Mad Season - Matchbox 20

...angry, turned around/Will that whole mad season knock you down”

“Rest Stop”

A slower song, with a gentle electric guitar intro, with a refrain that repeats all the way through. Rob’s vocals and quieter and lower pitched than normal, and somehow seeming largely devoid of emotion, which is a shame, as it’s actually a nice idea, and very well thought out lyrically.

It’s about the moment in a relationship ...
...doesn’t end it straight away, it may well limp along and neither of them will be happy. This happens on a car journey, a few miles before a rest stop (in English, the Services), and she asks him to get out and carry on. I’ve had cars break down there, but never a relationship. It’s a very well written song, lyrically speaking, and the kind of idea you wish you’d thought of.

“She said – while you were sleeping/I was listening to the ... more

We all know that people change and evolve as they go along. For creative people this may be even truer. Writers find different ways of saying things, and sometimes write about completely different subjects wherever their creativity takes them. Musicians can change dependant on current style or whatever they’ve been listening to and more inspired by recently.

The record buying public is notoriously fickle. They don’t want to be hearing the same thing over and over again. After all, if that’s what you want, a single CD and a repeat button would take care of that. Fair enough, some bands can get away with trotting out the same old stuff every now and again (anyone else thinking of Status Quo here?), but most prefer to tweak their sound a little, whilst keeping the basics familiar enough so as not to alienate their fan base.

And so it is for Matchbox Twenty. In the four years between their 1996 debut album “Yourself or Someone Like You” and this, they have changed, albeit subtly. They’ve altered their name, now insisting upon Matchbox Twenty, as opposed to Matchbox 20. Their lyrics have developed a little more insight, and there’s a little less anger, and a smoother edge to their music.

Is this better? Well, it depends on how you look at it. This album has more instant appeal to the first one. You like it from the moment it goes on. The first album was a “grower” – you like it, but perhaps not immediately. There’s a little less raw emotion here, and the music’s a bit more laid back, making this album more likely to have a slightly wider audience. The lyrics seem to have been a little better thought out as well, so ensuring a new way of saying the same things. I’m a bit of a lyricist myself, so this is something that always appeals to me.

“Angry”

Well, having said that some of the anger has been taken from their sound, the band immediately try to prove me wrong. The intro to this song belies the title, starting with an acoustic guitar. The early lyrics don’t suggest a song about anger, being fairly laid back, and pretty calm. It’s when the chorus kicks in that you can start to sense a little more raw emotion, and the electric guitar comes to the fore.

Despite the title, the song is about not being angry. It’s about how anger doesn’t really benefit you, and you need to look beyond that to see where you are and to get where and what you want.

“You still want love, love’s ugly, smooth and delicate/But not without affection, you’re not alone/And instead of wishing that it would get better/Man you’re seeing that you just get angrier”

“Black & White People”

This one’s an up-tempo number, and certainly one of my favourites on this album. There’s a brief drum intro before a brass section comes in, a new sound for this band. However, this rounds off and fills out the sound, without getting in the way. The horns are the dominant sound throughout the choruses, although the verses are a little quieter, with the guitar and drums, and a little horn accompaniment.

It’s about how not everything is in black and white. You don’t have to accept what’s happening, and you can change it. And sometimes, no matter how bad things are, the simplest of things can make it all okay again.

“One more day down/Everybody has those days/Where one soft sweet song’s/Just enough to clear my head”

“Crutch”

An electric guitar introduction, which pauses to allow in Rob’s vocals and the drums, before joining them. It’s a mid tempo number, with an up-tempo chorus. The verses are virtually spoken, more than sung, although the words fly past you almost before you realise they’re there.

It’s about not wanting to be a prop. Not wanting to be the last thing that holds someone up before they hit bottom. About wanting to be loved for what you are, rather than being down the list of priorities and being a last chance option.

“Try to find my place upon the map/Of all the men you’ve been through/Dig a little deeper and you’ll realise/All I’m building up you’re tearing down”

“Last Beautiful Girl”

After starting with three quicker tracks, the pace slows a little. This is a slow to mid-tempo number, starting unusually with a faded in guitar and the vocals have a band harmony on them, which seems a little strange for a band with such a distinctive lead vocal.

It’s about a lover not taking you back after you’ve broken their heart. The lyrics are quite interesting in that the verses are written in the first person, whereas the chorus is in the third person. You get the impression that he is the one that’s had his heart broken, although the chorus removes that idea, at least partially. However, a couple of the verses do give the impression of longing.

“It won’t be the first – heart that you break/It won’t be the last – beautiful girl/The one that you wrecked – won’t take you back/If you were the last beautiful girl in the world”

“If You’re Gone”

This opens with a lovely Spanish style acoustic guitar, a gentle bass drum beat and a muted horn. The verses are very slow, ballad pace, although the choruses are a little faster, more at a mid-tempo. The sound remains fairly muted all the way through, and there’s not a hint of an electric instrument anywhere on the track.

The song is about what the title suggests it would be. The end of a relationship. The relationship is not yet over. Physically, she’s still there, but emotionally, it feels as if she’s left. It’s a plea for her to not follow her heart out of the door, but to stay to see if things can be worked out.

“If you’re gone – maybe it’s time to come home/There’s an awful lot of breathing room, but I can hardly move/If you’re gone – baby you need to come home/Cuz there’s a little bit of something me in everything in you”

“Mad Season”

This opens with a little bluesy electric guitar riff, which repeats throughout the song. It’s one of those introductions that you will know immediately whenever you hear it. The whole song has a bit of a blues feeling about it, and is a mid-tempo number all the way through. This track keeps going on repeat, and I frequently find myself singing it.

Lyrically, at least, this is my favourite track on the album. It’s about someone who feels that they’re coming unravelled, and is crying out for a little help. There seems to be someone standing on the fringes looking as if they could have the answers, but being a little reluctant to help. I could quite happily sling in the lyrics to the whole song here, I love them that much, but I won’t.

I feel stupid – but I think I’ve been catching on/I feel ugly – but I know I still turn you on/You’ve grown colder now, torn apart, angry, turned around/Will that whole mad season knock you down”

“Rest Stop”

A slower song, with a gentle electric guitar intro, with a refrain that repeats all the way through. Rob’s vocals and quieter and lower pitched than normal, and somehow seeming largely devoid of emotion, which is a shame, as it’s actually a nice idea, and very well thought out lyrically.

It’s about the moment in a relationship where it breaks down, and she decides that if she doesn’t end it straight away, it may well limp along and neither of them will be happy. This happens on a car journey, a few miles before a rest stop (in English, the Services), and she asks him to get out and carry on. I’ve had cars break down there, but never a relationship. It’s a very well written song, lyrically speaking, and the kind of idea you wish you’d thought of.

“She said – while you were sleeping/I was listening to the radio/And wondering what you’re dreaming when/It came to mind that I didn’t care/So I thought – hell if it’s over/I had better end it quick/Or I could lose my nerve/Are you listening – can you hear me/Have you forgotten”

“The Burn”

A drum and backing vocal introduction, with the bass and guitar coming in shortly afterwards, and the piano slightly ahead of Rob’s vocals. The piano and the backing vocals are a little more to the fore on this song than on many of the others. It’s a mid-paced song, and fairly restrained musically.

It’s about living alone and lonely, and wondering how to survive. It’s enough to make you wonder if the main “character” if the guy from “Rest Stop”, having just realised that he’s going to have to adjust to life alone, and wondering how he’ll manage. It sounds a little as if he’s falling apart a little trying to deal with it.

“Thought about/Singin’ but I couldn’t remember all of the words/Breakin’ but I couldn’t get the pieces apart/Laughin’ never knowing what the joke was about/Now I’m down”

“Bent”

This was, I believe the first single from this album, and was around shortly after the “Smooth” single Rob Thomas did with Santana. Whilst that was not indicative of Matchbox Twenty’s style, I don’t think this is either. It’s a good song, but not one I’d have chosen to be a single or, at least, not the first one.

It leads in with Rob asking the band to “let’s all play the same song, just for the sake of our sanities”, which is really the only hint that the band are, in fact, enjoying themselves. It’s quite a bit louder than the few preceding songs, with a guitar and drum intro, which carries on for quite a bit longer than is usual before the vocals come in. When that happens, the guitar fades back a bit, and the song seems to slow to a more mid-paced number.

It’s a song about being beaten down and broken, and I suspect that the lead character has found someone to be in their life, but is asking them if they can really help him get his life back together again. Again, you do have to wonder if this is a follow on, subject wise from the previous track, as they do seem to follow quite well.

“Shouldn’t be so complicated/Just hold me and then/Just hold me again/Can you help me I’m bent/I’m so scared that I’ll never/Get put back together”

“Bed of Lies”

Another much slower song, this time a ballad. It starts with the vocals and a piano. When the verses kick in there’s a drumbeat along in the background, which seems almost like a hand-played drum, rather than the traditional stick beaten drums. The vocals seem to have a slightly rougher edge, and there’s more emotion portrayed in this song that in some of the others, notably “Rest Stop”.

The song seems to be about someone who has discovered that their partner is cheating on them, but has decided not to end it after they apologised and admitted that they had done wrong, as they’re scared of being alone. He’d reached the point where he can’t stand sleeping in the same bed as his partner, but can’t stand leaving either.

“Don’t think that I can take another empty moment/Don’t think that I can fake another hollow smile/It’s not enough just to be sorry/Don’t think that I could take another talk about it”

“Leave”

Another slower number, again a ballad. It has a gentle introduction, with some strings, and a little guitar and some muted drums. The vocals come in, again at a lower tone and pace, and the music continues. There is a feeling of sadness and a little yearning that comes through in Rob’s voice, which is perfect for this song.

It’s about someone who has decided to end a relationship without really ending it properly. Someone who’s decided to leave you without offering a decent explanation as to why, whilst you know that they’re not going on to anything better. This, I think, always seems to hurt that much more, knowing that they feel that having nothing is better than having you.

“But if that’s how it’s gonna leave/Straight out from underneath/Then we’ll see who’s sorry now/If that’s how it’s gonna stand, when/You know you’ve been depending on/The one you’re leaving now”

“Stop”

Finally, a quicker song. The ballads have been very well presented but I do prefer the faster numbers. Maybe it’s just me.

This starts with an acoustic guitar intro, before the electric guitar and drums come in, with the vocals not too far behind. Rob’s vocals have a little edge to them, with almost a hint of funkiness, and maybe a little anger behind it. About half way through, the song almost seems to stop and there’s just a piano and Rob’s voice. This only lasts for a few seconds before the rest of the band come in. As the song goes on Rob’s vocals seem to get angrier, and the guitar becomes much louder and more prominent.

It’s a song about being in a relationship, but being in the kind of relationship where you’re being treated badly and are saying to the other person that if you don’t change, I’m going to have to finish this for my own sake. It’s about feeling beaten down, but just managing to retain enough of your awareness and strength to fight back before it’s too late.

“You’d better stop, stop, stop using me up/You’d better stop/Cuz I’ve had enough/And I’m ready to forget the reasons/That keep me here”

“You Won’t Be Mine”

The album ends on a ballad. It starts with an almost “cocktail lounge” sounding piano, with a slight drum beat over the background. This goes on for a little while before Rob’s vocals come in, again fairly restrained, and again with a feeling of yearning. The first chorus brings the involvement of a string section although the piano and drum does not change, and the song continues in this vein.

It’s about a friend who wants to relationship you have to move that extra stage and develop into something more. He doesn’t want this to, as he feels this could ruin what there is, and he wants her to look at what there is, not at what could be. I’m sure that many of us have been on one side or the other of this line at some point in our lives.

“Over the lies, you’ll be strong/You’ll be rich in love and you will carry on/But no - oh no/No you won’t be mine”

After this final track, there are a couple of minutes of silence, before a hidden section makes itself known. This is just a couple of minutes on an instrumental, played by a string section. It does feel a little as if it could be a continuation of the final track, but the couple of minutes in between do render it somewhat meaningless.

I think I prefer the first album, having had the time to listen to them both over a period of a year or so. However, I don’t think that too many people who buy this are going to be disappointed. Unless you were expecting hard house, or death metal or something!

This album is generally at a much slower pace than their debut, with more ballads and fewer up-tempo songs. As I prefer the quicker paced songs, this is a negative point from me. There seems to be a little less emotion involved on this album, although the feeling of sadness on some of the songs does come across quite well. Some others do seem a little emotionless, however.

I think that with this album, Matchbox Twenty have tried to appeal to a wider audience. Their bluesy, rockier sound has mellowed into something that is a little too sophisticated to be considered as straight “pop” music, with the recent definitions of that sound, but is heading in that direction. This may alienate the band from the soft-rock community a little, and made me wonder why they were chosen as a support act for Bon Jovi in the summer of 2001.

Generally speaking, though, this is a more mature album, musically and lyrically. This maturation appears to have come at the cost of some real out and out faster numbers such as “Real World” and “Long Day” from the first album. I believe that the first album is where the band were, and this album shows them on the road to where they would like to be. Although bands do have to progress or fade away, I would have preferred them to stay a little closer to where they were.

I believe that the band’s third album is due for a release sometime soon, hopefully by the end of the year, and it will be interesting to see where they have moved onto in the intervening couple of years. This is definitely an album worth having, but by and large would be more suited for a little background music, rather than getting yourself up and ready to go out, or for putting on during a party.

Buy it if you’ve bought the first album and loved the band, and are interested in seeing their progression, or if you want to listen to something that isn’t too taxing. 

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