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