New matchbox twenty album shows maturity

By Matt Holsapple
Summer Reporter

Maybe he owes his newly found inspiration to his new wife or his collaboration with legend Carlos Santana. Or maybe, Rob Thomas has just matured a lot in the past four years.

"Mad Season by matchbox twenty," the follow-up to matchbox twenty's 10 times platinum debut "Yourself or Someone Like You" plays almost like a Thomas solo album, with the other members of the band acting more like back-up than anything else. The results indicate that Thomas could have a successful solo career.

Not only does Thomas' distinctive voice power each song but he also wrote every track on the album. Bandmate Paul Doucette helped with one track, "Stop," but this is the only songwriting that the rest of the band contributes. Thomas also collaborated with the album's producer, Matt Serletic, on three tracks, but these songs are almost indistinguishable from the songs that Thomas wrote on his own.

Thomas gave us a glimpse of the improvement of his songwriting skills with last year's "Smooth" with Santana, which won him a Grammy for Best Song.

On "Mad Season," though, he has the opportunity to show the vast improvements made since 1996's "Yourself or Someone Like You." On that album, most of the songs were very similar. Most had the same feel, from beat to rhythms to chord structures. They were enjoyable songs; there just wasn't a lot of variety. On "Mad Season," the songs are much more diverse with a lot of different feelings and moods.

"If You're Gone" is reminiscent of Chicago, with a full horn section and lush orchestral harmonies, whereas "You Won't Be Mine" sounds like it was influenced by the early, almost bluesy work of Billy Joel. "Bed of Lies," probably the best track on the album, has hints of '80s big hair power ballads from bands like Poison and Warrant. There are songs, like "Crutch" and "Bent," that are basic, good ole rock 'n' roll.

Of course, the matchbox twenty hasn't abandoned the sound that made them famous. Most of the tracks still have their trademark, Goo Goo Dolls with more angst feel to them. Also, a few of the songs, like "Mad Season" and "Black and White People," sound like they could have been transplanted from "Yourself or Someone Like You."

Thomas' lyrics are also improved on this album. Whereas on "Yourself or Someone Like You," some of the lyrics were cliché or almost indecipherable (did anyone really understand "Real World"?), on "Mad Season" the lyrics are more substantive and poetic. Lines like "Use a lover like cigarette the way lovers do" in "Crutch" and "I will not sleep in a bed of lies, so toss me out and turn in, and there'll be no rest for those tired eyes" in "Bed of Lies" are typical of the quality of lyrics on "Mad Season." These have more depth and imagination that most of what was on "Yourself or Someone Like You."

It is not just Thomas and the caliber of his songwriting that has improved in the past four years. The overall sound and cohesion of the band are also greatly improved. The music throughout the album is thick and more complex. There are more layers of instrumentation on almost every song. Especially on "If Your Gone" and ""Bed of Lies," there is a lushness that was not even hinted at on "Yourself or Someone Like You."

Before releasing "Mad Season," matchbox twenty was a very enjoyable band that had released a very enjoyable album. With "Mad Season" it has established itself as a band capable of a long career as a heavy-hitter. Let's just hope that we don't have to wait another four years before we get another sampling of that.