Pressure Chief is the fifth studio album by American band Cake. It was released on October 5, 2004, pushed back from its original August release date. It was produced by the band and recorded in a converted house in Sacramento. The lead single, "No Phone" peaked at No. 13 on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The second single "Carbon Monoxide" garnered some airplay but failed to crack the Modern Rock Tracks top 40. The album was the band's second and last record under Columbia Records.

Pressure Chief
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 5, 2004
Genre
Length36:16
LabelColumbia
ProducerCake
Cake chronology
Comfort Eagle
(2001)
Pressure Chief
(2004)
B-Sides and Rarities
(2007)
Singles from Pressure Chief
  1. "No Phone"
    Released: August 24, 2004
  2. "Carbon Monoxide"
    Released: 2004
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic52/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[1]
musicOMHfavorable[3]
Mojo[1]
Pastefavorable[4]
Rolling Stone[5]
Sputnikmusic[6]
Stylus MagazineB−[7]
Tiny Mix Tapes[8]

The songs "She'll Hang the Baskets" and "Tougher Than It Is" were both originally written for Cake's 1998 record Prolonging the Magic. A bonus disc, Extra Value, was included in limited pre-orders of Pressure Chief.[9]

On its opening week, Pressure Chief sold about 46,000 copies, debuting and peaking at number 17 on the Billboard 200.[10] However, it fell to No. 55 the following week. By the next month, the album had only sold 91,478 copies.[11]

Critical reception

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Pressure Chief was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 52 based on 8 reviews.[1]

In a review for AllMusic, Johnny Loftus wrote: "Pressure Chief marks Cake's tenth year with a set of sardonic, engaging alternative pop that shows the Sacramento band's economical sound unwilted after all these years."[2] Matt Weir of Tiny Mix Tapes gave a three-and-a-half stars out of five, calling the release the "weakest effort" by the band."[8]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Wheels"John McCrea, Carlos Forster3:18
2."No Phone"McCrea, Xan McCurdy3:52
3."Take It All Away"McCrea, Forster, Garth Klippert3:58
4."Dime"McCrea3:37
5."Carbon Monoxide"McCrea3:10
6."The Guitar Man"David Gates3:54
7."Waiting"McCrea, Vince DiFiore3:56
8."She'll Hang the Baskets"McCrea2:43
9."End of the Movie"McCrea1:50
10."Palm of Your Hand"McCrea2:57
11."Tougher Than It Is"McCrea, Gabriel Nelson3:00
Japan bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Carbon Monoxide" (Karaoke Version)3:10
13."No Phone" (Karaoke Version)3:10
14."Wheels" (Karaoke Version)3:17
15."Take It All Away" (Karaoke Version)3:57

Personnel

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Cake
  • John McCrea – acoustic guitar, keyboard, percussion, lead vocals, cover design
  • Vince DiFiore – trumpet, melodica, keyboard, percussion, background vocals
  • Xan McCurdy – electric and acoustic guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, background vocals
  • Gabe Nelson – bass, keyboard, drums, electric and acoustic guitar, background vocals
Additional musicians
  • Tyler Pope – additional keyboard, percussion and guitar (on "No Phone", "Dime", "The Guitar Man", and "Palm Of Your Hand")
  • Chuck Prophet – electric guitar (on "She'll Hang The Baskets")
  • Paulo Baldi – drums (on "No Phone", and "Carbon Monoxide")
  • Matt McCord – drums (on "The Guitar Man")
  • Todd Roper – drums on (on "She'll Hang The Baskets", and "Tougher Than It Is")
  • Greg Vincent – pedal steel guitar (on "She'll Hang The Baskets", and "Palm Of Your Hand")
Additional personnel
  • Cake – Arranger, Producer, Engineer, Mixing
  • Craig Long – Engineer, Mixing
  • Mark Needham – Engineer, Mixing
  • Patrick Olguin – Engineer, Mixing
  • Kirt Shearer – Engineer, Mixing
  • Don C. Tyler – Mastering

Charts

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Chart performance for Pressure Chief
Chart (2004) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[12] 79
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13] 95
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 44
US Billboard 200[15] 17
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[16] 17

Singles – Billboard (United States)

Year Single Chart Position
2004 "No Phone" Modern Rock Tracks 13

Television performances

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Appearances in other media

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  • The song "Wheels" is featured in the soundtrack of the film I Love You, Man.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Critic Reviews for Pressure Chief". Metacritic. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Loftus, Johnny (2004-10-05). "Pressure Chief – Cake". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  3. ^ Welsh, David. "Cake – Pressure Chief | album reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  4. ^ "Cake – Pressure Chief :: Music :: Reviews :: Paste". Paste. 2004-10-01. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  5. ^ Hoard, Christian (2004-10-28). "Cake: Pressure Chief : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2006-08-19. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
  6. ^ "Sputnikmusic Review". Sputnikmusic. October 3, 2005. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  7. ^ Ross, R. S. (2004-10-05). "Cake – Pressure Chief – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on November 10, 2004. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  8. ^ a b Weir, Matt. "Cake – Pressure Chief". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
  9. ^ "Cake - Extra Value". Discogs. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  10. ^ Grein, Paul (January 19, 2011). "Week Ending Jan. 16, 2011: Albums: Even Lower". Yahoo! News. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  11. ^ "Sludge Scans for November 2004 | Metal Sludge". 2014-09-05. Archived from the original on 2014-09-05. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
  12. ^ "Lescharts.com – Cake – Pressure Chief". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Cake – Pressure Chief" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  14. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Cake – Pressure Chief". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "Cake Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  16. ^ "Cake Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
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