Matchbox Twenty Album: “Mad Season by Matchbox Twenty [Limited]”

After four year the boys are back! But did they live up to their earlier success? Consider Mad Season to be as assorted as a wedding..a little old (Angry, Crutch - doesn't sound much different from their last album, "Yourself or Someone Like You", but that's not to say it's a bad thing), a little new ("Black and White People", "Bent" and the strong-vocaled, jammin' "Last Beautiful Girl") a little borrowed ("Rest Stop" sounds like early 90's Bon Jovi) and a little blue ("Leave, "You Won't Be Mine" and "If You're Gone: - all break-up songs dedicated to the loved and lost among us).

Matchbox Twenty (yes folks, unlike the last album cover, the "20" has been spelt out for us just in case we weren't sure about its correct wording) has proven that great song-writing skills and strong vocals *can* come together in one package, harmonizing isn't only reserved for the teeny-bopper boy bands anymore and rock isn't dead..it's been redefined. This album may be a bit more "popish" than "Yourself or Someone Like You", but who's to say you shouldn't evolve with time?

While most albums focus on one element of life (mainly love), Rob Thomas has written and co-written a variety of tunes that appeal to a mixture of feelings all at once. "Bent" and "Mad Season" remind us that we often feel incomplete and unsure of where we stand in the world. "Black and White People" leaves you thinking about the hypocrisy that people often show. "Angry" is great to play when you want to vent about certain frustrations in your life. "Stop" and "Crutch" talk about one-sided relationships. "Rest Stop" "Last Beautiful Girl", "Leave", "If You're Gone", "You Won't Be Mine" and the soft-sung "Bed of Lies" all deal with break-ups.

Mad Season won't disappoint you, and will offer much food for thought. After listening to it at least once, you'll come up with a conclusion; Hey, BEEN there..

Given the whirl of attention that Rob Thomas has had to deal with, as well as the distractions and label projections that plague every band's sophomore effort, I was really pleased with this record. This is the sound of a group of musicians growing with each other. There doesn't seem to be any evidence of one ego overpowering the rest, or any hint of these guys trying to make a buck before going their separate ways. The musicianship is richer, less folksy than the first album, which sacrifices some of the charm that "Yourself" had, but after a few listens, I have to say that it's a much more gratifying experience than I thought. A must for anybody that loves heartfelt, well-written pop music. I'm already looking forward to album #3.

Let me start out by saying how wonderful MB20 is as a group. YOSLY was superb as a starter CD, but mad season shows how much they have grown as a band. The use of orchestration in such pieces as "Rest Stop," "Bed of Lies," and "Leave" pieces that would've been good songs without it, makes the songs great. Great vocal (backup and lead) achievements in "Last Beautiful Girl," "If You're Gone," and "Black and White People," as well as great use of horns in the latter two songs.

Let me give you a basic overview of the CD:

Angry: Great starter song, but my least favorite on the album. Not to say that it's a bad song or anything, but it never really grew on me. Great backup vocals all throughout the song, though.

Black and White People: Wonderful, wonderful song, one of my favorites. Well, all of the songs on the album are my favorites, excepting "Angry" and "The Burn." WOnderful horns, as I mentioned before, as well as vocals.

Crutch: Great song, too, although the chorus doesn't really flow well with the verses. I love the verses on their own; the way ROb sings these make you feel like you are twisting around in a spiral... Also, great guitar playing by Kyle...

Last Beautiful GIrl: One of my absolute favorites. GReat backup and lead vocals all throughout... That guitar is addiciting, I tell ya... The chorus is sung VERY well.... IT make you feel like rocking back and forth with the music.

If You're Gone: Way overplayed on the radio. Many fans that I have talked to have gotten sick of the song so here's my solution: every time you here "___________" (insert name of song here), either a) turn the radio off, or b)go to a different station. Easy. But I digress. Great horns and vocals.... I also have to admire the guitar playing done by Adam.

Mad Season: One of the best songs on the album (Note: My favorite songs and the best songs aren't always the same.), and one of my favorites. Great beat, great vocals, and ROb really gets into it... It's a fun song.

Rest Stop: Very moving... this is gonna sound corny, but I almost cried when I heard this song (Stop laughing!!! I said *almost*!). The orchestration adds a twinge of sadness to the song.

The Burn: A fun little song that is a little too short for my taste... It grows on you. VOcals are great here.

Bent: Wonderful song!!!! ONe of my favs and one of the best songs on the album!!! Great chords and guitars here... Kudos. IF you got sick of the song, I pity you.

Bed of Lies: The drums blew me away!!! The different types of drums added together is amazing!! At the ends where the drums sort of fade away, you feel a sort of a emptiness. KUdos to Paul Douchette on that one. The orchestration adds to the emotion of the song. WOnderful, wonderful wonderful....

Leave: OMG!!!! Vocals, orchestration, guitar, drums, this song has got it ALL!!!! I loved it sooooo much!!!!!

Stop: Great rock-out song, wonderful wonderful wonderful wonderful!!!!!! I loved the part after the first time they sang the chorus... The vocals there were amazing.

You Won't Be Mine: When I first heard this song, I was sitting on my bed. I had heard that it was really orchestra-y, and some thought that it was a waste of time. I sat and finished the first part of the song. I was shocked. I have never heard something so wonderful. It weaves together lyrics and music in such a way that it leaves you breathless. The music went so well with the lyrics, the orchestration mixed with the piano and then drums was a gem. I fast forwarded to the only orchestartion part of the song. The music was amazing. The ending by piano gave a feeling of loneliness, of heartbreak, of a love that wasn't meant to be. The orchestration ending gave a feel of the obstacles to overcome, that it would be better. I think that the piano part was the speaker of the song's (Rob's) emotion, and the orchestra was what the person that the speaker was talking to. The orchestra part really got into the "Over the lies, you'll be strong, you'll be rich in love, etc." part. I think that this is one of the best songs on the album. I;m not sure whether I want another song like this, risking that that song would not measure up to YWBM, or whether I want to leave this song as the only one of its kind in the MB20 universe.

All in all, this album has got it made!!! I forgot to mention the lyrics, but they are so much different from YOSLY, much more personal. Thank you Rob, for letting us scrape the surface of you mind. The band blended the lyrics, music, and vocals so well that this CD deserves a 6 star rating.

Flame me, praise me, whatever: spacemonkey_114@hotmail.com

I've liked Matchbox Twenty for a while but I never bought their first CD. Still don't have it. (but I will soon) I was listening to the radio the other day and Mad Season came on. Now I've heard that song a 'few' times and liked it but all of a sudden it struck me. That makes 3. 3 songs I liked from the same album. Now that's when I start to think, because nine times out of ten if I get an album for just one song the rest of the songs are going to ... . Then too the songs usually sound the same when they are written by the same person/people. But if there are at least 3 songs then I can be reasonably sure it's worth the money. So I went and bought the Mad Season CD.

Thank God for the third song. Otherwise I would have missed some of the most wonderful songs I've ever heard. Personal favorites are Bed of Lies, You Won't be Mine and Crutch but they are all great songs. It's the kind of CD where you want to fast forward to one particular song but you can't because the one you're listening to won't let you go. *sigh* Great Stuff. Buy it.

The guys from Matchbox Twenty have blown the idea of a Sophomore Slump right out of the water. They have a really great vintage sound that reminds me of the Beatles, Chicago, and even Jimi Hendrix at times. (I'm 15 by the way and yes, I do like the older stuff) Here's my opinion on the tracks.

1)Angry-A great opening song with a driving chorus. As soon as I heard this I knew the rest of the album was going to be good.

2)Black and White People-The horns on this track are really great. Most rock bands don't have the nerve to use them but they should. Has a sort of jazzy sound to it.

3)Crutch-The verses are the best part of this song. The beats are slow and Rob is singing fast. A song to listen to if you're mad at your boyfriend/girlfriend. Ex: "I think there's still a piece of my heart on your face. How does it taste?"

4)Last Beautiful Girl-One of the best sings on here, no question. The verses are driving rock then the chorus is slower and very, very good. Don't skip over this one.

5)If You're Gone-I don't think I need to say anything about this one because it was way overplayed on the radio which is a shame because it's an incredible song.

6)Mad Season-Okay, M20 released this song but never got the recignition that it deserved. One of the few happy and fun songs on the album. Worth listening to.

7)Rest Stop-Another brakup song. Sad, slow, touching and very good. You really feel for the poor guy in this one.

8)The Burn-I can't remember how this song goes at the moment but I remember it being the other fun song on here besides Mad Season.

9)Bent-See #5

10)Bed of Lies-Wow. That's the only word I can think of that fully describes this song. The harmonies, drums, and strings are perfect. Absolutely, do not skip over.

11)Leave-Sounds like a smaller scaled version of Bed of Lies. Don't get me wrong it's still a good song.

12)Stop-I don't know why no one else thinks so, but this song really, really gooood. It doesn't sound like anything else on here but that's why I like it. If you can sit still during this song then something is wrong with you. Great Loud Rock.

13)You Won't be Mine-Jazzy, bluesy song with great strings. As good as Bed of Lies and then some.

Do not use the skip button on here. Trust me. I'm going to be buying YOSLY soon and I'm hoping it's just as good. Love~Lily