Cradlesong, Amazing New Rob Thomas album

I’m not a big follower of popular music, but somehow Rob Thomas’s voice and lyrics speaks to me. It is great to hear a male singer with a strong voice who expresses both vulnerability and strength through music at the same time. He ahs a new album coming out June 30 called “cradlesong,” and the entire album is available to preview free on rhapsody (some kind of music listening service that I have not used before, but which allows enough free plays to hear the whole thing). The link to the album rhapsody http://www.rhapsody.com/robthomas.

This album has a range of different sounds and themes, mostly of course keeping with the Rob Thomas signatures of melancholy angst about difficulties in love, but musically diverse. Several of the tracks remind me of a couple of Phil Collins albums from the 1990s (“Both Sides,” “…But Seriously.” Other points in the album remind me of early alternative music, and some solid rock is there too. I like the multiple influences on this album, it gives layers to it and I think will make for enjoyable multiple listening.

Track Highlights:

1. “Gasoline,” Classic, solid Rob Thomas song.
2. “Give Me the Meltdown,” retro and fresh at the same time, with rock/funk themes and a snappy, quick-paced hook.
3. “Someday,” mellow, polished ballad that, like much of Rob’s work, grows on you and sounds better the more you listen. For me it is the depth of meaning; the more you listen, the more you relate personally to the songs.
4. “Real World ’09,” clearly an updated reference to the 1998 Matchbox Twenty song of the same name– this song is less iconic but more mature and enjoyable nonetheless.
5. “Hard on You,” has definite fuink influences, okay lyrics but interesting sound that carries it.
6. “Snowblind,” enjoyable, reminds me of the “alternative” music I listened to in high school in the early 90s.
7. “Wonderful,” is probably my favorite song on the album, its lyrics and music are sometimes representing different moods at once, and it heightens the overall effect.
8. “Cradlesong,” has strong lyrics, the kind of writing that makes me appreciate Rob Thomas as a poet.