B-Sides and Rarities (originally referred to as just Rarities on the band's website) is a rarities compilation album by Cake, an alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. It features several cover songs from the 2004 bonus disc Extra Value and the 2005 Wheels EP, including Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" and Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up."
| B-Sides and Rarities | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | October 2, 2007 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, college rock, alternative country | |||
| Length | 35:01 (Standard), 40:21 (Limited Edition) | |||
| Label | Upbeat Records | |||
| Cake chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 Original cover for "Rarities" posted on the band's website before full album title was announced | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| IGN | (8.9/10)[2] |
| PopMatters |   [3] |
| Prefix Magazine | [4] |
Originally, Columbia Records requested the band to release a greatest hits compilation, but the band promptly refused. During the legal fall-out, Cake formed its own record label, Upbeat Records, and released B-Sides and Rarities
A limited edition version of the album features a bonus track, a live version of "War Pigs" featuring Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips. It also features a scratch and sniff cover with "five different CD cover/scent variations (including red/fresh cut roses,[5] brown/leather,[6] green/fresh cut grass,[7] purple/grape,[8] and yellow/banana [9])."
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "War Pigs" (Black Sabbath cover) | 3:54 |
| 2. | "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" (Johnny Darrell cover) | 2:55 |
| 3. | "Mahna, Mahna" (Piero Umiliani cover, made popular by the Muppets) | 2:54 |
| 4. | "Excuse Me (I Think I've Got a Heartache)" (Buck Owens cover) | 2:21 |
| 5. | "Conroy" | 3:01 |
| 6. | "Strangers in the Night" (Frank Sinatra cover, recorded for Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse) | 2:51 |
| 7. | "Subtract One Love (Multiply the Heartaches)" (George Jones cover) | 2:47 |
| 8. | "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (Barry White cover) | 3:50 |
| 9. | "Thrills" (The Chakachas cover; original title being "Stories") | 2:58 |
| 10. | "Short Skirt/Long Jacket (Live at Triple M)" | 3:16 |
| 11. | "It's Coming Down (Live at Pure FM)" | 4:12 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "War Pigs (Live)" (featuring Steven Drozd) | 5:20 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Is This Love? (Live)" | 4:30 |
Personnel edit
- Cake
- Vince DiFiore – trumpet, keyboard, harmony vocals
- John McCrea – acoustic guitar, lead vocals
- Xan McCurdy – electric guitar, background vocals
- Gabe Nelson – bass guitar, keyboard, background vocals
- Guest musicians
- Paulo Baldi – drums on tracks 4, 10, 11
- Greg Brown – guitar, organ on tracks 7, 8, 9
- Victor Damiani – bass on tracks 7, 8, 9
- Pete McNeal – drums on tracks 1, 2, 3
- Tyler Pope – keyboards, guitar on track 5
- Todd Roper – drums on tracks 7, 8, 9
- Technical personnel
Appearances in other media edit
- Cake's cover of "Mahna Mahna" appears on the charity CD For the Kids whose proceeds benefit the "VH1 SAVE THE MUSIC" organization.
- "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" features in the movie An American Werewolf in Paris.
- Cake's cover of "Strangers in the Night" appears on the PC video game soundtrack Stubbs the Zombie in "Rebel Without a Pulse"
- "Conroy" appears in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation entitled "The Lost Girls".
References edit
- ^ Horowitz, Hal. "B-Sides and Rarities - Cake". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ Spence D. "Cake - B-Sides and Rarities Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ Gilstrap, Andrew. "Cake: B-Sides and Rarities". PopMatters. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ "Album Review: Cake - B-Sides and Rarities". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
- ^ Discogs - B-sides And Rarities Red Cover / Roses Smell
- ^ Discogs - B-sides And Rarities Brown Cover / Leather Smell
- ^ Discogs - B-sides And Rarities Green Cover / Fresh-cut Grass Smell
- ^ Discogs - B-sides And Rarities Purple Cover / Grape Smell
- ^ Discogs - B-sides And Rarities Yellow Cover / Banana Smell
- ^ Discogs - Patrick Olguin profile and discography