Artist: "Squirrel Nut Zippers"
Album: "The Inevitable"
Genre: Miscellaneous
Label: Mammoth Records

Reviewer: -RoG-
Posted: 12/29/2008

Review: Man oh man do I love them Zippers. If you haven't heard them, the Squirrel Nut Zippers are compromised of a variety of multi-talented musicians who perform their own special blend of big band swing jazz. On their debut album, The Inevitable, it's pretty amazing how polished they already were so early in their musical careers.

Aside from each member playing several instruments, one of the nice things about the band is how they rotate among three lead vocalists. While the two guys have their own fantastic styles that fit the music perfectly, it's Katharine Whalen who always blows me away. One listen to this chanteuse on tracks such as "Danny Diamond" and "You're Drivin' Me Crazy" and you'll think she's the living reincarnation of Billie Holiday (and perhaps Betty Boop as well).

There are some fantastically creeping tunes on the album as well. Upon my first listen, "Wash Jones" and "La Grippe" were instant classics in my book. And if you're into something a little more upbeat, you simply can't go wrong with "Good Enough For Granddad".

"He's been to all kinds of places, been to every old foreign land. Ain't a man alive shuck and jive, better than granddad can! All the good times that he had, if they were good enough for granddad, they're good enough for me."

While I've enjoyed all of the Zippers' releases, it's this debut album that I've always found myself coming back to more than any of the others. Catchy tunes galore by some extremely talented folks. Check it out.

Overall rating:
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)