Review: Something To Be
Something To Be by Rob Thomas
Thomas has taken a lot of flak over his short career - "shouting when a whisper would do," one critic put it; "slick, monochromatic balladry," noted another. "Matchbox twenty's embrace of that aesthetic has tightened into a crushing bear-hug, squeezing all life out of it." Thomas has taken the heat and come up smiling each time: 1996's Yourself or Someone Like You was an instant pop-rock hit, ridiculed for seeming too "cookie-cutter." Thomas followed with 2000's Mad Season - epic and much more lyrically rich - which was thrashed for being "overproduced." Thomas eventually won over critics after the release 2002's More Than You Think You Are, which was eclectic and rocking and everything that critics said that Thomas wasn't. It was also not nearly as good as either of matchbox's other albums, and therefore got much better reviews and much fewer album sales. Matchbox twenty decided to take a short break.
In the meantime, Thomas decided that he would launch out his solo career and really show those critics. Something to Be is the result: Thomas's distinctive singer-songwriter style spread in all different musical directions, supposedly cementing his place as one of the brightest young singer-songwriters on the radio today (he was named Billboard's "Songwriter of the Year" two years in a row, and received the Songwriter's Hall of Fame first-ever "Starlight Award" - created to recognize a songwriter in the early years of his career who is already making a lasting impact).
I tell you all this because Something to Be is more than an album - it's the cautionary tale of what happens when you listen to critics too closely and forget to do what you're good at. Still, you've got to commend Thomas for how willing he is to stretch himself: Something to Be features Robert Randolph, John Mayer, a gospel band called Greater Anointing, Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, and Dr. Dre's bassist, Mike Elizondo. It's a mix of excellent talent from all different genres, and the experimentation shows, to good effect - listening to him break out with bolder, riff-laden, hip-hop flavored pop-rock is pure joy: "This Is How A Heart Breaks," "Lonely No More," and "Something To Be," are the strongest songs on the album, and they all cut loose like a Texan at Mardi Gras. When he slows the tempo, things often still hold together well: "Ever The Same," "Problem Girl," and "My, My, My," all sound like b-sides from an unreleased matchbox record, yet, as Rolling Stone noted, "it still sounds fresh in this new context."
That being said, Thomas' songwriting has clearly faltered. At times his rough-edged, stitch-it-together lyricism works to good effect, but sometimes it's woefully inadequate - on "All That I Am," Thomas channels Josh Groban to ill-effect, crooning "I am the one winged bird for flying, sinking swiftly to the ground." It might fly if Thomas were tongue in cheek, but he's deadly serious, and the deeper you dig, the more you find that it's just emotive words strung together in a vague, Cobain-lite sort of fashion. "Fallin' to Pieces" is particularly vacant, and Thomas' swing-for-the-fences funk shout-out to his "sisters and brothers, of every different color," is saved only by John Mayer's wailing lead guitar.
Something to Be isn't particularly bad, and when it's at the top of it's game, it's something to sit up and take notice of - which people inevitably will be forced to: Something to Be, already gold and still in the Billboard top 10, will have it's newest single, "This Is How A Heart Breaks," featured throughout the rest of the NBA playoffs - an excellent launching ground, just ask the Black Eyed Peas. There's nothing particularly dislikeable throughout the record, at it's worst it's bland, it never reaches the point where you reach for the "skip" button. But it's high points remind you just how much better it would be if Thomas would hole up in his room between albums and not listen to what anybody's saying about him.
Three Stars out of a possible Five.
In the meantime, Thomas decided that he would launch out his solo career and really show those critics. Something to Be is the result: Thomas's distinctive singer-songwriter style spread in all different musical directions, supposedly cementing his place as one of the brightest young singer-songwriters on the radio today (he was named Billboard's "Songwriter of the Year" two years in a row, and received the Songwriter's Hall of Fame first-ever "Starlight Award" - created to recognize a songwriter in the early years of his career who is already making a lasting impact).
I tell you all this because Something to Be is more than an album - it's the cautionary tale of what happens when you listen to critics too closely and forget to do what you're good at. Still, you've got to commend Thomas for how willing he is to stretch himself: Something to Be features Robert Randolph, John Mayer, a gospel band called Greater Anointing, Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, and Dr. Dre's bassist, Mike Elizondo. It's a mix of excellent talent from all different genres, and the experimentation shows, to good effect - listening to him break out with bolder, riff-laden, hip-hop flavored pop-rock is pure joy: "This Is How A Heart Breaks," "Lonely No More," and "Something To Be," are the strongest songs on the album, and they all cut loose like a Texan at Mardi Gras. When he slows the tempo, things often still hold together well: "Ever The Same," "Problem Girl," and "My, My, My," all sound like b-sides from an unreleased matchbox record, yet, as Rolling Stone noted, "it still sounds fresh in this new context."
That being said, Thomas' songwriting has clearly faltered. At times his rough-edged, stitch-it-together lyricism works to good effect, but sometimes it's woefully inadequate - on "All That I Am," Thomas channels Josh Groban to ill-effect, crooning "I am the one winged bird for flying, sinking swiftly to the ground." It might fly if Thomas were tongue in cheek, but he's deadly serious, and the deeper you dig, the more you find that it's just emotive words strung together in a vague, Cobain-lite sort of fashion. "Fallin' to Pieces" is particularly vacant, and Thomas' swing-for-the-fences funk shout-out to his "sisters and brothers, of every different color," is saved only by John Mayer's wailing lead guitar.
Something to Be isn't particularly bad, and when it's at the top of it's game, it's something to sit up and take notice of - which people inevitably will be forced to: Something to Be, already gold and still in the Billboard top 10, will have it's newest single, "This Is How A Heart Breaks," featured throughout the rest of the NBA playoffs - an excellent launching ground, just ask the Black Eyed Peas. There's nothing particularly dislikeable throughout the record, at it's worst it's bland, it never reaches the point where you reach for the "skip" button. But it's high points remind you just how much better it would be if Thomas would hole up in his room between albums and not listen to what anybody's saying about him.
Three Stars out of a possible Five.
posted by Ben Wyman @ 11:11 PM
5 Comments:
Wyman, I'm so happy to know that someone else likes Trail of Dead! By the way, I really enjoy reading your reviews. Tres insightful and more than a little amusing. It's a great service to those of us who have no ability to make educated judgement calls.
-ashleigh
You're not able to make a sound judgment call, Ashleigh? Surely you jest!
But, to be on topic, I really enjoy More Than You Think You Are. Ok, maybe it is a little more overproduced or pop-sounding, but dangit, "You're So Real" and that hidden track at the end are just too catchy. It's a good album to listen to when I have the blues.
Of course, any song by Matchbox 20 could fit that mold, but you get what I'm saying, right?
I shouldn't have said it's "not nearly as good" as their other albums. I love More Than You Think You Are. "Soul," "Downfall," "Could I Be You," and "Feel," are some of matchbox's best songs (by contrast, "You're So Real" and that catchy hidden track are two of my least favorite), and I make no secret that I pull the record out fairly often. But at times the album is straining for things that it can't quite hit - it tries to turn up the amps and rock on "Cold," but it's a somewhat empty, sloppily-written track, or it launches into "Hand Me Down," a slow-tempo heavy-handed folk-rock love song, or it tries power-ballading on "The Difference" - and it succeeds, but not in the effortless, awe-inspiring way that matchbox did on their rock opus Mad Season.
Lemme put it this way:
Yourself or Someone Like You - Four Stars
Mad Season - Four and a Half Stars
More Than You Think You Are - Three and a Half Stars
Sound fair?
Amen on Mad Season, at any rate. And major props to you as well for working the phrase "rock opus" into your reply.
-ben
I re-listened to More Than You Think You Are, and I take some of what I said back - "Cold" is a much more solidly written song than I remember, and the guitar hook on the chorus is unbelievable. And the hidden track, "So Sad, So Lonely," is just undeniably catchy. I can't help singing along when Thomas yells "When the whole thing drops you lose your nerve - I hope you get what you deserve!" I don't think anyone can.
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