5:19
Motorcade Of Generosity, 1994
Written by John McCrea and Greg Brown
Greg Brown, the founding guitarist of Cake (not the Iowan folk giant), died last Saturday. While Cake would generally sharpen and streamline their sound after his departure, Brown co-wrote “The Distance,” their biggest hit, and deserves a nod during in memoriam week. This is a "woman done me wrong" style of song, dressed up in Cake's style. Blaring horns jab and retreat while bass and guitar lock into an unusually funky groove. Over it all, John McCrea growls, croons, and half-talks his way through the lyric like a bluesman with irony. The rhythm section keeps it moving with a loose, swaggering pulse, and McCrea’s vocal performance shows more range than his later, more minimalist persona would suggest. It’s a deep-pocket groove that clearly foreshadows the later hits "The Distance" and "I Will Survive." while still sounding rawer and a little less self-aware.
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