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   November 21, 2003
FRANCIS PETTIT (Los Angeles, CA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

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.