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Piece of Cake (album)

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]

Piece of Cake
Studio album by
Mudhoney
ReleasedOctober 13, 1992
RecordedJuly 1992
StudioEgg Studios
Genre
Length44:33
LabelReprise
ProducerConrad Uno, Mudhoney
Mudhoney chronology
Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge
(1991) 		Piece of Cake
(1992) 		My Brother the Cow
(1995)
Singles from Piece of Cake
  1. "Suck You Dry"
    Released: 1992
  2. "Blinding Sun"
    Released: 1993

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

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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

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [18]
Calgary HeraldA−[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

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All tracks are written by Mudhoney, except where noted.

Original

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  1. "[Untitled 1]" – 0:38
  2. "No End in Sight" – 3:34
  3. "Make It Now" – 4:25
  4. "When in Rome" – 3:55
  5. "[Untitled 2]" – 0:25
  6. "Suck You Dry" – 2:34
  7. "Blinding Sun" – 3:39
  8. "Thirteenth Floor Opening" – 2:31
  9. "Youth Body Expression Explosion" – 1:59
  10. "I'm Spun" – 4:04
  11. "[Untitled 3]" – 0:40
  12. "Take Me There" – 3:32
  13. "Living Wreck" – 3:30
  14. "Let Me Let You Down" – 3:57
  15. "[Untitled 4]" – 0:29
  16. "Ritzville" – 2:38
  17. "Acetone" – 4:15

2003 reissue bonus tracks

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  2. "Over the Top" (Lemmy Kilmister, Eddie Clarke, Phil Taylor)– 2:35 *
  3. "King Sandbox" – 2:43 **
  4. "Baby o Baby" (Martin Rev) – 3:45 **
  5. "In the Blood" – 3:08 ***
  6. "No Song III" – 4:11 ***
  7. "Between Me and You Kid" – 3:38 ***
  8. "Six Two One" – 2:34 ***
  9. "Make It Now Again" – 4:35 ***
  10. "Deception Pass" – 2:54 ***/*/**
  11. "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

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Adapted from the album liner notes.[28]

Mudhoney
Additional musicians
Technical
  • Conrad Uno – producer, engineer
  • Mudhoney – producer
  • Art Chantry – design
  • Ed Fotheringham – cover illustration

Chart positions

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Album

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Chart (1992) Peak
position
Official UK Charts 39
US Heatseekers 9
US Billboard Top 200 189

Singles

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Year Single Chart Peak
1992 "Suck You Dry" US Modern Rock Tracks 23

References

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  1. ^ True, Everett (Aug 22, 1992). "Mudhoney". Melody Maker. 68 (34): 24.
  2. ^ "Piece of Cake by Mudhoney". People. 38 (17): 24. Oct 26, 1992.
  3. ^ Sweeting, Adam (16 Oct 1992). "Pop/Rock". Features. The Guardian.
  4. ^ Powers, Ann (31 Oct 1992). "The Dirty Beat, Loud and Masculine". The New York Times. p. 1:13.
  5. ^ Mendoza, Manuel (November 8, 1992). "Making a Scene – Seattle's sound has succeeded where others failed". The Dallas Morning News. p. 1C.
  6. ^ "Hot Ticket". Vancouver Sun. 9 Nov 1992. p. C1.
  7. ^ MacDonald, Patrick (November 27, 1992). "Home Bodies". Tempo. The Seattle Times. p. 3.
  8. ^ Deming, Mark. "Real Low Vibe: Reprise Recordings 1992-1998". AllMusic. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  9. ^ "Piquant Beat". The Wenatchee World. November 12, 1992. p. A3.
  10. ^ "Piece of Cake by Mudhoney". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 44. Oct 31, 1992. p. 82.
  11. ^ Kot, Greg (6 Nov 1992). "Sending up Seattle". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 5.
  12. ^ Smallwood, Sue (April 2, 1993). "The Irreverent Mudhoney". Preview. The Virginian-Pilot. p. 3.
  13. ^ Sculley, Alan (2 Apr 1993). "Mudhoney of a Deal". InRoads. Daily Press. Newport News. p. 15.
  14. ^ Smith, Andy (November 1, 1992). "Mudhoney's 'overblown' hit". The Providence Journal. p. E5.
  15. ^ Cohen, Howard (January 13, 1993). "Mudhoney, Piece of Cake". Miami Herald. p. 5E.
  16. ^ Lepage, Mark (14 Nov 1992). "Mudhoney Piece of Cake". The Gazette. Montreal. p. E14.
  17. ^ Spanberg, Erik (March 26, 1993). "Mudhoney's artful noise rises from Seattle scene". Fun. The Advocate. Baton Rouge. p. 15.
  18. ^ "Piece of Cake - Mudhoney". AllMusic.
  19. ^ a b Muretich, James (1 Nov 1992). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. C3.
  20. ^ a b Hall, Steve (13 Nov 1992). "Mudhoney Piece of Cake". The Indianapolis Star. p. B5.
  21. ^ Hilburn, Robert (6 Dec 1992). "The Hints of '92". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 57.
  22. ^ "Mudhoney Piece of Cake". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-12-03. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  23. ^ a b Sakamoto, John (November 1, 1992). "Mudhoney Piece of Cake". Toronto Sun. p. S8.
  24. ^ Howell, Peter (31 Oct 1992). "Mudhoney Piece of Cake (Reprise); Alice In Chains Dirt (Columbia)". Toronto Star. p. G10.
  25. ^ Jenkins, Mark (1 Nov 1992). "Mudhoney et al.: Making Waves in Puget Sound". The Washington Post. p. G9.
  26. ^ Mitchell, Justin (November 13, 1992). "Season's Greetings from 1992's Top Rockers". Weekend. Rocky Mountain News. p. 88.
  27. ^ Johnson, Robert (January 8, 1993). "Humor, 'Hypocrisy' add spice to '92's best". San Antonio Express-News. p. 12A.
  28. ^ Piece of Cake (2003 reissue) (Media notes). Mudhoney. Reprise Records. 2003. 5046658772.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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