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

Sound Clip:
"Jump With My Baby"
MPEG-LayerII
64kpbs.44kHz.
251k.32sec.