Album Review: The Great Unknown by Rob Thomas

It turns out that the title of Rob Thomas’ third solo album is an apt one, given that his sound has changed. Sure, the Matchbox Twenty front man was never exactly a hard-core rocker, but his previous solo work, not to mention the MB20 music, has always veered towards at least soft rock. In fact, Matchbox Twenty have made a killing on such middle-of-the-road anthems as ‘3am’ and ‘Push’, and Thomas’ previous solo work went down that same path.

Not so with The Great Unknown, which is unmistakably a pop record, brimming over with all the bells and whistles of a pop album – plenty to make Taylor Swift very proud. Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely not a bad release. And it seems like a good way to differentiate what he’s doing on his own, to what he does with Matchbox Twenty.

Thomas’ vocal ability certainly hasn’t waned over the years – hard to believe that Matchbox Twenty released their hit-filled first album twenty years ago, isn’t it? – and, importantly, his song-writing chops remain strong. He’s written most of the songs on this album alone, but with the occasional co-writer, including the man responsible for producing MB20’s stellar debut, Yourself Or Someone Like You. And, let me tell you, these are all strong songs.

To be honest, the first time I listened to The Great Unknown, I hated it. Absolutely could not stand any of the tracks. But, I gave it a few weeks, then listened again…and I can confirm that the album is growing on me. I never instantly love entire albums of songs. In fact, I scarcely have any full albums on my iPod. But Rob Thomas has crafted a pretty good album here, and there’s a handful that now sit on my iPod, queued as part of a big Matchbox Twenty playlist. The more I listen, the more it grows on me.

First track on the album ‘I Think We’d Feel Good Together’ sets the upbeat scene for the next twelve tracks, and is one of my favourites. Same goes for the title track, the heaviest of all the songs, and the stuck-in-your-head catchy ‘Wind It Up’. The key on this album is that Thomas’ voice doesn’t get overawed by the music behind him. He can still command your attention. 

People in Australia seem to agree with my overall assessment, given the album debuted inside the ARIA Top 5, and had similar success on the Billboard 200 chart in America.