Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]

Bedlam Ballroom is a studio album by the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers, released in 2000.[5][6] It followed several major personnel changes. The album reflects a stylistic shift, with the band incorporating a broader ranges of styles, instrumentation, and production approaches.[3] The band broke up after the release of the album, eventually reuniting in 2007.[7]

The album peaked at No. 195 on the Billboard 200.[8]

Critical reception

Exclaim! wrote that the band have "abandoned their adherence to '30s recording techniques, and though a bit of the charm is lost, thankfully these Zippers ain't slick."[9] CMJ New Music Monthly wrote that the album finds SNZ "nearly as eclectic as ever, but more generic too."[10] Variety thought that the album "can easily be considered their best for, if nothing else, they reclaim a time when music was unsure of itself, an era when Louis Armstrong had given up on the music of his youth to build a wider audience through pop numbers and show tunes."[11]

Track listing

All songs written by Jimbo Mathus except where noted.

  1. "Bedbugs" – 3:12
  2. "Baby Wants a Diamond Ring" – 3:25
  3. "Do What?" – 2:42
  4. "Bent Out of Shape" – 2:47
  5. "Stop Drop and Roll" – 2:58
  6. "Hush" – 4:12
  7. "It All Depends" – 3:47
  8. "Bedlam Ballroom" (Stacy Guess) – 2:15
  9. "Just This Side of Blue" – 3:08
  10. "Don't Fix It" – 3:33
  11. "Missing Link" – 3:21
  12. "Bedlam Reprise" – :21
  13. "Do It This a Way" – 2:33

Details

  • "Bedlam Ballroom" first appeared on the band's 1997 EP Sold Out as a live recording.
  • Mathus sings lead vocals on tracks 1, 3, 5, 10, and 13; Katharine Whalen sings lead on tracks 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9.
  • Most editions of the CD case have a lenticular cover. The cover artwork was created by artist Michael Doret.

Personnel

  • Jimbo Mathus – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, Chamberlin, ukulele, banjo
  • Katharine Whalen – vocals, banjo, baritone ukulele
  • Tim Smith – alto, baritone, and tenor saxophones, flute, background vocals
  • Reese Gray – piano, tack piano, Hammond B3 organ
  • David Wright – piano, Wurlitzer, trombone, background vocals
  • Je Widenhouse – trumpet
  • Stuart Cole – bass guitar, background vocals
  • Chris Phillips – drums, percussion, gong

Additional musicians

  • Andrew Bird – violin
  • Mike Napolitano – guitar
  • George Rossi – bass
  • Gabo Tomasini – congas
  • Giustino Riccio – timbales
  • Greg Humphreys – background vocals

References

  1. ^ Daly, Sean. "Squirrel Nut Zippers: Bedlam Ballroom". JazzTimes.
  2. ^ "Squirrel Nut Zippers: Bedlam Ballroom". PopMatters. October 16, 2000.
  3. ^ a b "Bedlam Ballroom - Squirrel Nut Zippers | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 7. MUZE. p. 688.
  5. ^ "Squirrel Nut Zippers | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  6. ^ "Squirrel Nut Zippers Unleash 'Bedlam'". Billboard. September 16, 2000 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ "Night Life". The New Yorker.
  8. ^ "Squirrel Nut Zippers". Billboard.
  9. ^ "Squirrel Nut Zippers Bedlam Ballroom". exclaim.ca.
  10. ^ "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. November 3, 2000 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ Gallo, Phil (November 15, 2000). "Squirrel Nut Zippers". Variety.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedlam_Ballroom
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