<< I could care less about Cake, but Gloria Gaynor's original version is just
swell. Great song delivering a dead-serious message that no doubt
resonated with lotsa folks inside and outside of her intended audience. >>
I want to defend Cake here, who it seems some folks might wanna toss away as
just another one hit alt wonder. Not nearly the case. They fascinate me to no
end for their smart, funny, sad inventive, rocking, groovy, genre-bent ways.
The Camper Van on the 90s, methinks. As for their cover of "I Will Survive," I
think it's quite good, turning the song into a slightly disconcerting trip
that still remains quite faithful to the original with its uplifting message,
a tone punctuated by the trumpet parts. It's worth noting too that "Survive"
is one of three covers on that album, the others being "Perhaps Perhaps
Perhaps" (by which old time female pop singer???) and Willie's "Sad Songs and
Waltzes." Now that's pretty darn ambitious if you ask me.
from the rock side,
Neal Weiss
