Bedlam Ballroom

Every Squirrel Nut Zippers album stands by itself, telling a different story, and writing the soundtrack for a movie never made. The Inevitable told the story of big band jazz of the 20s. Hot depicted New Orleans hot jazz at its finest. Perennial Favorites weaved the tale of different genres of music coming together to form one sound. And now, we have Bedlam Ballroom. This album, in my opinion, is the Squirrel Nut Zippers' best effort to tap into the mainstream jazz genre. You people can decide if that's bad or good. Personally, I choose the latter. Why, you ask? Because the Squirrel Nut Zippers can appeal to anyone even remotely interested in the jazz genre and still retain some wild and eccentric attitudes. Just look at "Ghost of Stephen Foster" from Perennial Favorites. It was a wild and crazy song with band members screaming at the end of the song...and the music video won an award! (By the way, you can see the video and its storyboards on the limited edition version of this CD.) Every cut, every beat, every audible sound is milked for all its worth. From the wild and wacky "Do What?" to the soothing lullaby, "Hush", Bedlam Ballroom is pure Zipper fun! Bedlam Ballroom is also the first Zipper album minus member Tom Maxwell, who was involved in the Squirrel Nut Zippers since their first album. I personally think that Tom Maxwell was a significant part of Zipper music, but this album is evidence that the Zippers are doing okay without him. Bedlam Ballroom is also a tribute to the late Stacy Guess, the trumpet player for The Inevitable. He personally wrote the title track and, even though there is a better version on the Zippers' EP Sold Out, the version on this album is pretty good. This album is also a place where the Zippers can show off their talents in other music genres. Nowhere is this more evident than in "Hush", in which Katherine Whalen's soothing vocals, Reese Gray's piano, and Andrew Bird's beautiful classical violin compositions vary greatly from other tracks on this album like "Bedbugs" and "Do It This A Way". "Hush" is sure to be a great song to sing to any child as nighttime beckons. With the exception of The Inevitable, all the Zippers' albums have been enhanced. That is, they have special software for use on your home computer. Hot and Perennial Favorites both had enhanced CDs created by CD wizard Clay Walker. I thought that these were great. They gave me everything I wanted to know about the band and their music in the blink of an eye. They were also filled with nifty little extras. But Bedlam Ballroom's enhanced CD is not by Clay Walker. It's made by a professional company in Chapel Hill. Even though they did a good job, and the videos ("Ghost of Stephen Foster" and "Missing Link") are great, I kind of miss the diverse qualities of Clay Walker's CDs. I hope he'll be back for the next CD. Most Zipper fans expect some weird and zany thing to happen on each Zipper album. Examples are the original version of "Hanging Up My Stockings" on Christmas Caravan, the three bonus songs on Sold Out, and "The Kraken" on Perennial Favorites. For Bedlam Ballroom, we have the very bizarre (and very short) "Bedlam Reprise". Clocking in at a measly twenty-one seconds, it's the Zippers' shortest song on the album. I really shouldn't even call it a song because, well, it isn't! It's just a quick menagerie of mixing effects, static, and a mumbling voice. Don't ask me why it's on the album. I have no idea.

I would like to say, in closing, that I am deeply influenced by the Squirrel Nut Zippers and I hope that, even though one of their members is deceased and a couple of them have left the band, they will continue to create wonderful albums that anyone can enjoy!

I never saw a contract or specification saying that the Squirrel Nut

Zippers had to play Dixieland or Swing, or any other kind of music on their albums. Like most other bands, they play what they feel compelled to play. On this particular CD they play

Southern-Influenced music that is not like previous albums. Some

record buyers want bands to turn out same-sounding records so that when they listen to them there is no thinking involved. But

if an artist is allowed to express himself, or herself, wonderful

things can happen--like on this album. A little bit of R&B or

Rockabilly can be expected in Southern-influenced music. And there have been a lot of great Rockabilly groups to be influenced by over the years. Some of

the music here reminds me of Brave Combo (a band with no hint of

sticking to any genre, but still play great entertaining music.)

Bedlam Ballroom has the same great musicians as all the other

albums they have done. Maybe their next one will be like the

older ones, maybe it will be something completely different.

Variety, they say, is the spice. This CD is a great listen.

Buy it and grow. Or not. It's your cash.

I was a little wary about "Bedlam Ballroom," mainly because of the absense of some of the original Zippers members (Tom Maxwell and Ken Mosher.) However, my worries were set aside once I actually listened to the album. There are some notable differences in the band's sounds as compared to their previous album, but it still has that Zipper-ful heart. In all, "Bedlam Ballroom" is fun, and definitely worth a listen, whether you're a hardcore fan or a curious stranger.