Rob Thomas - Something To Be (2005)

"Something To Be” is the debut solo album from the Matchbox Twenty lead singer Rob Thomas. The album consists of several types of sounds, including dance, pop, Latin, rock, and country, although it can be generally classified as closer to pop than to the rock music of Matchbox Twenty's third studio album, “More Than You Think You Are”. The album was supported by his 2005–2006, Something to Be Tour.
With its anthemic choruses and achingly sincere sentiments, “Something To Be” is clearly the work of the lead singer/songwriter of Matchbox Twenty, yet it lacks the lean rock-oriented sound of the group's albums, even if it is helmed by Matt Serletic, who has produced all three of the band's records. Serletic and Thomas have made a conscious attempt to have this solo album feel lighter, brighter, and a little hipper than Matchbox Twenty's music, adding slight drum loops and electronic elements to the rhythms while taking Thomas away from strictly guitar-based arrangements. Heavy on keyboards, elastic guitars, horns, insistent rhythms, and even the occasional gospel-inspired backing chorus or worldbeat inflection, this is a far splashier affair than the average Matchbox Twenty album, and that alone would make “Something To Be” a noteworthy solo record, since it is indeed a different beast than Thomas' regular gig, but the fresher sound is married to a strong set of songs that play to his strengths as a craftsman of big, anthemic post-alternative mainstream rock. This isn't edgy work by any means and for as hooky and chorus-driven as it is, it's music that becomes memorable through repeated plays, never quite catching hold upon the first listen but it's more colorful and well-constructed than a lot of contemporary mainstream rock in the mid-2000s, and it's arguably more appealing than Matchbox Twenty's earnest guitar rock, which can occasionally seem rather drab. With “Something To Be”, Thomas delivers an album that is at once familiar and fresh. It may not be something to win over the doubters, but it's enough to give him a promising new beginning to the second decade of his recording career, not unlike how "Smooth" helped propel him through the post-grunge fallout of the new millennium.
The album spawned the U.S. top ten hit "Lonely No More". It also features John Mayer's guitar on the single "Streetcorner Symphony".
The album cover, as well as the title, bears some resemblance to ...But Seriously, a 1989 album released by Phil Collins.


01. "This Is How a Heart Breaks"  (Henrik Jonback, Rob Thomas, Pontus Winnberg)  - 3:50
02. "Lonely No More"  (Rob Thomas)  - 3:47
03. "Ever the Same"  (Rob Thomas)  - 4:16
04. "I Am an Illusion"  (Rob Thomas)  - 4:53
05. "When the Heartache Ends" (Rob Thomas)  - 2:51
06. "...Something to Be"  (Rob Thomas)  - 4:31
07. "All That I Am"  (Rob Thomas)  - 4:28
08. "Problem Girl"  (Rob Thomas)  - 3:55
09. "Fallin' to Pieces"  (Rob Thomas)  - 4:11
10. "My, My, My"  (Rob Thomas)  - 4:18
11. "Streetcorner Symphony"  (Matt Serletic, Rob Thomas)  - 4:09
12. "Now Comes the Night"  (Matt Serletic, Rob Thomas)  - 4:55

Credits
Vocals, Piano – Rob Thomas
Guitar – Kevin Kadish, Kyle Cook, Heitor Pereira
Saxophone – Brandon Fields
Steel Guitar [Lap] – Robert Randolph
Trumpet – Gary Grant
Guitar – John Mayer
Trombone – Reginald Young
Trumpet – Gary Grant
Trumpet, Arranged By [Horn Arrangements] – Jerry Hey
Percussion [Marimba, Bells And Orchestral Drum Ensemble] – Ben Herman, Eric Poland, Gordon Gottlieb, Joe Passaro, John Haas
Duduk – Dan Willis
Horn [Shofar] – Frank London
Zither [Kanun] – Hasan Isakkut
Guitar, Soloist – Mike Campbell
Backing Vocals – Cassidy, Matt Serletic Guitar – Heitor Pereira, Matt Beck, Dan Timinski, Harley Allen, Pat Enright
Producer – Matt Serletic

Notes
Recorded at Hit Factory, NYC, Conway Studios, Los Angeles, BiCoastal Music, Ossining, NY, and Henson Studios, Los Angeles
Mixed at Hit Factory, NYC
Mastered at Gateway Mastering, Portland, ME
Surround Mixes at 5.1 Studios, Los Angeles
Genre: Pop, Rock
Length: 50:05
 
© 2005 Atlantic Records