Strum & Drag

'You can hold the best of Maurice Mattei's material to the highest songwriting standards. His 'Set The World On Fire' would not only fit fine on Bob Dylan's Love And Theft album, it would be a highlight. It was an ear-opening revelation when a career spanning package from this unsung songwriter arrived in the mail.' - Don McLeese, No Depression Magazine 'Since 1990, Mattei has been quietly releasing some of the best story-songs in the region. Mattei's tawdry, insightful tales were released to minimal fanfare, masking an unsung talent that was part Dylan, part Bukowski, only smarter and of better voice. 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.' - Mike Breen, City Beat 'Maurice Mattei is a local treasure, pure and simple. The Bob Dylan comparisons are warranted because both are poets of the highest caliber and yet each finds a way to couch the most esoteric thoughts in the most accessible fashion. Ultimately, however, all of the musical references get focused into the singularity of Mattei's creative lens and emerge from the process as reminiscent of other artists and yet unmistakeably the work of Maurice Mattei.' - Brian Baker, City Beat 'The best thing about his minimalist songs is that they're anything but your slick, clich, over-emotional coffeehouse crooner material. Mattei's guitar melodies are as soothing and undiluted as his lyrics. 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.' -Kari Wethington, Cin Weekly.