Music - Rob Thomas: Something to Be
 Terry Bartley  rates it:    Community rates it: (no ratings yet)
   191 of 416 readers found this review helpful.

The past couple years it has been a huge trend for the front man of a band to break off and record a solo album. Everyone from Justin Timberlake to Jesse McCartney to Gwen Stefani to Beyonce Knowles has done it in a pretty close time period. One of the newest to this mix is Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas. If these recent solo artists are any clue as to what happens whenever a band breaks up, I wonder if there is any use for bands anymore.

As I previously alluded to, Rob Thomas has been beaten to the solo artist game. I feel he would have been much more successful if he wasn't following in the tracks of the likes of Justin Timberlake. Nevertheless, this is a really good CD and worthy to be in the same category as the aforementioned artists. I have to say that I hear inkling of Jesse McCartney and Justin in this CD, but they are his competition now, why not borrow a little bit of their music. He has definitely not only done this though, but also taken some of the incredible sound of Matchbox 20 and expanded upon it amazingly. And I must say, he has some serious soul for a pasty white boy.

The first single off this album, “Lonely No More” was a very good sample of what was to come on the album itself. This is one of the songs that big time reminded me of recently solo Justin, but who cares, Justin is awesome solo. I have to mention his voice, Rob Thomas has such a distinctive voice and it takes control of any song. Its amazing how he can sing with a voice like that but still make the lyrics seem important. “I Am An Illusion” is a song that takes a different direction then the rest of the album. It has strong bass setting the tempo with quick flowing lyrics that make you want more. Its always a love/hate relationship whenever such a great song ends. It is also cool to hear him experiment with a different sound, like he did with this song. In this case, the risk paid off. The title track, “Something to Be” is such a cool song to hear Rob Thomas sing. Once you get this far in this CD, you wonder if he is going for the rock sound of Matchbox 20, the pop sound of Justin Timberlake, or a new hip-hop sound, sorta like Black-Eyed Peas. I love to wonder what genre an album is, because you may be listening to a new genre being created.

“Something to Be” is a good album for Rob Thomas. I wish he could have released it earlier, so he wouldn't be overshadowed by someone whose name came up way too many times in this review. I love the sound he's going for, but I really think he needs to fine tune it a little bit more so his next album can be spectacular. Because of this, I give Rob Thomas's “Something to Be” 4 out of 5 cans.

Added:  Friday, July 01, 2005

Related Link:  Rob Thomas
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