Search - The Asylum Street Spankers :: Hot Lunch

Not a Bad Starting Point

Brian Seiler | Tomball, TX USA | 09/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First again, eh? I'll try not to disappoint. To start, Hot Lunch is a mostly well performed, mostly well composed album of....well, whatever you want to call it, and probably a good starting point for incoming Spankers listeners.



To those who aren't familiar, the Asylum Street Spankers perform what has been labeled most consistently "acoustic music," which is something like a rough amalgam of jazz revival, swing, and jug band styles. If you wanted to call it "old time-y" that would make sense. If you wanted to call it Squirrel Nut Zippers without the brass section and with more talent, that'd be right. If you listen to a couple of samples, you should get a pretty good idea of where the band is coming from.



Now, to the merits and demerits of the record. As is typical for the group, the instrumental performances are superlative and the overall quality of the recording is excellent. It's one of the more consistently up-tempo records in their catalog, and with its liberal peppering of infectious hook-like sections, there's plenty to attract a newcomer, which is why I would recommend this as a starting point, even though I hold Spanks for the Memories in higher esteem. Christina Marrs is at her best, and Wammo and Pops Bayless don't really humiliate themselves, so far as the vocals go. All things considered, it's a pretty tight recording with enough cross-genre (you'll find some country on Sad Bomber) and popular appeal that it should set easy on most listeners.



There are still issues with the record, though, and it starts with Wammo. That the man has a certain degree of talent, I wouldn't question, but my problem is with the vein in which he chooses to let that talent flow. A great amount of the material on this CD has a certain kitsch appeal that will most undoubtedly wear out after a few listens. Fanny and Sad Bomber might sound clever the first time through, but the twentieth they start to lose a lot of their luster, in the same way that the Weird Al Yankovic record you loved when you were a kid sounds a little less stellar now will. The problem with trying to add humor to music is that humor is frequently only funny once or twice, and music, at its best, is meant to be experienced many, many times. This certainly isn't the WORST Spankers record in that regard, but for those who might be put off by it, you should know that it's here.



On the whole, however, I would give a strong, unconditional recommendation to purchase this record. It's a great recording from a great band with one of their best line-ups, and certainly worthy of purchase for any music-enthusiast's collection."