Matchbox Twenty
Yourself or Someone Like You

THE REVIEW

After reading numerous reviews on this site, I decided to try my hand at reviewing as well, starting with one of the CDs closest to my heart: Yourself or someone like you by Matchbox Twenty.

Before discussing the tracks on the album, it seems necessary to spend a few lines introducing this band formed in Florida, Orlando, in 1995; famous in the USA but unknown to most in Europe. The leader of the group, singer and songwriter, is that Rob Thomas, famous for having written and sung the celebrated "Smooth" with Santana. Around Rob, there are Kyle Cook (classical guitar), Adam Gaynor (electric guitar), Paul Doucette (drums), Brian Yale (bass).

The style of Matchbox is typical American Classic Rock comparable to that of Goo Goo Dolls, Counting Crows, Spin Doctors; but let's start talking about their debut - album released at the end of 1996.

Yourself or someone like you opens with "Real world", from the very first track we can sense the formula of this album : a rock played on changes of rhythm, interruptions, intermittences, and interferences; a pleasant track, among the most rhythmic of the album. "Long day" continues along the lines of "Real world" with a rhythm at first slow, then fast, then fast again and so forth flavored with a "hard", immediate, direct sound; fabulous the warm and raspy voice (at times very angry) of Rob Thomas. The third track "3 A.M." is one of the masterpieces of the album. The song talks about solitude and is dedicated to Rob's mother; the track opens with the splendid alternation between Thomas's voice and Cook's guitar riff, which then leads to a chorus that stays in the head and heart, a very melodic but never mawkish song. Following "3 A.M." is "Push", which expresses all the emotions one might feel in a somewhat troubled love relationship. Intensity and melody in the right proportion. "Girl like that" is less striking than the previous tracks, but its clean and direct sound and a finale that grows stronger reevaluate the piece. With "Back to good", the rhythm slows down, the instruments become more cautious in the background of Rob's voice, also more calm and relaxed, and the mind and ear unwind. Beautiful. "Damn" is probably the most colorless song on the album. A pleasant filler. "Argue" presents us with a more rock version of Matchbox Twenty, one of those songs that gives you a boost, and a lot of it. The album continues with another masterpiece: "Kody", the song with the most beautiful and touching lyrics of the album. It talks about the death of a child and about the anguish and resignation of his brother who imagines him sitting on his bed and speaks to him. Splendid vocal performance by Rob. Touching. "Busted", a song about "getting into trouble", offers us the "angry" version with significant grunge influences. "Shame" is a very catchy and pleasant piece from the first listen, but not as communicative as "Hang", the song that worthily closes the album: an intimate, poignant, engaging ballad.

Thus I have arrived at the end of my first effort. If you like melodic rock with strong emotions and the clear and direct sound of instruments, I recommend this album.