Prolonging the Magic

Cake: John McCrea (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, organ, Moog synthesizer); Gabriel Nelson (guitar, mandolin, piano, organ, bass); Vincent Di Fore (trumpet, background vocals); Todd Roper (drums, percussion, background vocals).
Additional personnel: Jim Campilongo, Xan McCurdy, Chuck Prophet, Rusty Miller, Tyler Pope (guitar); Greg Vincent (pedal steel guitar); Ben Morss (piano); David Palmer (keyboards); Mark Needham (percussion); Phyl Banks (programming); Richard Lyman (musical saw).
Engineers include: Craig Long, Kirt Shearer, Joe Johnston.
Recorded at Pus Cavrn & Paradise Studios, Sacramento, California; Hyde Street Studios & Coast Recorders, San Francisco, California.
Their second album brought fame to Cake, with a hit single ("The Distance") that wasn't written by the group's main songwriter John McCrea, therefore misrepresenting the band's sound. PROLONGING THE MAGIC gives listeners another chance to tune in to this California unit's distinctive sound, an arch, alt-rock concoction that fall somewhere between Pavement and They Might Be Giants. There's a hip-hop inflection to the rhythm section now and again, and the addition of trumpet keeps the production from slipping into alternative rock cliche. The tunes are all delivered with a generous dollop of sarcastic wit and Cake's collective tongue firmly in cheek. Despite the high irony quotient, there's a rollicking, light-hearted feel that keeps things sprightly and infectious.