As the 1990s music landscape progressed into the second half of the decade, music that was categorized as Alternative Rock was now becoming mainstream. One band that emerged from the pack was Matchbox 20. Much of this is due to their talented lead vocalist Rob Thomas - who also is their songwriter. In addition credit can be given to a very talented supporting band - that helps bring out the best in Rob Thomas. Matchbox 20's debut album "Yourself or Someone Like You" was an album that helped put them ahead of the pack of Alternative Rock bands. While I wouldn't categorize this collection as a revolutionary or groundbreaking album, there still is some good music on here - and that helps set Matchbox 20 apart from the others.
As far as Alternative Rock goes. This was originally a term that was a "catch all" to describe those genres of music that didn't fit into the mainstream. In the 80s, you had Punk, New Wave, College Rock, Underground music, etc. All of these were considered Alternative Rock. One genre that evolved as an offshoot was Grunge. Nirvana really was leading the movement here. I looked at Grunge as integrating elements of Guitar Based (to a minor extent acoustic elements) with some of the elements found in the various genres that fell into Alternative Rock. Many called Grunge, "The Seattle Sound". As Nirvana led this revolution in the industry, they helped bring not just Grunge - but the entire Alternative Rock movement into the mainstream. One such band that emerged were the Gin Blossoms. I think the Gin Blossoms took the next step in this revolution of the Alternative Rock movement. While Nirvana brought Alternative into the Mainstream, the Gin Blossoms steered them to the front of the pack. The Gin Blossom's emergence meant that Alternative Rock was something that could no longer be ignored. However, I think there was a backlash with the Alternative Rock movement - a backlash that has probably lasted almost 10 years. This backlash has been the emergence of the "cookie cutter" artists. In other words much of the Alternative Rock music that started to emerge in the late 1990s began to sound almost the same - whether it was the vocals, the guitar chords, or drum beats. This is where I feel Matchbox 20 has the sweet spot. Despite what many critics have said, they have avoided becoming another "cookie cutter" artist.
Matchbox 20 seems to adopt a very simple formula for this album - simple songs. The titles of the songs themselves are real simple. No song has a title more than 3 words and 8 songs (if you count 3am) have 1 word titles. Most of the content of the songs are simple - basically tracks about everyday life. There basically are no political or personal agendas in the music. With this simple formula, Matchbox 20 may seem primed to fall into the "cookie cutter" formula, but they don't. This is where the talent of Rob Thomas comes in - as a vocalist and as a songwriter. Thomas as a vocalist has a basically has a cross between a soulful and raspy voice. It is one of the most unique in the business. Many people know Thomas for performing lead vocals on Santana's "Smooth" (argubly the best record of the 1990s). Thomas brings the same high level vocals to "Yourself of Someone Like You". One other thing to note - Rob Thomas is one talented songwriter (Thomas also wrote "Smooth"). He might not write very deep lyrics, but he does an excellent job at putting together some very catchy lyrics.
Don't forget about the rest of the band - they are able to support Thomas' talent very well. Matchbox 20's sound is heavily guitar laden. These guitar efforts are led by guitarists Kyle Cook and Adam Gaynor as well as Brian Yale's Bass. They also have an outstanding drummer in Paul Doucette.
The collection's best track is the opening one. "Real World" is simply an outstanding track. This song deals with dreaming about being someone else and then coming back to reality. The lyrics are simple, but catchy - (when Thomas sings lines like "I wonder what it's like to be a super hero" or "I wonder what it's like to be the head honcho" - that's as catchy as you can get) The real strength of this track is the terrific guitar work that takes place. This was a big radio hit. This collection also contains songs "3 am" and "Push". These two tracks aren't quite in the class of "Real World", but are good tracks. Both tracks have more of an acoustic feel to it as the song starts as the electric guitars come in at the chorus.
Matchbox 20 also shows they do things outside the box. An underrated track is "Back 2 Good". For this song there is a woodwinds section that plays in the background. This gives the song a unique feel. While not the best track by any means, the last track "Hang" is interesting. Thomas and Cook swap roles with Cook taking the lead vocals and Thomas playing guitar. Other tracks like "Long Day", "Girl Like That", "Kody" and "Damn" are very good as well. The other tracks that I have mentioned aren't quite as strong, but there are no bad songs in the collection
The liner notes contain all of the lyrics to each of the tracks. All of the musician and band credits are listed. There is a "Thank You" section where the band thanks a bunch of people - including individual "Thank Yous" by each of the five band members. Again, while I don't think this an all-time great - it is a good collection. Matchbox 20 showed a lot for a debut band and are able to break from the Alternative Rock mold. The potential is there for greatness. I'd recommend checking this out.
This is an excellent CD!
Not the stereotypical Cookie Cutter Alternative Rock Mold
6 tracks
Cradlesong
Dizzy Up the Girl
A Collection
Greatest Hits Vol. 1 - The Singles
August and Everything After
Throwing Copper
Marcy Playground
Blue
A Boy Named Goo
Jagged Little Pill
