The Band Perry Pioneer

Please Return the Evening — the Cherry Poppin' Daddies Salute the Music of the Rat Pack is a tribute album and ninth album overall by American ska-swing band the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, released on July 29, 2014 by Space Age Bachelor Pad Records. Please Return the Evening consists entirely of cover versions of songs performed and popularized by the "Rat Pack" of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.. In stark contrast to the Daddies' previous studio albums, the album features no original material by Daddies frontman Steve Perry while also focusing exclusively on traditional swing and jazz music, without any of the ska, rockabilly or rock influences which typically make up much of the band's sound.

Perry and Gerrard continued to experiment and improve with The Serpent's Egg, as much a leap forward as Spleen and Ideal was some years previously. As with that album, The Serpent's Egg was heralded by an astounding first track, "The Host of Seraphim." Its use in films some years later was no surprise in the slightest – one can imagine the potential range of epic images the song could call up – but on its own it's so jaw-droppingly good that almost the only reaction is sheer awe. Beginning with a soft organ drone and buried, echoed percussion, Gerrard then takes flight with a seemingly wordless invocation of power and worship – her vocal control and multi-octave range, especially towards the end, has to be heard to be believed. Nothing else achieves such heights, but everything gets pretty darn close, a deserved testament to the band's conceptual reach and abilities.

With its two sides split between Perry and Gerrard's vocal efforts, Within the Realm of a Dying Sun serves as both a display for the ever more ambitious band and a chance for the two to individually demonstrate their awesome talents. Beginning with the portentous "Anywhere Out of the World," a piece that takes the deep atmospherics of "Enigma of the Absolute" to a higher level with mysterious, chiming bells, simple but effective keyboard bass and a sense of vast space, the album finds Dead Can Dance on a steady roll. Once again a range of assistant musicians provide even more elegance and power to the band's work, with a chamber string quartet plus various performers on horns, woodwind, and percussion. Impressive though the remainder of the first side is, Gerrard's showcase on the second half is even more enveloping and arguably more successful. The martial combination of drums and horns that start "Dawn of the Iconoclast" call to mind everything from Wagner to Laibach, but Gerrard's unearthly alto, at its most compelling here, elevates it even higher.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers famously played 20 nights at the legendary Fillmore venue in San Francisco in 1997. 6 of the shows were professionally recorded and this release features many of the high points of the residency. The small venue allowed the band to vary their sets each night; they included re-arranged and distinctive versions of their hits, deep cuts, and many cover versions – paying tribute to the artists that Tom and the band had been influenced by. The 2CD set includes 33 tracks, 18 of which are covers - 2 hours of music. The triple carton pack includes a 22-page booklet with previously unseen photographs.

Originated from the new-wave scene that followed the punk explosion of the late 70's, The Police stood out of the pack mostly due to the fusion of reggae and punk that permeated their music. When you top that with an exquisite songwriting talent and a level of execution that was way above the band with which they shared the scene, you have a band for the ages. In The Many Faces Of The Police we will explore the band’s different paths, their lesser known projects, we will honor their songs and finally we will examine the scene that gave birth to their career. The Many Faces Of The Police is an essential album for every rock music fan, a fantastic journey through their music, presented with extended liner notes, a luxurious cover art and remastered sound.