CD is the one to buy. Basically: Yes. This CD is arguably better than her debut "Tails". The most popular songs on it are "Someone You Should Know" and "You Don't Know Me", I heard them and I had to have them. In case you don't recognize those songs, "Someone You Should Know" has an irresistible melody, and its chorus has many Lisa voices (overdubbed) singing "What you want isn't what you needed..." The song "You Don't Know Me" is a bouncy tune (about a teenage girl who gets her first boyfriend and is a little too proud of it); it has a whistling break near the end. The third best song on the CD is "We Could Still Belong Together", a more energetic rocker in the style of "Waiting for Wednesday" from Tails. (If you are choosing between this CD and "Hello Lisa", I'll point out that the first two songs are on "Hello Lisa" but "We Could Still Belong Together" is not.) The rest of the songs are in her usual contemplative/ironic style, based on honest observations of the cruel paradoxes of desire, with occasional poetic turns of phrase, all honest and no cliches. But definitely too contemplative for guys who want hard rock'n'roll.

Beautiful, Sad, and Deep
Let me first start of with saying that there are at least five good songs on this CD. Next, I woudn't judge this CD just by reading the lyrics, considering that most of the lyrics are pretty much depressing. But by listening to this album, I realized that there are some very beautiful, yet still sad songs on here. Some songs are also kind of deep, which I really think is cool. I seriously recommend this album for people who like music that makes them think a little.

Repeat
If you have Loeb's other cd's than really you may not need this one. The cd is nice but it has many of the same songs on her other cd's. No need to pay for a cd with songs you already have.
It could be argued that people forgive singers like Whitney Houston and Celine Dion their syrupy song choices because their voices are so magnificent. Almost exactly the opposite is true of coffeehouse cutie Lisa Loeb. While her voice is pleasant enough, it lacks the range, vibrato, and immediacy to rank as a compelling instrument. But set against Loeb's fizzy folk-pop, it becomes an ideal vehicle for her conversational lyrics. That's especially true on Cake and Pie, which bears the confessional stamp of a songwriter who's been around the block enough times to know that life comes stacked with some pretty heinous surprises. Hence subject matter ranging from relationships in decay ("Kick Start") to teenage anorexia ("She's Falling Apart"). There's brightness, too, in tracks like the relatively slamming "We Could Still Belong Together"--originally heard in the film Legally Blonde--and the cheeky, finger-wagging "You Don't Know Me." While Randy Scruggs, Dweezil Zappa, and superstar producer Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette) appear as co-songwriters, Cake and Pie owes its chief debt to Loeb and her willingness to throw open the diary, real or imagined, and start dishing. --Kim Hughes