Customer Reviews

Zoot Suit Riot

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a great cd for swing music. The music is very fast, upbeat and bright. It is very nice to see some interest in this genre again. The only caution about this cd is that some of the themes of the songs are highly questionable for a younger audience. Otherwise, grab your sweetheart, your fedora, a great zoot suit and hit the dance floor!

Swing was well before my time, but damnit if it wasn't good music. I am glad a modern band came along to play some swing without treating it like some sappy background music for a church party.

"Zoot Suit Riot" includes some fast-paced swinging (!) tunes about fights with sailors, bady guys, getting drunk, and of course some good old-fashioned questionable romantic pursuits.

The lead singer doesn't have the best voice of the decade, or even the year, but he is good enough and he sings like he has something to say. The music backs this up, and the result is an album with the energy we should expect from a dance genre.

If anyone is bothered by songs about fightin' and philanderin' and dirty dancin', maybe they should pass on this and go listen to one of those nice wholesome 16th-century operas about rape and murder.

This is a damm good swing cd. Don't listen to the other reviews saying that its Ska. There are only traces of Ska in tracks such as Dr Bones, and Pink Elephant. The band is excellent but they do have a habit of adding extra horns and a piano player don't get me wrong these sound great but it makes me wonder if they would sound as good live. As for the lyrics some may find them offensive but in that case don't buy the cd. My opinion? I thought that the lyrics fitted in well with the songs and the style of music. If you like Neo Swing and bands such as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Royal Crown Revue then this cd is defiantly for you.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this CD. I gave it 5 stars because that's all I could give. It's worth at least 10. The Cherry Poppin Daddies re-created swing music, making it more interesting and fun for the younger generation. I wish that other bands would do the same for some of the other older genres of music. It is refreshing to hear such a wonderful, upbeat spin on the classic swing. You can dance to it, sing with it, and actually enjoy listening to it. I truly enjoy every single song on this CD. I've listened to it so much that I've literally learned every word to every song. This is a bold and daring collection of songs, there is no doubt, but the Cherry Poppin Daddies pulled it off beautifully and put it together into a CD that no true music lover should be without. Don't wait....buy it now....you won't be sorry.

I postively love this cd. It so entertaining to listen to and if you are into swing dancing this is the music for you. The quality is like having Cherry Poppin Daddies right there with you performing it, it's that good. Zoot Suit Riot is a very up beat and fun cd for everyone to enjoy .

The song Zoot Suit Riot brought Swing back to mainstream in the mid-90s, with it's ubiquitous radio airtime, that in turn spawned swing clubs across the country. That said, this album has a lot more to be said for it. Ding-Dong Daddy of the D-Car Line, Here Comes the Snake, Drunk Daddy, Brown Derby Jump and Shake your Moneymaker are all now mainstream Swing songs. Indeed, looking at this album, it has so many great songs it reads like a Greatest Hits album. Essential for any swing CD collection for both it's impact to the genre, as well as the quality of the music.

I don't know about the other reviewers that reviewed this CD, but I think a lot of what you take away from a music experience is how and where you listen to it. I LOVE this CD for use as background music or driving music and also for just general listening.

If I am driving a long distance, or working at home, this CD is great to pop in and have in the background. It is also great when you feel like cranking up the volume and dancing a silly little dance, or rocking to the beat.

True this album has it's downsides such as language and a few mediocre songs, but when you compare the great listening experiences of, "Zoot suit riot," "Dr. Bones," "Master and slave," "Drunk Daddy," and "No mercy for swine," to the rest of the album you can see that you get a pretty well balanced album of highs and lows - which is what I know *I* generally look for in an album.

I also do not think it is warranted to downgrade an album for language. That is part of the fun of the album, and obviously they are aiming at a more adult audience, which is fine by me... that means I get to be spared from the whiney pre-teen/teenie-bopper ballad/love song/depression garbage a lot of bands will stick into their albums if they are aiming at that age group.

Bottom line, this album is a great listen and I would recommend it to anyone over the age of 14.

This cd is classic from beginnign to end. It reiks of martinis and hookah smoke, if you ever have a hookah party this cd is perfect background music, it's also great bachlor pad music, and martini party music. I listen to it whenever I make the L.A. to Vegas roadtrip. It is not traditional swing, but it is swing-dixieland-50's lounge-fusion, in fact there are more hints at dixieland music, than swing on this disc. The music is also very much influenced by lounge lp's of the 50's-60's especially the space age pop stuff. This cd has more in common with the music of Esquivel than Glenn Miller. The Sammy Davis Jr inspired "Come Back To Me" is awesome(though they say its Sinatra inspired). Zoot Suit Riot was a hit and has that 90's(Royal Crown Review. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Brian Setzer) swing sound, however I like the dixieland Louis Prima drenched Cherry Poppin Daddy Strut(I'm a Cherry Poppin Daddy Now), and Here Comes The Snake, which sounds so Sam Butera. Great fun disc!!! For it's unique genere it deserves 5 stars.

Zoot Suit Riot: The Swingin' Hits of the Cherry Poppin' Daddies
They set the bench mark back in the day when this came out, this is a great CD, and if you love swing, buy it.
Their new stuff that they are doing on their tours this spring [2008] just don't cut it, it aint swing baby, its SKA...YUCK!
Hope this review helps others...

whatever makes an album attractive, is what the audience is looking for in their selection. If you want smooth jazz, you wont find certain discs attractive or appealing. if you like vocals, then an instrumental disc is not attractive.If you like intensity with a driving rhythm, then you have come to the right place with this disc. This selection is not for those who like soft smooth melodies, or relaxing jazz ensembles.
There will always be some songs you prefer over others, and that is to be expected; but for everyone who's preference is a hard driving beat, there is something here for every taste; Let me point out a few of those i have come to be strongly bound to, and cant leave behind; You choose your own favorites;
1) Ding Dong Daddy of the D Car Line; One of my favorites, preferably with the volume as high as my surroundings will allow. The opening suggests just what you will expect from the rest of the song; A perpetual intensity that keeps your lips wet for the next part of the song.
2) Dr Bones; If I were a dee jay for a party, this one is right on top of my list; The vocals drive as well as the rythm and horn sections. There is something about lyrics like these that will keep you shaking where ever you are.
3) Come Back to Me; At first, I detested this number, untill I kept listening to it, and came to admire how well it replecates the sound and feel of a night club in the mid 1960"s.It was the authenticity that i came to respect and appreciate.
After collecting music for the past 40 years, i know that I am not going to fall deeply in love with every song on every album. In each album, there are selections i embrace, and save the album for that reason. These numbers listed above are my justification to keep this disc for life. You may like others for reasons of your own; You only live once, so grab onto, and enjoy all you can find before you get arthritis, and cant move your legs anymore.