I’ve Been Thinking is an adventurous record that challenges blues fans to operate, at times outside their comfort zone. The album is like Gino: big, soulful, honest and ambitious. It reflects his life experiences. He tells tall tales that just happen to be true. They come from the heart and are sung with a ton of soul. Sounds like a blues record to me.
Gino doesn't hang around these parts often, so when he comes to rock the party, he does it big never limiting himself to one sound or style.
---Nick Faigin
Matteo proved to be a highly expressive performer with richly honed vocals, inciting raw emotion with dazzling texture and highly inventive guitar playing. This tight aggregation certainly delivered a fulfilling night of good music—blues and so much more.
---Dorothy Hill
.....Perhaps it's his vibrato and time-warping note bending that draws them in - it's certainly worth watching him throw his stocky frame, body and soul into passionate storytelling. Now's your chance to catch this eclectic axeman and his "urban blues"....
It is almost impossible for me to pick out a favorite, because I changed my mind every time I listened to it. I want to hear more of this band!
How old is this kid? Twenty-five! Man, oh man, what a debut recording from Gino Matteo, who hails from Southern California. If I’ve Been Thinkin’ is any indication of what Matteo might be able to build upon on his future recordings - look out!
This is a stunning release... Not exactly blues, but "Soul" Music, - and we're not talking about the genre. Instead, it is music that touches your soul and reaches your inner self. With strings and horns, it is stylistically refreshing and well arranged, but it may take more than one listen to reach you. Once it does, you'll find yourself drawn in. It will grab you and not let go. Enjoy the emotional and musical journey.
"Gino is a wonderful guitarist and talented songwriter; as well as a very humble, nice person. I love him."
Prefering a big production for his debut album, singer/guitarist Gino Matteo pours a large array of sounds into his contemporary performance. Revealing a blues-rock sentiment that relies on tradition for its backbone, his program stirs the emotional pot with thoughts about the world in which we live and how we go about coping.
"It, (I've Been Thinkin') is an impressive recording on all fronts: musically wonderful, great material, well produced and recorded. It is remarkably mature for a first recording by so young a player. I look forward to the next and the next and the one after that."
Chris Gill of Guitar World Magazine described Gino's performance at the 2006 Guitar Center national finals of “The King of the Blues” competition as follows : "...impressed in seconds with his huge tone and B.B. worthy vibrato and note bends. Wearing a slick suit, this sharp dressed man led the band through a swinging uptown performance, dropping to his knees to wrench every last drop of emotion from his Epiphone."
