[.ca] Hot

From Amazon.com:
How clichéd--make that calcified--has the concept of "irony" become in alternative music? When North Carolina's Squirrel Nut Zippers scored an unlikely late '90s hit with "Hell" (from their Hot album), many cynics (and a few critics) thought the band was merely mocking the hot jazz stylings of the '20s and '30s. But having put a couple more albums and some trying times (the defection of singer-guitarist Tom Maxwell and passing of horn player Stacy Guess) under their belts, it's clear that musical affection was no mere passing affectation. The Zippers have honed both their chops and their courage here, with subtle new influences from the 20th-century American musical pantry (a dash of country, a pinch of Spanish guitar, more Crescent City bump) tastefully simmered into the stew. Katherine Whalen's vocal turns are as convincingly smoky as the lighthearted material is jokey--an inviting balance that's equally true to its historical sources. More than mere opportunistic swing revivalists, the restless curiosity displayed on this album argues that the Zippers are in it for the long haul. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but this band is clearly more interested in inspiration, and that's not a bad compliment, either. --Jerry McCulley

great tunes, strange singing:
The singing on this album is a bit...special. Katherine Whalen attempts to do a Billie Holliday impression. Sometimes it works, in a way, if you listen to it with an open mind. Nobody in the band can actually "sing" in any conventional sense. On one hand that detracts from the music, but on the other hand, it adds to their quirkiness. However, there's more to this album than quirkiness, namely some insanely catchy hot jazz/dixieland tunes. Only the songs "Twighlight" and "Flight of the Passing Fancy" are nothing special. You've certainly heard their radio hit "Hell" (In the afterlife). Almost every song on this album is actually MORE catchy than that.

Some exellent ukulele and banjo uke playing here!!!:
Not to mention guitar and banjo, this is really hot string music, plus the heated trumpet playing of jazz virtiouso Duke Heighter. This is the classic cd of the Millenium. plus steamy Billie Holiday influenced vocals by Kathrine Whalen(she's not bad lookin' either). Great group vocals reminiscent of the Sppirits of Rhythm, or the Washboard Rhythm Kings. Perfectly done originals that sound like 1925!!! EXELLENT JOB GUYS! fans of Dixieland music should acquire this cd right now!

Not was I was led to expect, but...:
Whenever I hear about bands responsible for the big "swing" revival in the ninties, three names almost always come up: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Royal Crown Revue, and Squirrel Nut Zippers. Having been on a "retro-swing" kick lately, and being a fan of the other two bands, I figured I'd give SNZ a shot. Pretty soon, I discovered that whoever compares those three bands has obviously never heard any of them. Comparing the sound of BBVD to SNZ is like comparing Eminem to Vannilla Ice. Sure, both bands have some similarities, but musically, they are radically different. While I can easily see BBVD coving "In The Mood", I get the feeling SNZ would feel more at home jazzing up a song by Tiny Tim. That's not to say SNZ are bad. Quite the contrary, I found I actually quite like them. They have a much more jazzy, old school sound to them than other "retro-swing" bands I've heard. I don't find it to be something I usually want to jump around to (though there are a few tracks that you can't help but tap your feet to), but it's alot nicer to sit back and chill out to than songs like "You and Me and the Bottle Makes Three". My only complaint about the whole album is that I almost can't tell Katharine Whalen's vocals apart from the horn section on some tracks. I don't care who she's trying to sound like - sometimes she just sounds bad. Overall, it's an excellent album, but don't expect the same noises to come out of it as others from the era.

Greatest 20's revival band:
This group of musicians is different from the hundreds of other 20's revival bands, because the yare not senior citizens playing teh same old "Saints Go Marchin' In." These are young vital musicians performing thier originals that truly sound liek they were written and performed between say 1924 to about 1936. The msuic is hot jazz, thanks to Katherine Whalens' overly exaterated but extremely appealing drugget out Billei Holiday imitations, as well as Duke Heighter's Bubber Miley and King Oliver impressions. There are plenty of stringed instrumenyts that make this band sound so hot liek the banjo and the often neglected banjo ukulele!!! Great hot jazz, that should appeal to lindy hoppers as well as trad jazz lovers, who want to hear something traditional, yet energetic, and TIGHT! No overly long solos, just hot brief pre-swing music! Highlights are obviosly the catchy "Put A Lid On It" and Bad Business Man! GREAT CD!!!

Do you Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?:
Once upon a time I was so in Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy that I could not listen to Squirrel Nut Zippers. This is their second album. And it sounds great. Katharine Whalen is a great singer, sometimes she sounds like Billie Holiday. This is absolutely not Gangster Bop or Jump Blues it's more swinging jazz. Now they are one of my favourite bands.

• Got My Own Thing Now
• Put a Lid on It
• Memphis Exorcism
• Twilight
• It Ain't You
• Prince Nez
• Hell
• Meant to Be
• Bad Businessman
• Flight of the Passing Fancy
• Blue Angel
• Interlocutor