I've had a number of people ask me what I thought of the solo effort by Rob Thomas of matchbox twenty. Honestly, the first single, "Lonely No More", pretty much scared me away from this 2005 release. This track had an R&B flavor and seemed to me to be a sellout and transparent attempt for Rob Thomas to attract Justin Timberlake fans. I give him props for making his solo effort a true departure from what we expect out of the matchbox twenty frontman, but this sort of music is not my cup of tea. Many people compliment him on his ability to experiment and grace new musical genres, which is fair, but I find it to be a disorienting record that at the end of the day just doesn't have the hooks and melodies to keep my attention.
However, there are a few tracks on "Something To Be" that are reasonably good and would have been suitable as matchbox twenty b-sides. These include the follow-up singles, "This Is How a Heart Breaks" and "Ever the Same", as well as the ballad "When The Heartache Ends". I much preferred the engaging solo effort by Paul Doucette's Break and Repair Method (see here).
It will be interesting to hear what Rob Thomas does next - his second solo record is entitled "Cradle Song" and should be out later this year.
iPOD-worthy: 1, 3, 5
Rob Thomas: Official site.
1 comment:
I think you need to listen a little harder. Top notch album from a top notch songwriter. Paul Doucette is a pale imitation.
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