The Stolen Sweets: Sleepytime in Chinatown

I recently had the good fortune to come into possession of a CD by retro-modern band The Stolen Sweets, entitled 'Sleepytime in Chinatown'.

On this album I discovered a song that's now a personal favourite and one I recommend you all get hold of (if you want to cut to the chase then scroll to the end of this post for details).

The Stolen Sweets are a 6-member outfit based in Portland, Oregon playing and singing in the style of the Boswell Sisters.

** Let's pause for a little history on the Boswell Sisters, shall we? **

The Boswell Sisters - Martha, Connee and Vet - were a close harmony singing group of the 1930s, with a style akin to the (now) more well-known Andrews Sisters (who actually started out as Boswell Sisters imitators).

Their heyday was the early 1930s, and they were particularly known for re-arranging songs: changing keys and tempos frequently.

The Boswell Sisters perform 'Heebie Jeebies' - listen out for the tempo changes and watch their quite impressive synchronised head bobbing...

** ... back to the Stolen Sweets **

As mentioned, the Sweets are an 'in the style of ' band who take their inspiration mainly from the Boswell Sisters, with a dash of Django-esque gypsy jazz thrown in here and there.

To this end, most of the tracks feature Boswellian 3-part close harmony singing, a sound that immediately screams 'vintage'. It's also a singing style that I personally find I prefer in smaller doses. I'm the same with the Andrews Sisters - while some of their songs I absolutely love (especially Bounce Me Brother with a Solid Four), I prefer listening to them shuffled throughout vintage music playlists rather than a whole album in one sitting.

The Stolen Sweets

The Sweets' songs are a mix of old standards and original compositions. Many songs feature the Boswell Sister's trademark tempo changes - to the point where I wasn't sure when a song actually finished and a new one started because some of the tempo and style changes were so dramatic.

Overall, the Sweets have a pared down sound. This is not robust Big Band material like Italian 'in-the-style-of' band Alfredo Rey e la sua Orchestra, but rather more stripped down, jangly and busky, similar to the Blue Vipers of Brookyn or the New Orleans Jazz Vipers - except more upmarket than down-home, with an air of genteel politeness. The Sweets do a lot of live gigs, and they'd definitely be worth checking out.

So, let's look at the Sleepytime in Chinatown album to see what we can find...

My preferred songs from the album are the jauntier ones: "I'm going to sit right down and write myself a letter", the title track "Sleepytime in Chinatown", "I'll Find You When I Do", the classic "Heebie Jeebies", and the Cab Calloway-like character-filled "Smoky Joe's Holiday". They make you feel like tapping your toes and remind us that music, back in the day, used to be about entertainment and feel-good fun.

Some of the slower songs don't turn my crank - I'm not against slow songs per se, but they just aren't swoony-croony enough for me (I confess my bias though: I have a loyalty to Sinatra where crooning's concerned, and nobody else can come close, apart from a few exceptions like Sam Cooke singing "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" - melt!)

Of course, given the frequent tempo changes, some songs have slow sections and faster sections, so I can end up liking part of the song but not the whole thing.

But there's one track on this album that, for me, stands out above all the others. After the first listen it was stuck in my head, on the second listen I was singing along, and it's now got a solid place in the list of my favourite songs. I'm talking of the eerily delicious ballad of "Willy the Weeper, the Chinatown Creeper".

It's mostly a slow song with a brief flick into some serious uptemponess near the end. Unlike their other slower tunes, here the Sweets drop the politeness and get all dark and creepy. The lyrics follow the story of poor Willy, a rather suspicious character whose girl runs off with another man - Willy rights this wrong by exacting his own rather bloody revenge.

MWAH HA HA HA!!!! *sounds of crashing thunder and lightning*

SIDE NOTE: Interestingly, the character of Willy the Weeper dates back to traditional American folk music and has inspired many other musicians such as Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon who recorded 'Willie the Weeper' in 1927 (lyrics here), and later Cab Calloway who used it as the basis for 'Minnie the Moocher'. There are a few variations of Willie the Weeper songs dating from the early jazz period - you can download an MP3 of one of them here - but generally Willie/Willy is an unfortunate character and the songs use storytelling lyrics that describe drug use and general down-and-outedness.

The song by the Sweets is an original composition both musically and lyrically that picks up the mantle of the 'Willie' tradition. It's haunting and evocative with fabulous lyrics matched by beautifully spooky backup singing.

"He pawned a watch and a chain

that he stole from a grave

and his box-back swallowtail coat

and he bought him a Mauser

as big as a house and went

looking for Sammy and Bell...

...have mercy on Willy the Weeper

the Chinatown Creeper,

taking confession down at St Augustine's"

I simply can't say enough good things about this song. I urge listeners to purchase 'Willy the Weeper' online from CD Baby - it'll be the best $0.99 you spend this week :)

You can, of course, listen to the other tracks and buy the album on CD Baby if you like.