*FOR SONG DETAILS, click on the title of each track*

Many people feel that the first concept albums were a by-product of the drug-addled ‘60s. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was a concept album by reputation only, but the songs on that album - for the most part thematically - were disconnected.

GREY OVER AN AUTUMN WINTER was inspired in theory by Sinatra’s concept albums IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS, ONLY THE LONELY, NO ON CARES. Albums woven from melancholia and nighttime, street-lit desolation.

I wanted those same dispositions to be the shadowed threads that held GREY OVER AN AUTUMN WINTER together.

Every lyric on GREY OVER AN AUTUMN WINTER has truth. However, not every word, line and scenario directly involved me. I had some friends who were going through divorces or difficult times. A few of those circumstances were loosely chronicled, with liberties taken and embellishments created.

I at times found myself vicariously role-playing to create my characters. Other lyrics were first-hand experiences that may have happened to me - or friends - ten years before. In many cases, I would end up with a composite of compatible situations, not necessarily linked, but creating a complete story. I had to get imaginative in order to complete that album.





God bless Michael Mazzarella. The front man of the pop band The Rooks just went out on a limb and I feel like I’m dangling up there with him. There was no screwing around when this vastly under-appreciated singer/songwriter/producer decided to title his new solo CD Grey Over An Autumn Winter. No false advertising here. The album goes from gray to black within three songs and you’d better bring an umbrella and a flashlight. Songs "Winter Over Me," "You Like Me" or "She Said" are dreary enough to make one feel that we’ve lost the other two seasons for good. Autumn Winter’s closer "Dear Mariann" is so gloom-addled, I feel my discomfort rise as if I’m peeking into a secret key-hole at the top of an off-limits staircase. Even if I didn’t know that the song is sung to Mazzarella’s dead mother, I still would find it just creepy enough to want to go on that ride again. Mazzarella’s broken voice makes my skin crawl in a way that excites my ears. Like I said, if you’re gonna write about going to hell, then you’d better bring da heat.
-DAVID MONTAGUE/Whiskey Soda



By and large, there is a strong chamber pop approach as Mazzarella engineers a specific emotional response with references to McCartney, Wilson and Bacharach guaranteeing a pleasing wistfulness. Upon first listen, the austerity of the production is a little shocking with the songs coming across like demos. However, if one gives Grey Over An Autumn Winter the time to sink in, the charm of tracks like "She Said", "The Colder It Gets The Deeper We Fall" and "Girl Gone Bye" shine through. With a daring release that places its bets on songcraft, Mazzarella has hit the jackpot.
- KEVIN MATTHEWS/BUCKETFULL OF BRAINS



On this solo effort, Mazzarella is downcast and defeated. These intimate recordings are confessionals as much as songs, as he cuts veins open and sings in hushed tones over minimal backgrounds, the hurt pouring out. His keen melodic sense is still there, but the songs are so muted, the mood dominates over the tunes. As a result, the craft takes a bit longer to appreciate, but without that craft, the disc wouldn’t be that compelling. The title song is fragile and desolate, sounding like Elliot Smith mixed with a heavenly chorus of backing vocals, while a distant piano (the dominant instrument throughout the album) plays in the background. “Winter Over Me” also features those elements, with stronger string accompaniment. The Mazzarella melodic sense is still there, it’s just muted in places -- check out “She Said”, with Mazzarella straining his voice over a great rising melody on a sad soft pop piece. The emotional centerpiece of the album is “You Like Me”, which is nearly eight minutes long and is steeped in atmosphere, with a long solo piano interlude that sounds like loneliness. This album is a much more difficult listen than any Rooks release (or that of pretty much any pop band). Perhaps the biggest hurdle to clear is that this album isn’t a hook fest -- the mood is what carries it.
- Mike Bennett/FUFKIN



"Listening to this record on a rainy day could have dangerous repercussions, but after several spins, one is likely to discover a minor-key masterpiece lurking in the shadows."
- WILL HARRIS/Bulls-Eye.com



Grey Over An Autumn Winter, is the sound of a gifted songwriter following his muse down a muted, often harrowing path. Mazzarella seems to be channeling his inner Nick Drake here. No Reasons or Night Writer to be found and he continues to evolve as an artist in the process. It’s intensely personal and obviously deeply felt music, culminating with Dear Mariann, written about Mazzarella’s late mother. It’ll be very interesting to see where he goes from here.
- JOHN M. BORACK/Rave On



This is not the follow-up to the stunning genius of The Rooks' A Wishing Well, but a purely solo album of utter genius, and one that demands the listener to engage in the place - the musical sketch that is being created. The rewards and the pay-offs are substantive, sublime and worth every nuanced-drenched note. What is always present in Mazzarella`s work is a poet’s keen, lyrical and observational eye for the delicacy of the human condition. Its humanity and poignancy are always evident in every carefully-placed syllable. The sparse but still spacious instrumentation enhances every corner of music. Mazzarella steps boldly and stronger with an effort that while not what more casual Rooks fans would expect to hear, the ones most deeply moved and challenged by Mazzarella`s vision in the past will be very happy to walk this most leaf-soaked city sidewalk with him.
- BRUCE BRODEEN/Not Lame



If Mazzarella’s Rooks set their sites on scaling the musical mountains created by their heroes, then Michael’s aim as a solo artist seems to want to stay as close to the sidewalk as possible. Grey Over An Autumn Winter is so stripped down and basic in comparison, it could be argued that this is Mazzarella’s version of John Lennon’s first solo go John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. Certainly there are harmonies here and there and a cello or two peek out but for the most part his new CD is dark, personal and haunting. Within eleven songs, Mazzarella has managed to (at least to this listener) conjure moods and sounds of confusion, mystery, acrimony, warmth, loss, beauty, isolation and finally heavy reflection. I simply cannot recall another album sounding quite like this one. Perhaps it’s the start of something great.
- LESTER SILLS



Brand new release from Rooks front man! Backed primarily by acoustic guitar and piano and gorgeous harmonies, this is a rather intimate look at an artist - stripped away of band trappings - as he bares his soul in a way seldom heard before - resulting in a gorgeous, haunting, intimate, Sunday morning kind of record!
- KOOL KAT MUSIK