Hot (Squirrel Nut Zippers album)
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''Hot'' is the second studio album by the
Squirrel Nut Zippers Squirrel Nut Zippers is an American swing and jazz band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by James "Jimbo" Mathus (vocals and guitar), Tom Maxwell (vocals and guitar), Katharine Whalen (vocals, banjo, ukulele), Chris Phillips (dru ...
, a retro swing band. Recorded as a follow-up to their acclaimed debut, ''The Inevitable'', the group continued their use of big band sounds and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Upon its release in June 1996, the album drew favorable reviews from most critics, who praised the humorous lyrical compositions and the record's cross-generational appeal. The album peaked within the top 30 of the ''Billboard'' 200, and was certified
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...
by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
in December of the year following its release. It also spawned a single, "Hell", which peaked at No. 13 on the
Alternative Airplay Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart; and though it did not reach the Pop Top 50, it did manage to garner airplay on 24 pop radio stations.


Composition

The album was recorded live in October 1995 using a single microphone, as an homage to old jazz records. Vocalist Katharine Whalen's vocals drew comparisons to
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...
, while the group's lyrics were noted for their humor and tongue-in-cheek quality. The 20th anniversary reissue of the album featured a bonus track, "The Puffer", which had been penned by Stacy Guess, the group's former trumpeter who had left the group shortly before they recorded the album.


Reception


Critical

Critics' reception of the album was described by one music critic as "a combination of joy and confusion". In a review for ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'', critic James P. Wisdom awarded the album a score of 9.5 out of 10, commending the record for its cross-generational appeal and its identity as "exuberant, ginhouse swing without apologies".
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars and praised its humor and big band sound, although conceding that the "tongue-in-cheek" lyrics and Whalen's vocals might be "unbearable" for some. He also designated the record as an "album pick" in the group's discography, and singled out "Put a Lid on It", "Hell", and "Blue Angel" as highlights. In a less favorable review, music critic
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
, writing for the ''
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...
'', gave the record a letter grade of "B−". Christgau remarked that the group had "written a couple of dandy songs" but also accused the group of being "not good enough to escape" nostalgia, and criticized Whalen's vocals as resembling Holliday and
Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...
.


Commercial

The album became the group's first entry on the
Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...
chart, on which it spent a total of 51 weeks and peaked at number 27 in June 1997. Prior to its entry into the upper half of the Billboard 200, the album also peaked at number one on the
Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
chart. In May 1997, less than a year after its release, the album was certified Gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for sales in excess of 500,000 copies, and in December of that year it was certified Platinum for sales of over 1,000,000 copies. The single "Hell" also attained some success, crossing over onto mainstream radio. It peaked at number 72 on the ''Billboard'' Radio Songs chart and number 13 on the
Alternative Airplay Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart. In popular culture, "Hell" was one of the songs sung in the 2021 ''
Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...
'' episode "Bloody Celestial Karaoke Jam". On Alternative radio, "Put A Lid On It" reached 35 stations as the followup track, but it did not quite make the Top 50.


Track listing


Personnel

*
Jimbo Mathus James H. Mathis Jr. (born August 1967), known as Jimbo Mathus, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and member of the swing revival band Squirrel Nut Zippers. Early life and career He was born in Oxford, Mississippi to Jimmy Mathis an ...
– vocals, guitar, banjo, piano *
Katharine Whalen Katharine Whalen is a musician, singer, and songwriter originally from Greenville, North Carolina. She contributed vocals, banjo, and ukulele as a member of the Chapel Hill jazz band Squirrel Nut Zippers, a group that she founded in 1993 with then- ...
– vocals, banjo, baritone ukulele * Tom Maxwell – vocals, guitar, baritone saxophone, clarinet, chandelier * Ken Mosher – guitar, alto and baritone saxophones, vocals * Don Raleigh – double bass, gong * Chris Phillips – drums, percussion, announcement *
Clay Walker Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single " What's It to You", which reached Number One on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Son ...
– multimedia * Duke Heitger – trumpet, cornet *
Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing musi ...
– violin


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


References

{{Authority control 1996 albums Squirrel Nut Zippers albums Albums produced by Brian Paulson