Cradlesong-Rob Thomas-2009
Soft Rock/Pop

I am a big Matchbox 20 fan, and really enjoyed RT's first solo album Something to Be, but I must say that this album combines a little bit of both Matchbox 20 and RT. The first song on the track and first single, "Her Diamonds" has a lot of things that one might look for in a good song- great lyrics, a good melody, and a gospel choir (alright, so maybe not everyone would like the choir, but I think it's rockin', and this is my review, yea?)

While the whole album can cleanly be put into the Pop/Rock category, the songs sound different enough from one another so the album doesn't get boring. They range from medium tempo to slow to quick. However, if you are familiar with Matchbox 20, you will hear a LOT of recycling of old tempos, rhythms, tunes, and even vocal patterns, which is fine, if you are a Matchbox 20 fan.

Also, some of the songs did seem to mimic the lyrics from previous Matchbox 20 songs, especially "Gasoline" which seemed to be a lyrical combination of "Last Beautiful Girl" and "All I Need," but is still alright as far as songs go. There is definitely a creative vacuum in some places...even though Matchbox 20 already released a song titled "Real World," Rob Thomas went ahead and used the title again on a new song (titled "Real World '09"...lame).

Really, with the exception of "Her Diamonds" and "Natural", none of these songs struck me as lyrically/musically profound or moving. It mostly sounded like filler, but you can't have an album of just filler.

Perhaps this is Rob Thomas' way of "going green," but someone might tell him that recycling music isn't the same as recycling paper.

Overall: B-
Fans of Matchbox 20 will enjoy it, but don't expect anything new or exciting.
Cradlesong drops June 30th, 2009.