Rob Thomas is a songwriter for the people. To borrow a Depeche Mode album title, Thomas specializes in making music for the masses.
The masses love the matchbox twenty frontman and his catchy hooks, his Midwestern charm and his Top 40 stylings. When Thomas sings, his fans listen – and radio executives celebrate, because most Thomas projects include at least three big singles that surely will be in top rotation on adult-contemporary stations for months.
This is why it was big news last year when Thomas announced he was going solo. Matchbox wasn’t breaking up, he contended. It was just taking a break, and he was going to see where this solo work went.
And where did Thomas’ solo album, “Something to Be,” released more than a year ago, go? To the top of the charts, of course. It debuted at No. 1, and a year after its release, “Something to Be” was still on the Billboard 200 chart, 50-plus weeks in a row.
“I never thought it would debut at No. 1,” Thomas said recently via telephone from outside Cleveland, “and I never thought it would be as successful as it has been.”
Thomas, who brings his solo show to Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Wednesday, is modest – and a good liar on top of that. Add up the sales of matchbox twenty records with those of the other projects for which he’s written, and it totals more than 75 million records sold.
That’s a lot of hits, from “3AM” to “Unwell” to Santana’s “Smooth” to his solo singles “Lonely No More,” “This is How a Heart Breaks” and “Ever the Same.” His sound isn’t so much distinctive as it is palatable – FM-flavored candy for daily commutes, housework and Friday nights on the town.
But that’s also a lot of CDs Thomas has helped sell. When a songwriter starts moving units with that kind of proficiency – Sept. 10 will mark the anniversary of matchbox twenty’s debut, “Yourself Or Someone Like You,” which has sold more 12 million copies – the industry takes notice. This is why Thomas is one of the most decorated singer-songwriters of his generation, and why industry types held their breath to see how his solo record fared.
Obviously, they need not have worried.
“This took a lot more of my time than I thought it would at the start,” Thomas said. “I just don’t think I ever saw myself a year and a half later and still being on the road with this. Now people are talking about another single, but I’m not going to have a hand in it.”
The success shouldn’t have surprised anybody, especially Thomas. Of the 12 songs on matchbox’s debut, he wrote nine. (He co-wrote the other three with various members of the band.) Of the 12 songs on the band’s last record, 2002’s “More Than You Think You Are,” Thomas wrote half of them alone. (The hit “Disease” was Thomas’ collaboration with Mick Jagger.) Many called matchbox Thomas’ machine, so it followed his solo project would sell.
But given his solo success – and the fact matchbox hasn’t released a record for four years – fans are lamenting the potential demise of the behemoth pop act.
Worry not, Thomas says.
“It’s not like we ever broke up,” he said. “The next project I’m a frontman for will definitely be matchbox, but I don’t know how long that’s gonna be. I wanna take a break from performing to create, write and produce.”
Thomas is playing some matchbox twenty songs on this tour, which he’s co-headlining with Jewel. He’s singing them in an acoustic format, the way they were written. But he avoids certain songs.
“There are songs I wrote with Kyle (Cook) and with Paul (Doucette), and I love those songs, but I wouldn’t play those songs solo – it seems disrespectful,” he said. “But there are songs I wrote for matchbox, and they make sense for me to play, and so I play different versions on different nights.”
Thomas said it would be realistic to have a new matchbox record by 2007. Until then, he can’t wait to call up country star Kenny Chesney when the tour is over. “I’m getting him over to my house,” Thomas said, “and we’re gonna start writing on his record.” The move is typical for Thomas, who has worked with Willie Nelson and Phil Vassar as often as he has worked with Marc Anthony and Bernie Taupin.
“It’s fun to not be specific,” Thomas said about his various collaborations. “It’s great to be working with hip-hop and Latin and country guys and spread yourself out.”
Pop music critic Ricardo Back can be reached at 303-820-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
Rob Thomas
Top 40|Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday with Jewel and Toby Lightman|$48.50-$58.50|ticketmaster.com, 303-830-8497
