Something To Be - Rob Thomas > Reviews > Something To Be Enjoyed

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	A wide range of influences that keeps the album interesting
Disadvantages:	It would have been nice to have "Smooth" included

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

What goes around comes around, or so it's been said. For the first time, I'm managing to think about the statement in musical terms. After all, the first time I heard of Rob Thomas, it was when he was singing without his band, as a guest vocalist on Santana's "Smooth". As it was the only way to hear more from him, I picked up a couple of albums of him and his band, Matchbox Twenty and became a huge fan, more or less immediately.

Now, about four years later, the time has come to listen to Rob Thomas singing solo again. This time, he's not got Matchbox Twenty with him and there's no Santana. But having enjoyed hugely the summery Latin feel of "Smooth" and the catchy pop-rock of Matchbox Twenty, I can't help but wonder what we're going to get from his solo material. Is this a break for him to do something completely different or, as the main songwriter in the band, is it going to be an album so much like his usual work that he could have released it as Matchbox Twenty and no-one would have been able to tell the difference.

From the opening track, "This is How a Heart Breaks", it seems that the latter is likely to be true. It's a mid-tempo pop track with a slight rock edge, particularly in the chorus that is perhaps more pop-rock as opposed to the more rock-pop sound of Matchbox Twenty, but certainly wouldn't have been too out of place on their most recent album.

The first single from the album, "Lonely No More", opens with a little more of a dance feel although it's really a largely pop influenced track. It's a decent choice for a debut single, not sounding too much like Matchbox Twenty, having more of a pop edge to it.

With a low key, largely piano based intro, "Ever the Same" starts sounding a little like one of the ballads from Matchbox Twenty's "Mad Season". However, it doesn't quite build up in the same way, so essentially what you get here is a very pop influenced ballad, which isn't too bad, but isn't terribly memorable either. It does finish with a little more of a pop-rock flourish, but it's a bit too late by that stage.

There's an interesting part tribal, part gospel feel to the beginning of "I am an Illusion". After this, however, it turns into something a little more like a 1980s synth-pop song, which isn't quite as interesting as it promised to be. It's a decent enough mid-tempo pop track, with vague pop-dance leanings, but nothing that really stands out.

"When the Heartache Ends" has a mid-tempo acoustic guitar intro that is more towards the Matchbox Twenty sound, although it's really just a pop song than having the slightly rockier edge that the band have. However, if this were to be a Matchbox Twenty song, it wouldn't be too out of place on the "Mad Season" album, although it would be one of the weaker tracks on that album, as it goes nowhere in particular and then simply ends.

There's quite a funk intro to "Something To Be" that promises much more than the previous few tracks and certainly delivers. It's a mid-tempo pop-funk song that grooves along quite happily and helps to remind you where Rob Thomas has come from although it's again a little more pop influenced than his work with the band.

"All That I Am" is another fairly insipid ballad. It's a down-tempo pop song with some interesting synth sounds over the back and some Eastern sounding music in parts. But apart from the variations in instruments, the song doesn't really go anywhere in particular.

It's back to the almost tribal sounding drum intro for "Problem Girl", although these fade quickly, leaving you with an up tempo pop-rock number which is certainly going to appeal to Matchbox Twenty fans. As with "Lonely No More", it's more towards the pop end of the spectrum than most of the band's work, but the overall sound, particularly when the backing vocals get involved is very reminiscent to some of their lighter moments, such as on the "Mad Season" album.

There's more of a laid back funky feel to "Fallin' to Pieces". It's a mid-tempo song with a decent grove to it, although it's more of a pop-funk song than a true funk number. It's not the most impressive track here, although it does pass by quite nicely, without really imprinting itself on the memory.

It's back to the pop ballads for "My, My, My", with some of the synth sounds in the intro making it sound a little like the Beatles. Overall, though, it's a largely forgettable pop ballad that Westlife could have done without anyone really noticing the difference.

Fortunately, the next track is "Streetcorner Symphony", my personal favourite from the album. It's another with a really cool laid back funky groove and at least musically, it sounds like something Joss Stone could have come out with. It's an up beat pop-funk tune, with a very light and summery vibe that I simply can't help tapping my feet to.

Sadly, after the previous track, there's another ballad to finish. "Now Comes the Night" is a piano led pop ballad that worked so well on "Mad Season", but simply doesn't have the same effectiveness here and closes the album with a whimper. Sadly, however, that does fit in very well with the album as a whole. As a performance, it's not bad, but as a song, it does nothing for me.

I suspect that whether you're going to like this album is going to depend on how big a Matchbox Twenty fan you are. This could prove to be a bit of a shame for many, as it's likely to be mostly fans of the band that will buy Rob Thomas' solo album, having recognised the name. These people are likely to be a little disappointed as, although there are some nice touches and some moments that remind you where he came from, the album as a whole isn't as strong as some of their efforts.

If you're a fan of decent pop music, however, without knowing much about Matchbox Twenty, you may find that "Something to Be" is worth a listen. After all, it's all nicely crafted pop music, if a little insipid, with influences taken from pop-rock, funk and 1980s synth-pop in various places giving the album plenty of variation in the sound. It's not always an interesting album, but it is frequently pleasant, without being anything special and stands no chance in a pop chart that has recently been controlled by the more haunting James Blunt.

My one major disappointment with the album was that he didn't include "Smooth", the song he did with Carlos Santana, as that would have fitted in with a couple of the tracks on here and is such a great song that it would have hugely increased the value for money you get from the album. Indeed, on that front, it doesn't score too badly, with 52 minutes of fairly decent pop based music, which can be found for £8.75 at CD Wow and £6.99 from Play.com. However, you'd need to be a pretty big fan to pay that and I'm not happy that I did. More reasonable is the £4.49 copies have sold for at the Amazon Marketplace or the 99p from eBay.

Generally, though, I would recommend that if you're a fan of Matchbox Twenty, to keep listening to Matchbox Twenty. If you prefer James Blunt, keep listening to James Blunt. If you quite like your pop music largely influenced by ballads, or with a little bit of an edge to mix with the pop, this might not be such a bad idea, really.

From my point of view as a Matchbox Twenty fan, the major plus point to this album is that the relative lack of punch in the album may well mean that our next release from Rob Thomas will be a fourth Matchbox Twenty album. A prospect I would greet with far more enthusiasm that with news of a second solo album.