MAURICE MATTEI: Ring Of Smoke

Maurice Mattei

Ring Of Smoke

© 2004 maurice mattei (659696065826)

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Roots-Oriented Urban Americana Singer/Songwriter

notes

The title track was the first song I wrote for this collection and it set the tone for the rest of the material which, in general, concerns itself with the average Joes and plain Janes that I have sometimes had the great pleasure of running into in my life. Along with this are songs about delivering clowns to New Yorkers, narcotics crazed bar flies, and a debutante's fling with the wild side of life. The music itself is a bit more grounded than that of "Western Skies" since the subject matter tends to be about all-too common day to day occurrences. Ideally, I wanted the music to have an off-hand easy flow to it and, due to this, many of the tunes have an accessibility which does not always line up with what the words are trying to say - this, perhaps, may be what I like most about this collection. There are a couple of tunes that stick extremely close to song styles of bygone eras. One, in particular, is a tribute to the immortal Boswell Sisters who are on my current must play list. I wrote the material over the course of several months and recorded it in two 4 hour sessions. Most of the tracks on this CD are first takes. All lyrics to Ring Of Smoke @ www.mmattei.com

Maurice Mattei started writing songs in his early teen years. After the release of his first recordings in 1983 and 1988 he abandoned music to pursue photography. His interest lay primarily in documentary photography and this led him into certain social circles (Bikers, Drug Addicts, Debutantes, Wrestlers, Strippers, Socialites, Celebrities, etc.) that he found to be strangely new and oddly exciting. This vast and glorious parade of life re-ignited his desire to write songs.

In 1995 he released his first CD of original material. He has since released 8 CD's, the latest being a live recording entitled "Ring Of Smoke". In addition to CD's, Mr. Mattei has released three cassette tapes, two 7-inch singles, one tape-cassette single, one CD single and a DVD since 1995. To see a complete discography, examples of photographic works, lyrics page, additional mp3's, and miscellaneous writings please go to the Maurice Mattei web site - www.mmattei.com.

Influences include Robert Johnson (Blues Singer), William Burroughs (Writer), Billie Holiday (Jazz Singer), Chuck Berry (Singer/Songwriter), Robert Frank (Photographer), Keith Richard (Singer/Songwriter), Donatien-Alphonse-Francois de Sade (Writer), The Beatles (Rock Band), Leonardo Da Vinci (Artist/Inventor), Elvis Presley (Singer), Marcus Aurelius (Writer/Emperor) and Buffy Davis (Actress).

reviews

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  • "Ring of Smoke" features 12 wonderfully constructed tales
    author: Rick Bird / the Cincinnati Post

    "Ring of Smoke" features 12 wonderfully constructed tales of common folk down on their luck. The beauty of Mattei's writing is that he finds drama in the lives of ordinary people who seem to have ended up abandoned, often lost souls chasing rainbows. Yet this is not a depressing album. Mattei's writing, and sly, slightly nasal singing voice, urges us to find comic relief in the quirky characters.

  • Ring Of Smoke - His Songwriting Pinnacle
    author: Mike Breen / City Beat

    The latest addition to Mattei's body of work is Ring of Smoke, which finds him at his songwriting pinnacle, retaining the "voyeuristic" quality of his best character-driven compositions, but also showcasing a stronger melodic sensibility. Also a noted photographer, Mattei's examination of the seedier side of the human condition in his songs is even more effective than his photographs exploring similar ground.

  • Ring Of Smoke - A Wonderful Development
    author: kari wethington/ Cin Weekly

    The new disc, Ring of Smoke, is a wonderful development in Mattei's journey toward modern realism - giving listeners the basics of a situation and leaving it up to them to draw conclusions. And the best thing about his minimalist songs is that they're anything but your slick, cliché, over-emotional coffeehouse crooner material..... Mattei's guitar melodies are as soothing and undiluted as his lyrics. Often pigeonholed in the "folk" category, Mattei prefers to think of his music as acoustic rock..... It's the voyeurism, as clear on Ring of Smoke as it is on previous albums, that will draw you into Mattei's songs, whether you consider yourself a fan of "acoustic" or "folksy" or "singer-songwriter" music or not. It's like the thrill of literature in the form of rock 'n' roll, and without all the shaggy hair and distorted guitar posing to get in the way.

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