...Something to Be
{{short description|2005 studio album by Rob Thomas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2012}}
{{Infobox album
| name = ...Something to Be
| type = studio
| longtype = (DualDisc)
| artist = Rob Thomas
| cover = Rob Thomas - Something To Be.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|2005|04|05}}
| recorded = 2004–2005
| studio =
| genre =
| length = 50:05
| label =
| producer = Matt Serletic
| next_title = Cradlesong
| next_year = 2009
| misc = {{Singles
| name = ...Something to Be
| type = studio
| single1 = Lonely No More
| single1date = February 14, 2005{{cite magazine|title=Going for Adds|magazine=Radio & Records|issue=1593|page=27|date=February 11, 2005}}
| single2 = This Is How a Heart Breaks
| single2date = June 13, 2005{{cite magazine|title=Going for Adds|magazine=Radio & Records|issue=1610|page=19|date=June 10, 2005}}
| single3 = Ever the Same
| single3date = November 7, 2005{{cite magazine|title=Going for Adds|magazine=Radio & Records|issue=1631|page=22|date=November 4, 2005}}
| single4 = ...Something to Be
| single4date = March 13, 2006{{cite web|url=http://www.aria.com.au/issue836.pdf|title=The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 13th March 2006|publisher=ARIA|page=27|date=March 13, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20060409140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20060410-0000/issue836.pdf|archive-date=April 9, 2006|access-date=March 6, 2022}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
| single5 = Streetcorner Symphony
| single5date = October 16, 2006{{cite web|url=http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=64265|title=ACQB: Available for Airplay|website=FMQB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207084832/http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=64265|archive-date=February 7, 2007|access-date=March 27, 2022}}
}}
}}
...Something to Be is the debut solo album from the Matchbox Twenty lead singer Rob Thomas. The album was released on April 5, 2005, and it debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, knocking out Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi.
The album spawned the US top ten hit "Lonely No More". It also features John Mayer's guitar on the single "Streetcorner Symphony".{{cite magazine|last=Hiatt|first=Brian|year=2005|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/johnmayer/articles/story/7264515/rob_thomas_goes_it_alone |title=Rob Thomas Goes It Alone|magazine=Rolling Stone|accessdate=March 8, 2007|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071002002355/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/johnmayer/articles/story/7264515/rob_thomas_goes_it_alone |archivedate = October 2, 2007|url-status=dead}} The album was released in the DualDisc format, the first major album to be released that way. The album itself is certified Double Platinum by the RIAA in the US and consists of several types of sounds, including dance, pop, Latin, rock, and country, although it can be generally classified as closer to pop than to the rock music of Matchbox Twenty's third studio album, More Than You Think You Are. The album was supported by his 2005–2006 Something to Be Tour.
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| MC = 57/100{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/something-to-be/rob-thomas|title=Something To Be by Rob Thomas|website=Metacritic|publisher=|accessdate=October 3, 2016}}
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r733303/review|pure_url=yes}}|title=...Something to BeReview|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|work=AllMusic|accessdate=May 12, 2011}}
| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly
| rev4 = Paste
| rev4Score = (favorable){{cite web|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2005/06/rob-thomas-something-to-be.html|title=...Something to Be Review|work=Paste|date=June 30, 2008|accessdate=May 12, 2011| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20110617062229/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2005/06/rob-thomas-something-to-be.html| archivedate= June 17, 2011}}
| rev5 = Rolling Stone
| rev5Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/robthomas/albums/album/7243163/review/7263916/something_to_be |title=...Something to BeReview |magazine=Rolling Stone |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010034548/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/robthomas/albums/album/7243163/review/7263916/something_to_be |archivedate=October 10, 2007 |url-status=dead}}
| rev6 = Stylus
| rev6Score = C{{cite web|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=2948|title=...Something to Be Review|work=Stylus|accessdate=May 12, 2011|archive-date=April 4, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404234523/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=2948|url-status=dead}}
}}
...Something to Be received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 57, based on 11 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said Rob Thomas "sounds less like his usual tortured self and more like a boy-band veteran who still knows a thing or two about a grabby hook" and noting that the single "Streetcorner Symphony" sounds like "the world's greatest Black Crowes parody — until you realize Thomas is completely serious". Browne also commented that the album "doesn't always snap and crackle the way that single ("Lonely No More") does".
Lindsay Whitfield of Soul Shine Magazine also gave the album and some of its songs a positive review (four stars), saying the album is "one of the finest, most unique albums of 2006 so far" and Thomas belts out "musical perfection to the road trip worthy".{{cite news|last=Whitfield|first=Lindsay|url=http://www.soulshine.ca/reviews/albumReview.php?arid=507|title=Rob Thomas, Something to Be|website=soulshine.ca|accessdate=2013-03-24|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051142/http://www.soulshine.ca/reviews/albumReview.php?arid=507|url-status=dead}} Thomas Inskeep of Stylus Magazine gave the album a negative review (although the "C" rating reflects a more mixed attitude), calling it "mediocre" and explaining that the large part of the problem was that "Rob's a fairly generic songwriter". Inskeep continued by saying he is "one of the most processed-cheese-and-Wonder-bread guys around" and Thomas had "hopelessly clichéd lines" on the song "Ever the Same".{{cite news|last=Inskeep|first=Thomas|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/rob-thomas/something-to-be.htm|title=Rob Thomas - ...Something to Be - Review|language=en|date=2005-04-22|publisher=stylusmagazine.com|accessdate=2013-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060915033147/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/rob-thomas/something-to-be.htm|archive-date=2006-09-15|url-status=dead}}
Kevin Forest Moreau of Paste gave the album a positive review, saying his debut solo album "certainly sounds different from the adult-alternative diet-rock of Matchbox Twenty-at least half the time". Moreau complimented the "punchy horns and a few electronic flourishes" for being on songs such as "Streetcorner Symphony". However, he criticized the "ponderous poetics...and platitudes" for being mistaken as depth. Paul Lingas of avrev.com called the album "a mixed bag with some surprisingly good offerings and some duds that sadly aren’t surprising" (giving the performance a 5.5 and the sound 6.5), complimenting some of the songs but also calling them "background music". He noted that Thomas "does not have a good singing voice". Although he also called his voice very distinctive and strong, he said "too often it is not suited to the surrounding music". Lingas finished by saying that Thomas' voice is not always well blended with the other sounds and that the mixing is "poor" and producing decisions are "sometimes odd".{{cite web|last=Lingas|first=Paul|url=http://www.avrev.com/music-disc-reviews/dualdisc/rob-thomas-something-to-be.html|title=Rob Thomas - Something To Be|date=2005-04-19|website=avrev.com|accessdate=2013-03-24|archive-date=July 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728114834/http://www.avrev.com/music-disc-reviews/dualdisc/rob-thomas-something-to-be.html|url-status=dead}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing = Rob Thomas, except where noted
| title1 = This Is How a Heart Breaks
| writer1 = {{hlist|Thomas|Christian Karlsson|Henrik Jonback|Pontus Winnberg}}
| length1 = 3:50
| title2 = Lonely No More
| length2 = 3:47
| title3 = Ever the Same
| length3 = 4:16
| title4 = I Am an Illusion
| length4 = 4:53
| title5 = When the Heartache Ends
| length5 = 2:51
| title6 = ...Something to Be
| length6 = 4:31
| title7 = All That I Am
| length7 = 4:28
| title8 = Problem Girl
| length8 = 3:55
| title9 = Fallin' to Pieces
| length9 = 4:11
| title10 = My, My, My
| length10 = 4:18
| title11 = Streetcorner Symphony
| writer11 = {{hlist|Thomas|Matt Serletic}}
| length11 = 4:09
| title12 = Now Comes the Night
| writer12 = {{hlist|Thomas|Serletic}}
| length12 = 4:55
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = iTunes deluxe version{{cite web |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/something-to-be-deluxe/313223152 |title=Something To Be (Deluxe) by Rob Thomas on Apple Music|website=iTunes |date=April 5, 2005 }}
| title13 = Not Just a Woman
| length13 = 3:03
| title14 = You Know Me
| length14 = 3:48
| title15 = This Is How a Heart Breaks
| note15 = Pull's Defibrillator Mix
| length15 = 6:32
| title16 = Lonely No More
| note16 = Clear Channel "Stripped" Mix
| length16 = 3:44
| title17 = Lonely No More
| note17 = music video
| length17 = 3:45
| title18 = Ever the Same
| note18 = music video
| length18 = 4:04
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Australian edition bonus tracks
| title13 = Not Just a Woman
| length13 = 3:03
| title14 = You Know Me
| length14 = 3:48
| title15 = Lonely No More
| note15 = Clear Channel Stripped Version
| length15 = 3:44
| title16 = This Is How a Heart Breaks
| note16 = Pull's Defibrillator Mix
| length16 = 6:32
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Japan edition bonus track
| title13 = Fallen
| length13 = 4:36
}}
= Target bonus CD: ''...Something More'' =
{{Track listing
| title1 = ...Something to Be
| note1 = downtown version
| title2 = When the Heartache Ends
| note2 = piano version
| title3 = Not Just a Woman
| title4 = You Know Me
| title5 = Dear Joan
| title6 = Lonely No More
| note6 = Jason Nevins Rock Da Club Mix
| title7 = Lonely No More
| note7 = Francois L. Club Mix
}}
Personnel
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
Musicians
- Harley Allen – background vocals (9)
- Greater Anointing – background vocals (1, 2, 7, 11)
- Matt Beck – background vocals (6)
- Mike Campbell – guitar (5, 6, 8, 9), guitar solo (8)
- Cassidy – background vocals (6, 10)
- Kyle Cook – guitar (6)
- Jill Dell'Abate – horn contractor
- Mike Elizondo – bass guitar (1-11)
- Anika Ellis – additional background vocals (11)
- Pat Enright – background vocals (9)
- Brandon Fields – saxophone (4, 6, 11)
- Gordon Gottlieb – marimba, bells, and orchestral drums (7)
- Gary Grant – trumpet (4, 6, 11)
- Jonathon Haas – marimba, bells, and orchestral drums (7)
- Benjamin Herman – marimba, bells, and orchestral drums (7)
- Jerry Hey – trumpet (6, 11), horn arrangements (6, 11)
- Gerald Hayward – drums (1-6, 8-11)
{{col-3}}
- Hasan Isakkut – kanun (7)
- Kevin Kadish – guitar (1)
- Frank London – shofar (7)
- John Mayer – guitar (11)
- Wendy Melvoin – guitar (1-9, 11)
- Joe Passaro – marimba, bells, and orchestral drums (7)
- Heitor Teixeira Pereora – guitar (3, 10)
- Eric Poland – marimba, bells, and orchestral drums (7)
- Robert Randolph – lap steel guitar (4)
- Matt Serletic – keyboards, background vocals (8, 10)
- Shari Sutcliffe – horn contractor
- Rob Thomas – lead vocals, piano (12)
- Jeff Trott – guitar (1-4, 7, 8, 11)
- Dan Tyminski – background vocals (9)
- Dan Willis – dudok (7)
- Reginald Young – trombone (6, 11)
{{col-3}}
Technical personnel
- Matt Serletic – producer
- Jimmy Douglass – engineer (1-6, 8-11), mixing (1, 3-6, 9, 11)
- Greg Collins – engineer (1-11)
- Mark Dobson – engineer (1-11), digital editing
- Jay Newland – engineer (7)
- David Thornier – engineer (12), mixing (2, 7, 8, 10, 12)
- Jon Belec – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Jason Dale – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Mark Gottlieb – assistant engineer
- John Morrical – assistant engineer
- Hal Winer – assistant engineer
- Kevin Mills – assistant engineer
- Gary Paczosa – additional recording (9)
- Zach McNees – mixing assistant
- Tony Maserati – additional mixing (2)
- John O'Brien – programming
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
{{col-end}}
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
= Weekly charts =
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| scope="col"| Chart (2005)
! scope="col"| Peak |
|---|
| {{album chart|Australia|1|artist=Rob Thomas|album=...Something to Be|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|Austria|19|artist=Rob Thomas|album=...Something to Be|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|BillboardCanada|2|artist=Rob Thomas|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|Denmark|16|artist=Rob Thomas|album=...Something to Be|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|Netherlands|64|artist=Rob Thomas|album=...Something to Be|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|France|115|artist=Rob Thomas|album=...Something to Be|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|Germany4|10|id=17842|artist=Rob Thomas|album=...Something to Be|rowheader=true|access-date=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|Hungary|37|year=2005|week=31|rowheader=true|access-date=November 27, 2021}} |
| {{album chart|New Zealand|14|artist=Rob Thomas|album=...Something to Be|rowheader=true|access-date=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|Norway|13|artist=Rob Thomas|album=...Something to Be|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
| scope="row"| Singaporean Albums (RIAS){{cite web|url=http://www.rias.org.sg:80/chart2.html|title=RIAS CHART FOR WEEK ENDING 13 May 2005|access-date=May 29, 2005|archive-date=May 29, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050529083849/http://www.rias.org.sg:80/chart2.html|url-status=dead}}
| 1 |
| {{album chart|Spain|70|artist=Rob Thomas|album=...Something to Be|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|Sweden|19|artist=Rob Thomas|album=...Something to Be|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|Switzerland|19|artist=Rob Thomas|album=...Something to Be|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|UK2|11|date=20050605|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
| {{album chart|Billboard200|1|artist=Rob Thomas|rowheader=true|accessdate=March 11, 2019}} |
{{col-2}}
= Year-end charts =
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|relyear=2005|certyear=2006|title=Something to Be|artist=Rob Thomas|type=album|award=Platinum|number=3}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|relyear=2005|certyear=2006|title=Something to Be|artist=Rob Thomas|type=album|award=Platinum}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|relyear=2005|certyear=2007|title=Something to Be|artist=Rob Thomas|type=album|id=2005-05-27|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|award=Gold}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|relyear=2005|certyear=2005|title=Something to Be|artist=Rob Thomas|type=album|award=Silver|id=6083-2805-2|access-date=April 18, 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|relyear=2005|certyear=2005|title=Something to Be|artist=Rob Thomas|type=album|award=Platinum|number=2|accessdate=March 11, 2019|refname=RIAA}}
{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Rob Thomas}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Something To Be}}
Category:Albums produced by Bloodshy & Avant
Category:Albums produced by Matt Serletic
Category:Rob Thomas (musician) albums