Editing Cake (band) (section)

===''Prolonging the Magic'' (1998–2001)===
With Brown and Damiani's departure, McCrea felt "free to experiment" with the next album, 1998's ''[[Prolonging the Magic]]''; he wrote and produced every song.<ref name="gz" /> As a result of this experimentation, the album was noted as "loaded with spiced-up instrumentation, including a few new ingredients like the pedal steel guitar and musical saw thrown in for extra flavour". McCrea stated that he deliberately "approached writing this record without the guitar as the central assumption of all life in the universe".<ref name="gz" /> ''[[Music Week]]'' described it as an "inspired collection of leftfield rock",<ref>{{cite news|title=Reviews – For Records Out On 5 October 1998|date=September 26, 1998|work=[[Music Week]]|publisher=[[UBM plc]]}}</ref> while Thor Christensen of ''[[The Dallas Morning News]]'' said that it "brims with the same dry humor the Sacramento band displayed in past hits such as 'The Distance' and 'Rock and Roll Lifestyle': The leadoff track, 'Satan Is My Motor,' puts a devilish new spin on the rock 'n' roll car-song tradition, while 'When You Sleep' revolves around the question of what your fingers do while the rest of the body snoozes".<ref>{{cite news|title=Radio won't allow much giggle room|last=Christensen|first=Thor|date=October 8, 1998|work=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|publisher=[[A. H. Belo]]}}</ref> Other reviewers were less complimentary, with Mike Pattenden in ''[[The Times]]'' writing that "Prolonging the Magic suggests that [Cake] may well be destined to go down as one-hit wonders&nbsp;...&nbsp;While a handful stand out – the country waltz Mexico, You Turn the Screws and Hem of Your Garment – Prolonging the Magic shows McRea and company to be little more than an above average bar-room act. Cake are surviving on songwriting crumbs".<ref>{{cite news|title=New album releases|last=Pattenden|first=Mike|date=October 3, 1998|work=The Times |location=UK|publisher=[[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]]}}</ref> The album peaked at number&nbsp;33 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]],<ref>{{cite magazine|title=SECTION: CHARTS; PART 1 OF 2|date=December 5, 1998|magazine=Billboard|publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]]}}</ref> was listed in ''[[The Columbian]]'' as the second best album of 1998,<ref>{{cite news|title=The Top 10 CDs of 1998|last=Clayton|first=Richard S.|date=December 17, 1998|work=[[The Columbian]]|publisher=Scott Campbell}}</ref> and eventually went platinum after shipping over 1&nbsp;million units.<ref>{{cite magazine|title='Titanic' Leads '98 Certifications – Soundtrack Shipped 10 Mil.; Backstreet Boys Set At 9 Mil.|last=Morris|first=Chris|date=January 9, 1999|magazine=Billboard|publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]]}}</ref>

The album's first single, "[[Never There (Cake song)|Never There]]", hit number 1 on ''Billboard''{{'}}s Modern Rock Tracks chart,<ref>{{cite magazine|title=CHARTS; MODERN ROCK TRACKS|date=December 5, 1998|magazine=Billboard|publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]]}}</ref> and was followed by "[[Let Me Go (Cake song)|Let Me Go]]" in 1999, which hit number&nbsp;30.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=CHARTS; MODERN ROCK TRACKS|date=July 31, 1999|magazine=Billboard|publisher=[[Prometheus Global Media]]}}</ref> Following ''Prolonging the Magic''{{'}}s release, the band toured the United States, playing in cities including San Diego and Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news|title=Inside a Cake with many layers: The band tries to prove it can go the distance.|last=Nicolosi|first=Michelle|date=February 14, 1999|work=[[The Orange County Register]]|publisher=Freedom Communications}}</ref> A tour of Europe was temporarily postponed in March after McCrea broke a bone in his hand while moving furniture,<ref>{{cite news|title=Peach Buzz; 'Possibility City' taking off|last=Sundquist|first=Eric|date=March 6, 1999|work=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|publisher=Cox Enterprises}}</ref> which also led to the delay of the European release of ''Prolonging the Magic''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Reviews – For Records Released On April 19, 1999|last=Finan|first=Chris|date=April 10, 1999|work=[[Music Week]]|publisher=[[UBM plc]]}}</ref> Both the album release and the tour happened in mid-April, with Cake playing at the [[London Astoria]].<ref>{{cite news|title=POP: A GREAT DEAL OF SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL; LIVE; CAKE LONDON ASTORIA 2|last=Sturges|first=Fiona|date=April 23, 1999|work=The Independent |location=UK|publisher=Independent Print Limited}}</ref> Later show locations in North America included Chicago,<ref>{{cite news|title=Weekend Plus Club Hopping|last=Houlihan|first=Mary|date=May 28, 1999|work=Chicago Sun-Times|publisher=[[Sun-Times Media Group]]}}</ref> [[St. Louis, Missouri]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Hear It Love: Charts, Concert Previews and Nightclub Schedules|date=June 3, 1999|work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]|publisher=[[Lee Enterprises]]}}</ref> and Toronto.<ref>{{cite news|title=Singer's performance Cake-d in sex appeal: McCrea delivers deadpan lyrics with charm|last=Chiose|first=Simona|date=June 10, 1999|work=Globe and Mail |location=Canada |publisher=The Globe and Mail Inc.}}</ref> A third single, "[[Sheep Go to Heaven]]", was released in 2001.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sound the Trumpets: Cake Returns|last=Roberts|first=Nick|date=July 31, 2001|work=[[The Buffalo News]]|publisher=[[Berkshire Hathaway]]}}</ref>