Piece of Cake (album)
Piece of Cake | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 13, 1992 | |||
Recorded | July 1992 | |||
Studio | Egg Studios | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:33 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Producer | Conrad Uno, Mudhoney | |||
Mudhoney chronology | ||||
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Singles from Piece of Cake | ||||
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Piece of Cake is the third studio album by American rock band Mudhoney.[1][2] Released in 1992, it was the band's first album for Reprise Records.[3] The album was released at the height of grunge, a genre Mudhoney had helped create.[4]
The album peaked at No. 189 on the Billboard 200.[5] The band supported it with a North American tour that included shows with Eugenius.[6] "Suck You Dry" and "Blinding Sun" were released as singles.[7]
Reprise reissued the album in 2003, bundled with the E.P. Five Dollar Bob's Mock Cooter Stew and the b-sides from the singles. In 2020, Piece of Cake was included in the 4CD box set Real Low Vibe: Reprise Recordings 1992-1998.[8]
Production
[edit]Recorded at Seattle's Egg Studios, the album was produced by Conrad Uno and the band.[9][10] Mudhoney spent $15,000 to record it; unlike previous albums, the band completed it at one time, instead of spending non-consecutive weeks in the studio.[11][12] Reprise granted Mudhoney full artistic freedom in the making of Piece of Cake.[13]
Mudhoney reserved four of the album's tracks for each individual band member to do what he saw fit.[14] "Youth Body Expression Explosion" is an instrumental track.[15] The band used an organ on many of the songs.[16] Piece of Cake was the first Mudhoney album that bass player Matt Lukin was satisfied with.[17]
Critical reception
[edit]Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [18] |
Calgary Herald | A−[19] |
The Indianapolis Star | [20] |
Los Angeles Times | [21] |
Rolling Stone | [22] |
Toronto Sun | [23] |
The Toronto Star wrote that the songs "are leavened with hooks and humor, and mostly free of extraneous axework."[24] The Calgary Herald determined that "it takes time to grow on you because [Mudhoney] eschews more over-the-top metal influences in favor of punkish garage-rock glory."[19] The Toronto Sun opined that "the majority of the 13 songs sound artlessly tossed together, as though the group felt a lack of effort, in and of itself, somehow constituted a statement about signing with a big corporation."[23]
The Washington Post concluded: "Where other Seattle bands seem to embrace going under, this one fights back ... Mudhoney is too noisy, too punchy and just plain too contrary to curl up and die."[25] The Indianapolis Star stated that, "in his minor-key yelp, Mark Arm frequently equates love with death ... Some listeners may be reminded of a similar album thematically, X's Under the Big Black Sun."[20]
The Rocky Mountain News listed Piece of Cake as the sixth best album of 1992.[26] Spin included the album on its list of the 20 best records of the year.[27]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Mudhoney, except where noted.
Original
[edit]- "[Untitled 1]" – 0:38
- "No End in Sight" – 3:34
- "Make It Now" – 4:25
- "When in Rome" – 3:55
- "[Untitled 2]" – 0:25
- "Suck You Dry" – 2:34
- "Blinding Sun" – 3:39
- "Thirteenth Floor Opening" – 2:31
- "Youth Body Expression Explosion" – 1:59
- "I'm Spun" – 4:04
- "[Untitled 3]" – 0:40
- "Take Me There" – 3:32
- "Living Wreck" – 3:30
- "Let Me Let You Down" – 3:57
- "[Untitled 4]" – 0:29
- "Ritzville" – 2:38
- "Acetone" – 4:15
2003 reissue bonus tracks
[edit]- "Over the Top" (Lemmy Kilmister, Eddie Clarke, Phil Taylor)– 2:35 *
- "King Sandbox" – 2:43 **
- "Baby o Baby" (Martin Rev) – 3:45 **
- "In the Blood" – 3:08 ***
- "No Song III" – 4:11 ***
- "Between Me and You Kid" – 3:38 ***
- "Six Two One" – 2:34 ***
- "Make It Now Again" – 4:35 ***
- "Deception Pass" – 2:54 ***/*/**
- "Underide" – 2:07 ***/*
- * originally appeared as a B-Side to "Suck You Dry" (1992)
- ** originally appeared as a B-Side to "Blinding Sun" (1993)
- *** originally appeared on the E.P. Five Dollar Bob's Mock Cooter Stew (1993)
- Tracks 21–25 recorded August 1, 1993, at Hanszek Audio, Ballard, Washington. Produced by Kurt Bloch and Mudhoney, engineered by Kurt Bloch.
- Tracks 26 and 27 recorded at Egg Studios with Conrad Uno at the Helm, 1992.
Personnel
[edit]Adapted from the album liner notes.[28]
- Mudhoney
- Mark Arm – vocals, guitar, organ, slide guitar, piano
- Steve Turner – guitar, key bass, harmonica, banjo, vocals
- Dan Peters – drums, marimba, vocals
- Matt Lukin – bass guitar, vocals
- Additional musicians
- Conrad Uno – backing vocals (8, 12, 13, 17)
- Emily Bishton – additional "ooohs" (14)
- The Fresh Mud Choir (Scott McCaughey, Tad Hutchison, Bob Whittaker, Steve Turner, Matt Lukin) – additional background vocals, handclaps (4, 16, 26)
- Ken Stringfellow – organ (20)
- Technical
- Conrad Uno – producer, engineer
- Mudhoney – producer
- Art Chantry – design
- Ed Fotheringham – cover illustration
Chart positions
[edit]Album
[edit]Chart (1992) | Peak position |
---|---|
Official UK Charts | 39 |
US Heatseekers | 9 |
US Billboard Top 200 | 189 |
Singles
[edit]Year | Single | Chart | Peak |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | "Suck You Dry" | US Modern Rock Tracks | 23 |
References
[edit]- ^ True, Everett (Aug 22, 1992). "Mudhoney". Melody Maker. 68 (34): 24.
- ^ "Piece of Cake by Mudhoney". People. 38 (17): 24. Oct 26, 1992.
- ^ Sweeting, Adam (16 Oct 1992). "Pop/Rock". Features. The Guardian.
- ^ Powers, Ann (31 Oct 1992). "The Dirty Beat, Loud and Masculine". The New York Times. p. 1:13.
- ^ Mendoza, Manuel (November 8, 1992). "Making a Scene – Seattle's sound has succeeded where others failed". The Dallas Morning News. p. 1C.
- ^ "Hot Ticket". Vancouver Sun. 9 Nov 1992. p. C1.
- ^ MacDonald, Patrick (November 27, 1992). "Home Bodies". Tempo. The Seattle Times. p. 3.
- ^ Deming, Mark. "Real Low Vibe: Reprise Recordings 1992-1998". AllMusic. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
- ^ "Piquant Beat". The Wenatchee World. November 12, 1992. p. A3.
- ^ "Piece of Cake by Mudhoney". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 44. Oct 31, 1992. p. 82.
- ^ Kot, Greg (6 Nov 1992). "Sending up Seattle". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 5.
- ^ Smallwood, Sue (April 2, 1993). "The Irreverent Mudhoney". Preview. The Virginian-Pilot. p. 3.
- ^ Sculley, Alan (2 Apr 1993). "Mudhoney of a Deal". InRoads. Daily Press. Newport News. p. 15.
- ^ Smith, Andy (November 1, 1992). "Mudhoney's 'overblown' hit". The Providence Journal. p. E5.
- ^ Cohen, Howard (January 13, 1993). "Mudhoney, Piece of Cake". Miami Herald. p. 5E.
- ^ Lepage, Mark (14 Nov 1992). "Mudhoney Piece of Cake". The Gazette. Montreal. p. E14.
- ^ Spanberg, Erik (March 26, 1993). "Mudhoney's artful noise rises from Seattle scene". Fun. The Advocate. Baton Rouge. p. 15.
- ^ "Piece of Cake - Mudhoney". AllMusic.
- ^ a b Muretich, James (1 Nov 1992). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C3.
- ^ a b Hall, Steve (13 Nov 1992). "Mudhoney Piece of Cake". The Indianapolis Star. p. B5.
- ^ Hilburn, Robert (6 Dec 1992). "The Hints of '92". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 57.
- ^ "Mudhoney Piece of Cake". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-12-03. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ a b Sakamoto, John (November 1, 1992). "Mudhoney Piece of Cake". Toronto Sun. p. S8.
- ^ Howell, Peter (31 Oct 1992). "Mudhoney Piece of Cake (Reprise); Alice In Chains Dirt (Columbia)". Toronto Star. p. G10.
- ^ Jenkins, Mark (1 Nov 1992). "Mudhoney et al.: Making Waves in Puget Sound". The Washington Post. p. G9.
- ^ Mitchell, Justin (November 13, 1992). "Season's Greetings from 1992's Top Rockers". Weekend. Rocky Mountain News. p. 88.
- ^ Johnson, Robert (January 8, 1993). "Humor, 'Hypocrisy' add spice to '92's best". San Antonio Express-News. p. 12A.
- ^ Piece of Cake (2003 reissue) (Media notes). Mudhoney. Reprise Records. 2003. 5046658772.
{{cite AV media notes}}
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