Jamming To The Updated Raspberries
More Than You Think You Are
by matchbox
Twenty
There may be no more radio-friendly band recording today than Matchbox 20. Led by affable front man Rob Thomas, More Than You Think You Are, the band's third album, does a credible job updating The Raspberries and The Hollies.
But Matchbox 20 is no longer a quartet backing up Thomas. The entire group is more active throughout the album, mixed in with more backing vocals and many more instrumental breaks. Despite those breaks and the toning down of the angst that grew repetitive on 2000's Mad Season, this is an album of singles. That is not a bad thing to release, but Matchbox 20 faces an interesting fork in their musical career.
One could easily see the band churning out more albums fueled by the obligatory three hit singles until they become this decade's Hall & Oates. Or the band could shift directions, building on Thomas' songwriting and emotion-filled voice to create a landmark album among rock's best. The band has yet to show any signs of wanting to experiment beyond their singles orientation, but the talent is there if not the desire.
Already Out Of The Chute A Winner
More Than You Think You Are is one month old as of today's writing and has already been certified platinum, signifying one million units sold. The first single, Disease, has already gone Top 30 in Billboard, taking advantage of a lackluster holiday season for traditional rock sounds and several national television appearances.
Disease is only the first of what will doubtless be a Matchbox 20 onslaught of singles in 2003. Through my past couple of weeks with the albums, I have become convinced there are at least three more solid singles on this album, any of which are strong enough to break through to number one given the right timing. Meanwhile, Grammy darling Thomas (winner of 1999's Best Song Award for Smooth with Carlos Santana) will likely be on the stage with his bandmates at this winter's telecast. More Than You Think You Are is not great, but it is darn good, and Grammy voters love the familiar and good rather than the new and outstanding. Thomas already has three Grammys on his mantle and this may be the year the the boys in the band get some too.
Matt's Boys
Collective Soul producer Matt Serletic is widely credited with discovering Matchbox 20 and has produced their three national releases. Possessor of a dizzying array of credits from Aerosmith to Lee Ann Womack to Beenie Man, Serletic is a wizard who effortlessly shifts genres and styles like most people shift lanes while driving on a highway.
Thomas is his big success, of course, but the veteran producer got more from the band as a unit than Thomas as a soloist backed by others on this album. Guitarist Kyle Cook in particular is given room to breathe and seems to find a niche somewhere right of Wally Bryson's sound. This is not a guitar album, by any means, but there is much less of the Spectorish Wall of Sludge that Serletic layered on earlier efforts and a cleaner, more direct approach on most cuts.
The best example of the band's involvement in a cut may be You're So Real. Bassist Brian Vale gets his own lead before an orchestra hits, synthesizers swirl and Cook's guitar plays an understated Clapton-like lead. After the chorus, Thomas sings over a stripped down drumbeat before giving way to a bridge that allows Cook and guitarist Adam Gaynor to do a Lennon and McCartney impersonation worth of an Abbey Road documentary.
Not every cut is a potential single, and You're So Real certainly will not be released. Look for future hits in Bright Lights, an understated ballad reminiscent of Thomas' piano demo of 3 a.m., All I Need, a song that would comfortably fit on The Big Chill soundtrack and Unwell, a slickly produced number where Cook's guitar shimmers as gossamer as Thomas' breathy vocals.
The Bottom Line, Skips and All
Matchbox 20 is often linked with late 1990s adult artists like Sugar Ray and Third Eye Blind yet the only commonality is when the bands became well known. Matchbox 20's roots go much deeper, reaching back to the days of Top 40 on AM radio. That sound gives Boomers and those trapped between the boomers and Gen X a band of their own - pleasant, safe, but not more than they think they are.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. This is the band's third album and was released in November, making it
a smart Christmas present.
2. The sound is pure classic pop-rock.
3. Rob Thomas is still the front man and focus, but the other band members
all get an opportunity to step into the spotlight.
4. Disease is already a Top 30 single.
5. I am projecting at least two more Top 30s off this radio-friendly album,
maybe three.
