Rob Thomas’s Something To Be : Best Pop Album of 2005
Rob Thomas is a musical genius.
OK, so that sentiment might be a stretch but this album is nothing short of brilliant. Abandoning the uniform pop/rock, singer/songwriter stance adopted by his group, Rob goes for a more diverse approach to pop music. Each track seems infused with its own unique and individual sound, style, and personality, thus showcasing the depth and dexterity of Rob’s talent. Whether he’s channeling his inner rock god, busting a move to a hip-hop backbeat, or soothing his soul with a simple piano melody, Rob rarely falters and pushes him and his talents front and center into the spotlight.
Evidenced by his Grammy-winning collabo with Santana, “Smooth”, 5 years prior, Rob seems to have an strong visceral sensibility when it comes to pop music. His penchant for melody construction, along with his songwriting, is unmatched in terms of quality and substance. Take lead single, Lonely No More. Sure, it might be a bit everyday in terms of a pop song, but the catchy hooks, melody, and production are nothing short of undeniable.
Follow-up single, This Is How A Heart Breaks, takes its predecessor’s strengths and amplifies them. The pounding percussion, thundering guitars, and irrepressible melody all infect Rob’s vocal performance and send the song’s energy and charisma through the roof. The rest of the album continually plays off of Rob’s strengths while simultaneously showcasing his versatility.
Ever The Same is a simple, straightforward yet heartfelt piano rocker that has Rob delicately vocalizing reassurance to his love that his feelings and actions towards her will be the sole constant guiding his life. I Am An Illusion rests at the opposite end of the spectrum and is easily the most interesting listen of the album.
Performed by Rob live on the VH1 Save The Music special, alongside contributor Robert Johnson, Rob seemed to channel his inner rock god with such reckless abandon deserving of the standing ovation he received. As expected, the studio version is a bit sterilized and thus the magic is deadened a smidge. It’s still a menacing rocker but it sounds aching to break out into something spectacular and never quite gets the chance.
Seeing as I’m a sucker for a simple, melancholic acoustic pop/rocker, it was effortless for When The Heartache Ends to steal my heart and the vote for the album’s best song. I love the constancy of the production; the simple acoustic guitar strums and light percussion taps never change tempo, only adding a bassline, and allow for Rob’s sensitive vocals to inject the emotion.
Along with the vocals, Rob’s lyricism wins major points for the genuine pain and plea for reassurance they contain. You feel like you’re the friend Rob’s talking to, possibly even being the one who told Rob the relationship was anything but a good idea and that he would get burned. But once again, his vocal and lyrical plea melts both your heart and backbone, thus gladly breaking his fall. Brilliance, I swear.
Title track, âÂ?¦something to be, sounds to be Rob’s confessional. Taking the structure of “Lonely No More”, and dirtying it up a bit, subtly adding a hip-hop swagger courtesy of the percussive backbeat, Rob somewhat discusses his personal identity crisis in an albeit slight tongue-in-cheek manner. It almost reads as the reasoning behind his solo career; his being in matchbox twenty bringing him success but also pigeonholing him as an artist.
Thus he decides to rebel against the archetype of his success – My pain is a platinum stack, take that sh!t back – and strike out on his own, hoping to find his own niche and identity in the process. In turn, he hopes for validation of his rebellion via this album’s success – Maybe I should try to find a downtown w.hore that’ll make me look hardcore. I need you to tell me what to stand for – and subsequently explaining why the album doesn’t have one analogous sound. Then again, it’s probably me just overanalyzing the lyrics but if this is indeed Rob’s message, then props to him for making his statement in such a damn fantastic manner.
All That I Am seems to be a bit more cryptic in its denotation as Rob poetically expresses the different complexities that combine to form his existence, with all of them having one sole purpose to form a man intent on giving, doing, loving, and living the best he can. The mysteriousness only enhanced by the Asian-tinged ethereal atmosphere surrounding the lyricism and Rob’s mantra-like vocals. Then, this could be my anti-intellectualism kicking in and I’m simply not thinking and listening hard enough to discern the song’s meaning. And if this is so, then forgive me Rob for being dumbfounded by your brilliance.
Problem Girl is a much smoother swallow and is definitely top-tier material as the anthemic production and Rob’s positive vocals inject a sense of pride, esteem, and hope into the song and listener as he encourages a downtrodden woman to not let the perception of others keep her from loving herself and her life. Conversely, Fallin’ To Pieces is the 1 indulgent moment I spoke of. It’s a country/funk rocker that was both a bad idea on paper and on record. The production tries to have the down-home country flair with a hip-hop swagger and rock appeal and it, along with Rob’s affected vocals, and dense lyricism combine for the album’s sole disaster.
My, My, My rectifies this and is a gorgeous moment where all the elements come to balance in perfect harmony. The lullaby sway of the production, Rob’s charismatic vocals and his heartrending lyricism all blend together seamlessly and attest to Rob’s now unquestionable genius. Streetcorner Symphony isn’t a symphony of sound but a plea for people to form a united symphony and learn how to peacefully coexist and just be. Kinda like a Hands Across America 2005.
Sounds kinda cheesy, huh? Well even if the concept is, the sound is anything but. With John Mayer on guitar assistance, Rob’s ecstatic vocals spread the love all around and yeah, there isn’t anyway for me to describe this without sounding like a cheesy spokesperson for “Give Peace A Chance.” So I’ll just say listen for yourself to see how good the record is.
At the end of this brilliant opus is the simple piano ballad, Now Comes The Night, and never has simplicity sounded so beautiful. Ok, I’m sure it has but Rob again amazes with the brilliance of it all. Just the piano, his pure vocals and the sincere lyrics creating a stirring finale that will leave you in nothing short of awe.
Above are the 12 tracks comprising Rob Thomas’ first solo record. And what is the conclusion?
That Rob Thomas is the force to reckon with in pop music. His sensibility of music is untouched and the manner in which he approaches his material and allows it to bring the virtuosity out of him hints at a true legend in the making. He was talented enough in matchbox twenty and the only wrong committed by that was his being boxed in creatively. But his solo outing allowed him to break out of that box and showcase his brilliance by taking 12 different textures and merging them into one cohesive feel.
Never disjointed, confused, pretentious, or boring, it only took Rob Thomas one try to find his something to be. And it is definitely something to behold.
