Matthew Curry – One For The Ride
10 tracks – 45 minutes
Matthew Curry was born and raised in Bloomington, Illinois. Picked up the guitar at four, performed live at eight and by age 11 was leading his own band. He released his first album, If I Don’t Got You in 2012. This release is his fifth full album. He has toured with The Doobie Brothers, The Steve Miller Band, Peter Frampton, Journey, Don Felder and others. His guitar playing has been praised by many that he has played with, including Steve Miller who compared him to Stevie Ray Vaughan in his “virtuosity and originality”.
Matthew provides the vocals and guitar on all tracks with Francis Valentino on drums, percussion and adding vocals on four tracks, Tim Buckner on bass, Rob Arthur on B3 organ and Mike Masefield on keyboards, B3 organ, and piano. Mark Russo on sax, Miles Olmos on Trumpet, and Mike Rinta guest on the opening track and track 8. Grace Quickenboss plays piano on tracks 4,9, & 10.
He gets the party started with “Rum Stumblin” jumping out with a 70’s Southern rock vibe as he says “that martini shot sure looks nice, but if you have the time, I’ve got a good time waiting on ice. You pick the liquor; I’ll make it a double.” “You think the liquor won’t make me stumble, but it will”. On “Born Behind the Wheel”, you get a touch of Allman Brothers guitar as he notes “the highway’s callin’ and I keep fallin’ right back into that same old groove. I don’t care if it’s a back road or a blacktop”. On “Barely Livin”, he states, ” I haven’t slept in nearly ten years it seems, trying to figure out what it all means”. “I’m barely gettin’ by” but “don’t know how long I can live this way”.
In a more romantic move and a shift to an acoustic guitar, he tells her, “Don’t need no reservations, just turn the lights down low, when you and I are “Dancing in the Kitchen”, which he says came to him while celebrating an anniversary. “The Ballad of Jesse Ed Davis” is a tribute to the famed Native American slide guitarist who was a highly sought after session musician playing as a member of Taj Mahal’s band, played with Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Jackson Browne among many others and released three solo albums. He unfortunately died of a heroin overdose at age 43. Matthew moves into a very quiet groove and tells “If it is all you can do to get through the day, just to wake up to face another one, “Don’t Be a Stranger”, “call me anytime”.
He expresses a desire for the peace of the outdoors as he declares “I have been breaking my back all week out in the rain and in the heat working my fingers to the bone for nothing but a sliver. Think I will call that old bossman I ain’t coming in, cause I would “Rather Float a River”. The sole cover is “Whiskey Rock a Roller” from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s debut 1976 album. “Brand New Day” has a country feel with Mark playing accordion and Matthew adding banjo as he contemplates going out on the road again. “Got my suitcase, got some time, got no reason, got no rhyme. Oh, Carolina holds my heart, need to roam to find a new start.” “Each horizon brings a brand-new day”. That song is appropriately followed as he proclaims, “I guess I’m just “The Rambling Kind”. “Riding through the canyon with the sunrise on my face, that highway is turning under me again”. “I can’t say what keeps me going, every turn trouble is all I find”. “I’m a restless soul. I’ll keep rollin’ until I’m six feet in that hole”.
Matthew provides a comfortable mix of 70’s Southern rock with a modern country rock sound. His influences are frequently worn on his sleeve, but he quickly throws his own touches into the songs delivering his own unique sound and stories. His guitar frequently soars and his vocals, which are also uniquely his own, fits well with the music.
