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Rob Thomas

Something To Be

(Melisma)

Rob Thomas almost has it. He's almost  a classy singer. His workmanlike songs almost stay in your head. Since his days fronting Matchbox20, Thomas' fine musical taste has been obvious, and when he plays alongside the real thing - take Smooth, the song he wrote and sang with Carlos Santana - he holds his own. So, hopes should be high as we hit play.

Thomas brought in musicians as slick as guitarists John Mayer and Robert Randolph, Heartbreaker Mike Campbell and Dr Dre bassist Mike Elizondo. The album has already made him the first male artist from a rock or pop band to debut at No1 in the US.

However (although it sounds like a lyric Thomas might write), almost is never enough. Thomas really is trying  to be something. Something to Be dabbles in funk, latin, folk, fashion- proof melodramatic rock and the vocal gymnastics of boy bands. But hopes are dashed within 20 seconds. The primal drums opening the album dissolve into the tame, generic This is How a Heart Breaks, the anthem for the NBA playoffs.

The dull lyrics are  worth quoting only when Thomas tries. Which isn't to say they make any sense: 'I am the one-winged bird flying/ Sinking quickly to the ground ... I am the sound of love's arriving/ Echoed softly on the sand.'

Something to Be sounds like a marketing pitch. The album's variety seems to suggest Thomas is asking his fans for the direction he should take. He has the chops to evolve into something more and this album will provide hits. But 'it' is elsewhere.



Rob Thomas