This recording includes an interactive multimedia program on the compact disc version that runs under MS Windows. The program includes excerpts of interviews with band members, music clips, and the lyrics to the songs on their first two recordings. I've never been able to get the video clips to work right though, either on my home system (486DX 100 MHz, Windows 3.1) or my office PC (Pentium II 350 MHz, Windows 98). Hope you have better luck.
Below I present the title and lyrics of each track, name the composer and vocalist, and include some comments. There is some variance, however, between the lyrics presented in the program and the way they are sung on the recording. I have therefore corrected these to the best of my ability to reflect what is actually sung. I apologize in advance for any mistakes.
1. Got My Own Thing Now
Written by James Mathus
James Mathus, Lead Vocals
When I was a lad I was a little bit shy,
Something came along and caught my eye.
When I heard the jazz band strike up
I swear, I had my mind made up.
Now I'm getting older,
Everything's in full swing,
Now I'm getting bolder,
The boy's gotta do that thing!
Used too walk along with the rest;
Got something all my own.
Oh baby you've got a little something,
Darling you've got a little something new
(Got a little something new).
Broke away somehow.
That's why I'm swinging it:
Got my own thing now!
Now children put away your toys,
All your little children's games.
Let the jazz band make some noise,
Step up ladies and watch out boys!
Mirror on the wall,
who's the hot band in the hall?
Let everybody sing:
"Boy's gotta do that thing!"
Used too walk along with the rest;
Got something all my own.
Oh baby you've got a little something,
Darling you've got a little something new
(Got a little something new).
Broke away somehow,
Everybody says so,
That's why I'm swinging it:
Shu-bop shu-bop shu-bop shu-bop
Too-la-wop!
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Sounds like a capsule autobiography!
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2. Put a Lid On It
Written by Tom Maxwell
Katherine Whalen, Lead Vocals
Put a lid on it.
What's that you say?
Put a lid on it.
Oh man, no way!
Put a lid down on it, and everything will be all right.
Put a lid on it.
Don't hand me that!
Put a lid on it.
I'm all right, Jack!
Put a lid down on it, before somebody starts a fight.
Say, every time I turn it loose
You cats come down and cook my goose.
When I start I just can't stop!
But if you keep this up you're gonna blow your top!
Put a lid on it.
Too late this time.
Put a lid on it.
I've got to get what's mine.
Put a lid down on it, and everything will be all right.
Well, grab your drink and clear a space,
I think it's time to torch this place.
Now the girl's in overdrive!
But some of your pals want to stay alive!
I'll put a lid on it.
Oh no, man!
I'll put a lid on it.
Oh don't do that!
I'll put a lid down on it.
Save it for another night!
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The song is a dialogue between Katherine Whalen and the rest of the band (the band's parts are in italics).
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3. Memphis Exorcism
Written by James Mathus
Instrumental
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This sounds very much like a classic jazz-band piece, one that Duke Ellington himself might have played.
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4. Twilight
Written by Tom Maxwell
Tom Maxwell, Lead Vocals
Oh you come to me at twilight,
The soft summer breeze,
The sand, the waving hair.
But how am I to know?
This feeling has no name.
Each morning I dream of twilight,
And wait for your glow
Down where the moonflowers grow.
Far beneath the sea
Awaits a home for me.
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The music and vocal style are reminiscent of old ballroom dance ballads.
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5. It Ain't You
Written by James Mathus
Katherine Whalen, Lead Vocals
I've been searching all over for someone
I can tell my troubles to,
Searching all the wide world over:
Is it you? It's you.
Are you the kind of man that marries,
Then gets his mind on something new?
You've got to let me know I'm all alone.
Is it you? It's you.
'Cause it's, baby - it's you.
I confide in you,
You seem to understand my point of view.
I moan and sigh, and you can't understand why,
You can't understand why!
I confide in you,
You seem to understand my point of view.
I moan and sigh, and you can't understand why,
You can't understand why!
I've been searching all over for someone
I can tell my troubles to,
Searching all the wide world over:
Is it you? It's you.
'Cause it's, baby - is it?
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Katherine Whalen's torch-song style is evocative of nightclubs and darkened cabarets, where slowly turning ceiling fans stir the dim, smoky air over patrons silhouetted at their tables by the stage lights. Of course, I've only ever seen that sort of thing in old movies.
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6. Prince Nez
Written by James Mathus
Katherine Whalen & James Mathus, Lead Vocals
She:
Anywhere old Prince Nez goes:
That's where I go too!
He clears up a stormy sky
Whenever he's by my side.
Everything's clearer, everything's nearer,
Everything's so divine.
I don't care what momma sez,
Prince Nez, I'm gonna make you mine!
He:
Anywhere old Prince Nez goes:
That's where she goes too!
Always so debonair,
Flirting with such a flair:
Oh you dog!
Everything's hazy, everything's crazy,
Everything's up in the air.
My gal sez she loves Prince Nez,
But I really don't care.
She:
Anywhere old Prince Nez goes:
That's where I go too!
He clears up a stormy sky
Whenever he's by my side.
Everything's clearer, everything's nearer,
Everything's so divine.
I don't care what momma sez,
Prince Nez, I'm gonna make you mine!
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In the "Roaring 20's" before the Great Depression, a young woman of bold manner and unconventional dress (or perhaps it was bold dress and unconventional manner) was known as a "flapper". That is the image this song brings to mind, as well as tight sequined dresses and caps, straw boaters and striped cravats and, of course, the "pince-nez": old fashioned eye-glasses lacking ear-hooks, that clip to the bridge of the nose.
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7. Hell
Written by Tom Maxwell
Tom Maxwell, Lead Vocals
In the afterlife
You could be heading for the serious strife!
Now you make the scene all day,
But tomorrow there'll be hell to pay!
Band repeats verse as chorus
People listen attentively,
I mean about future calamity.
I used to think the idea was obsolete
until I heard the old man stamping his feet.
This is a place where eternally
Fire is applied to the body.
Teeth are extruded and bones are ground,
Then baked into cakes which are passed around.
Chorus
Beauty, talent, fame, money, refinement,
Top skill, and the brain;
But all the things you try to hide
Will be revealed on the other side!
Chorus
Now the "D" and the "A" and the "M"
And the "N"and the "A"
And the "T" and the "I-O-N",
Lose your face, lose your name,
Then get fitted for a suit of flame.
Band repeats verse as chorus.
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This piece has an almost calypso feel; appropriately, it is the hottest track on the recording. It is also probably the most generally popular, and got a lot of top-40 play.
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8. Meant To Be
Written by Tom Maxwell
Katherine Whelan, Lead Vocals
All the time
I'm finding ways to make things fall in line.
I know how tricky things be.
But I really do believe that
You are mine,
And all the stars are there before us.
Listen here, some things are meant to be.
Tried to take it slow, tried to lose control,
But I'll tell you what the trick is:
What you get is what you had to give away.
When I learned, I found my eyes were opened.
Long ago,
I had a dream that quickly faded;
Goes to show, how tricky dreams can be.
But wouldn't you agree that
Those who know
Will whisper when they see us walking,
"There's a love that's always meant to be"?
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9. Bad Businessman
Written by James Mathus
James Mathus, Lead Vocals
There's a man going round in the town
Spreading lies,
He's the bad businessman,
Does his business while he can,
Just does his business bad.
He's a clown,
Gonna get bounced around
If he don't keep his business underground.
He's a player,
And everytime he deals a round
It's just a bad hand -
What a bad man!
Beware of what he sells,
Surely go straight to hell.
T'ain't no bottom in that wishing well.
Bad Businessman.
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I mentioned earlier that Hell is the hottest track on the recording, but this one runs a very close second - it's really too close to call.
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10. Flight of the Passing Fancy
Written by Ken Mosher & James Mathus
Instrumental
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11. Blue Angel
Written by Ken Mosher & James Mathus
Katherine Whalen, Lead Vocals
Your momma never told you
How you were s'posed to treat a girl.
Your poppa never told you -
Now you're all alone out in the world.
Sirens are screaming,
Inside the winding sheets are pale.
The devils are dreaming,
Dreaming of a blue angel.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
But troubled dreams are all I find.
I pray the lord my soul to keep,
I pray so I won't lose my mind.
Streetlights come streaming,
On wings tonight I'll soon set sail.
The devils are dreaming,
Dreaming of a blue angel.
Your momma's going to take it hard,
You always were your momma's boy.
You're lying in the graveyard,
Now you're not your momma's joy.
Silence is screaming.
I'll bat an eye and cast my spell.
The devils are dreaming,
Dreaming of a blue angel.
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Probably my favorite track on this recording, though it is indeed hard to pick!
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12. The Interlocutor
Written by Ken Mosher
Instrumental.
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In the context of old minstrel and vaudeville shows, the interlocutor is the man in the middle who acts as an announcer and exchanges jokes with the men on each side. This composition is a musical picture of such shows.
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The Zippers second recording is their most successful to date, having sold over a million copies. From my point of view, their first (Inevitable) is every bit as good as this one, and this one is very good indeed!