Please Return the Evening - Cherry Poppin’ Daddies Salute the Music of the Rat Pack

I’m a CPD lifer. Fortunate to have started at U of O in 1987 and saw the Daddies many times at small clubs, parties, WOW Hall, Good Times, opened for Fishbone at the EMU Ballroom, Chilkoot Charlie’s in Anchorage etc. When they started to get into swing much later on, I was “meh” at first but it grew on me. Now, with this collection, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies have really reached an apogee of talent, tightness and respect for their elders. Steve Perry is in truly fine form—he’s an amazing vocalist, and he interprets these classic tracks amazingly well. The opening number, “The Best Is Yet To Come” has an almost ominous beat and sound to it, they slides funkily not the groove thanks to Perry’s vocal track. Well known numbers follow—Fly Me To The Moon, Lady Is A Tramp, etc, . The Daddies are TIGHT on this record. The arrangements are very good—VERY good, and the band members are clearly into it. They’re loving this gig. We get Dana Heitman’s ever-amazing trumpet, bassist Dan Schmid provides a schmoovah-than-Telly Savalas’ head baseline at all times, and somewhere the RatPack is smiling. Speaking of, I’m confident the Chairman of the Board would have been down with MC Large Drink as a name. Great work CPD, for a fantastic record of standards. Lovin’ it!