Getting his start in the pop rock band Matchbox Twenty, singer and songwriter Rob Thomas has emerged as one of the more successful artists of the modern era. His first chart appearance outside of Matchbox Twenty was a monster duet with Santana: "Smooth" spent an impressive 12 weeks at #1 in 1999 and won multiple Grammy Awards. Thomas did not release his first proper solo album until 2005 when he dropped "Something To Be." It yielded another Top 10 hit with "Lonely No More," which made it to #6. He scored another Top 20 single with his 2009 sophomore release, "cradlesong": "Her Diamonds" reached #23. His 2015 record, "The Great Unknown," failed to produce a charting single. "Give Me The Meltdown" goes back to 2009, an overlooked rocker from "cradlesong."
Led by the vocal powerhouse Rob Thomas, Matchbox Twenty rose to the top of the post-grunge bands in the late 90s with their monstrous 1996 debut, "Yourself Or Someone Like You," which spawned three top 10 hits ("Push" hit #5, "3 AM" hit #3, and "Real World" hit #9) and a fourth single that topped out at #24 ("Back 2 Good"). Still, their biggest hit arrived with their rather tepid sophomore record. "Bent" gave the band their only #1 to date, followed by another top 5 hit with "If You're Gone." The most worthy song of the charts from their "Mad Season" record in my opinion was "Last Beautiful Girl," but as a fourth single it flopped. The Florida band delivered a back-to-basics record with "More Than You Think You Are" in 2002. To me, it is their best effort. It returned the band to the top 5 ("Unwell," one of the band's greatest pop tunes, landed at #5). Other chart appearances from this underrated record were "Disease" (#29) and "Bright Lights" (#23). "All I Need" also comes from this record and should have easily gone top 10 in a perfect musical world. The band released some new tunes as part of a greatest hits package in 2007. Everyone knows Rob Thomas has enjoyed a successful solo career, but lesser known is that drummer Paul Doucette fronts his own side band, The Break and Repair Method. Matchbox Twenty still works together, though. Their last effort was "North" in 2012, which gave them their last top 40 hit to date when "She's So Mean" went to #40.
You normally find Paul Doucette behind the drum kit or guitar during a Matchbox Twenty show. While the band was on hiatus in 2008, he wrote some of his own songs and stepped up to the mic. He called the side project The Break and Repair Method and their debut record "Milk The Bee". What Doucette proves with "Milk The Bee" is that he should have a larger voice in the choir that is Matchbox Twenty. His songs are strong - catchy and thoughtful - and suit his voice very well. In 2009, he even won BMI Pop Song Writer Of The Year. Check out just one of the many standouts from this record, "You Won't Be Able To Be Sad".
