This album, Matt’s Mood, was my favorite disc of 2004, and one of the best I’ve heard in recent years. This album marks the reunion of the original Matt Bianco line up with Mark Reilly, Danny White and Basia, the same group that recorded Whose Side Are You On? back in the mid 80s. How good was this recording?
Pretty darned good, actually! I wasn’t sure what to expect. Whose Side Are You On? was a good recording, but the synth-jazz-pop style of it never really hit it with me. Since the time that album was recorded, Mark Reilly kept Matt Bianco active with another collaborator, and had their own success in the UK. On the other hand, Basia and Danny White teamed up and released albums under Basia’s own name, and had great worldwide success with her own recordings, which were a mix of Bossa Nova, jazz and pop music. It does seem odd that a Polish girl would get into singing songs flavored by Rio de Janeiro, but it works! Other than an occasional track here and there, we figured Basia had gone into semi-retirement from performing and recording.
The 2004 version of Matt Bianco has made a great album. There are still the same influences Basia had on her own albums, but with the Matt Bianco vision on top of it as well. Add almost 20 years of musical experience and maturity, and you’ve got one very solid album of material that seems all to short once the last song, the instrumental “Matt’s Mood III”, hits the laser. In other words, it’s a classic case of “leave ’em wanting more” when this disc ends. I actually heard of, and purchased, this hybrid SACD in July 2004, months before Universal released it in the U.S. It was well worth every penny!
The obvious radio-ready songs are “Ordinary Day” and “La Luna”, two well-crafted songs with a Latin-influenced beat which Basia takes the lead on. There are some sad songs on here, songs of regret (“I Never Meant To” and “Say The Words”). Some are playful, such as “Wrong Side Of The Street” (which works well with its dark, moody melody) and “Slip & Sliding”, which has minimal lyrics that are more like jazz scat than anything else. Three of the songs are unique in that the band started with baritone saxophone solos, and built entire songs around them. “La Luna”, “Slip & Sliding” and “Ronnie’s Samba” all feature the work of the late Ronnie Ross, who appeared on that first Matt Bianco album, and Basia’s own recordings. The latter song, in fact, is a tribute to Ross, who may be best known for his sax solo on the fadeout of Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side”. The well-known smooth jazz guitarist Peter White also lends his hand to this album, as he had also appeared on Basia’s albums.
The sound of this project is probably the best of any Basia recording so far, and is worlds better than Whose Side Are You On?. It’s actually a nice, warm digital recording. The surround mix on this SACD is nice, but not essential–it is more environmental in nature, not flashy at all. The surround and stereo mix are both well balanced. The high-resolution stereo version is absolutely silky-smooth, and goes down easy. The CD layer is typical–still sounds good, but has that slight bit of digital hardness you expect from redbook CD.
And finally…just who is Matt Bianco? It is a fictional spy character that they invented for their first album and, hence, named their band after. Now you know.
Even after two years, I still highly recommend Matt’s Mood. It will appeal to a lot of music lovers in particular. It has a lot of “pop” influence, to where you can learn the lyrics and easily follow along; the tight vocal harmonies are reminiscent of the Carpenters’ best productions, but far more hip. Anyone who likes contemporary jazz (and even smooth jazz, for that matter), will find it a good listen. Even more so, folks who like Brazilian music will hear echoes of such groups and artists as Brasil ’66, Astrud Gilberto, and others from the 60s Bossa Nova scene. This album truly defines the concept of “crossover” and is very well crafted on top of it.
Get the SACD Hybrid or standard CD version of Matt’s Mood from Amazon.