Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
[Coolsville/EMI-Capitol]
Rating: 3.9
The recent retro- swing revival owes quite a lot, believe it or not, to
Nirvana. If you don't believe me, let's review the history: in 1992,
Nevermind sparked the rise of the amped- up '70s Zeppelin/ Sabbath riffage
known as grunge. Grunge's angst and gloomy outlook gave way to the revival
of punk rock, with its angry energy and louder, faster guitars. Punk's
resurgence, normally associated with the 1994 releases of Green Day's
Dookie and the Offspring's Smash, dragged ska along in its wake, and
pretty soon every suburban garage band wanted to have peppy horn sections
and off- beat guitar rhythms. (Neo-ska itself hasn't had any truly landmark
albums, but Rancid's ...And Out Come The Wolves and the Mighty Mighty
Bosstones' Let's Face It come close.) Somehow, the concept of horns in
rock 'n' roll gave way to swing, of all things, initiated with the freak
popularity of the Squirrel Nut Zippers and, more importantly, the movie
"Swingers".
Which brings us to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, the swingin' bar band heavily
featured in "Swingers," who have now released their self- titled
major- label debut. By all rights, it ought to be the crossover smash that
the genre needs, but has it come too late? The initial "Swingers"
phenomenon has already faded away, and with it any chance BBVD had to
capitalize on it. Which is too bad for them, because on its own, the album
falls far short of its hype.
Casting themselves as the hottest band in Toontown, BBVD certainly has
cultivated a flashy image, but their music is strictly Squaresville. The
songs on Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, most of which have been released on
earlier (but harder- to- find) albums, seem like pale imitations of older,
better swing standards, performed competently but boringly. The overly
crisp, clean production values are partly to blame; BBVD is definitely
more a live band than a recording band, so the album might have benefited
from a rougher, more "live" sound. The production also unfortunately
highlights BBVD's Achilles' heel, which is Scotty Morris' bland vocals.
Maybe he's better live, but on the album he sounds like he doesn't have a
drop of soul in him, blue- eyed or otherwise.
If you already own the "Swingers" soundtrack, there's little point in
buying this album; two of the tracks from that album ("You & Me &
the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight" and "Go Daddy-O") are reprised on Big Bad
Voodoo Daddy and, surprise surprise, they're the best tracks here. Also
good are "Maddest Kind of Love," a lovely smoky ballad, and the red- hot
"Jumpin' Jack." But there's simply too much subpar material and novelty
filler here to recommend the album as a whole: their version of "Minnie
the Moocher" is bafflingly dull, "Please Baby" sounds like an uninspired
knockoff of "Black Magic Woman," and "Mambo Swing," while kind of cool,
mainly makes me want to go listen to David Byrne solo albums instead.
Disappointing? You bet. And I was all ready to crown these cats the Saviors
of Swing, too. Oh well, someone might still come along and make a
serious run for that title, but it's not going to be Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
At least not this time around.
-Nick Mirov