Matt Dennis (3)

MATT DENNIS - DENNIS ANYONE (1955)

Where Do We Go from Here?        
Land of Danger        
Old Uncle Fud        
Relax        
I'm the Boy Who Takes Her Home        
Devil Talk        
That's How Close I Want to Be to You        
Too Late for Love        
Enchanted Memory        
Thousand Years Ago        
Bless You, Little Spleepyhead        
Show Me the Way to Get out of This World

Matt Dennis' first live LP, recorded in Hollywood in 1955 and also including a dozen Dennis compositions, doesn't have quite the songwriting firepower of Sings and Plays Matt Dennis. Instead of "Violets for Your Furs" and "Angel Eyes," listeners get "Old Uncle Fud" and "Bless You, Little Sleepyhead." Still, Dennis is just as suave and sentimental (though not as humorous), singing clever ballads like "I'm the Boy Who Takes Her Home" and the unexpectedly optimistic "Where Do We Go From Here?." A few do fall flat, including one ("That's How Close I Want to Be to You") whose references to then-current events and obscure personalities barely made it out of the '50s. Also, it's difficult to escape the fact that many of Dennis' performances are nearly identical. Undoubtedly an entertaining performance for a night out during the mid-'50s, Dennis, Anyone? exists for digital-age listeners as an interesting curio of lounge-act finesse.

MATT DENNIS - PLAY MELANCHOLY BABY (1956)

1. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea    
2. Cottage for Sale    
3. This Is My Story    
4. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues    
5. I'm Thru With Love
6. Perhaps, Perhaps (Quizas, Quizas, Quizas)    
7. My Melancholy Baby
8. Heart of Stone    
9. Spring Is Here    
10. I'll Never Be the Same    
11. For the Losers    
12. My Funny Valentine

Featuring: Matt Dennis (vcl), Ray Leatherwood (b), Bill Pitman (g), Richmond Frost (d), Don Fagerquist (tp), Ronny Lang (af)

MATT DENNIS - SHE DANCES OVERHEAD (1955)

1. Dancing On The Ceiling
2. Mimi
3. Nobody's heart
4. Blue Moon
5. Isn’T It Romantic
6. I Married An Angel
7. Mountain Greenery
8. Giver Her A Kiss
9. Wait ‘Til You See Her
10. I Didn’T Know What Time It Was
11. This Funny World
12. Have You Met Miss Jones

Matt Dennis is remembered more for the songs he composed than for his career as a singer. Tunes such as "Everything Happens to Me," "Let's Get Away From It All," and "Angel Eyes" are evergreens whose place in the Great American Songbook is well established. But he was an entertainer as well, playing pianist for some of the top singers of the 1940s and 1950s, including Margaret Whiting and Martha Tilton. Dennis also made four albums for RCA Victor during this period. On this particular one, he plays piano and sings as he pays tribute to one of the most successful songsmith teams in popular music history, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Joined by a sterling group of studio musicians under the leadership of Harry Geller, Dennis treads his way through 12 of the team's best-known songs, most of which are from the musical stage. The ballads, such as "Dancing on the Ceiling," have lush arrangements made more luxuriant by strings. The swingers, such as "Mini," are done with brass alone and often feature a short solo by one of the horn players. While this recording is not a momentous musical occasion, Dennis does have a pleasing way with tunes, given his understated style and very professional manner.
Dave Nathan - All Music Guide