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Overview
As frontman of Matchbox Twenty, Rob Thomas proved himself a pop tunesmith whose songs, including the hit "Push," were crowd-pleasing if not always memorable. But his solo debut, the surprisingly ambitious Something to Be, showcases the most confident Thomas since his breakthrough, "Smooth" with Carlos Santana. Fans of Matchbox's straightforward guitar-rock won't find a lot of it here -- aside from "Ever the Same" -- but the slinkier, more soulful replacement parts are every bit as appealing. The disc has no shortage of simple, catchy tracks -- like the Latin-tinged "Lonely No More" -- that come decked out in crisply pressed settings. Thomas kicks the intensity up a few notches on tracks such as "I Am an Illusion," which uses a vintage Bessie Smith sample as its hook and a Robert Randolph lap steel turn to complete the reel-in process. The title track is similarly up-tempo, with Thomas getting in touch with his inner Joe Cocker, but Something to Be doesn't ignore the singer's way with a power ballad, as evidenced by the intimate "When the Heartache Ends." To his credit, Thomas has found a way to stretch his boundaries without pushing fans to work too hard to keep up -- which makes Something to Be something to hear.