...Something to Be is the debut solo album from the Matchbox Twenty lead singer Rob Thomas. The album was released on April 19, 2005, and it debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, knocking out Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi.
The album spawned the US top ten hit "Lonely No More". It also features John Mayer's guitar on the single "Streetcorner Symphony". The album was released in the DualDisc format, the first major album to be released that way. The album itself is certified Double Platinum by the RIAA in the US
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score =
| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly
| rev3Score = B
| rev4 = Paste
| rev4Score = (favorable)
| rev5 = Rolling Stone
| rev5Score =
| rev6 = Stylus
| rev6Score = C
...Something to Be received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 57, based on 11 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". Thomas Inskeep of Stylus Magazine gave the album a negative review (although the "C" rating reflects a more mixed attitude), calling it "mediocre" and explaining that the large part of the problem was that "Rob's a fairly generic songwriter". Inskeep continued by saying he is "one of the most processed-cheese-and-Wonder-bread guys around" and Thomas had "hopelessly clichéd lines" on the song "Ever the Same".
Kevin Forest Moreau of Paste gave the album a positive review, saying his debut solo album "certainly sounds different from the adult-alternative diet-rock of Matchbox Twenty-at least half the time". Moreau complimented the "punchy horns and a few electronic flourishes" for being on songs such as "Streetcorner Symphony". However, he criticized the "ponderous poetics...and platitudes" for being mistaken as depth.
Track listing
Target bonus CD: ...Something More
Personnel
Musicians
- Harley Allen – background vocals (9)
- Greater Anointing – background vocals (1, 2, 7, 11)
- Matt Beck – background vocals (6)
- Mike Campbell – guitar (5, 6, 8, 9), guitar solo (8)
- Cassidy – background vocals (6, 10)
- Kyle Cook – guitar (6)
- Jill Dell'Abate – horn contractor
- Mike Elizondo – bass guitar (1–11)
- Anika Ellis – additional background vocals (11)
- Pat Enright – background vocals (9)
- Brandon Fields – saxophone (4, 6, 11)
- Gordon Gottlieb – marimba, bells, and orchestral drums (7)
- Gary Grant – trumpet (4, 6, 11)
- Jonathon Haas – marimba, bells, and orchestral drums (7)
- Benjamin Herman – marimba, bells, and orchestral drums (7)
- Jerry Hey – trumpet (6, 11), horn arrangements (6, 11)
- Gerald Hayward – drums (1–6, 8–11)
- Hasan Isakkut – kanun (7)
- Kevin Kadish – guitar (1)
- Frank London – shofar (7)
- John Mayer – guitar (11)
- Wendy Melvoin – guitar (1–9, 11)
- Joe Passaro – marimba, bells, and orchestral drums (7)
- Heitor Teixeira Pereora – guitar (3, 10)
- Eric Poland – marimba, bells, and orchestral drums (7)
- Robert Randolph – lap steel guitar (4)
- Matt Serletic – keyboards, background vocals (8, 10)
- Shari Sutcliffe – horn contractor
- Rob Thomas – lead vocals, piano (12)
- Jeff Trott – guitar (1–4, 7, 8, 11)
- Dan Tyminski – background vocals (9)
- Dan Willis – dudok (7)
- Reginald Young – trombone (6, 11)
Technical personnel
- Matt Serletic – producer
- Jimmy Douglass – engineer (1–6, 8–11), mixing (1, 3–6, 9, 11)
- Greg Collins – engineer (1–11)
- Mark Dobson – engineer (1–11), digital editing
- Jay Newland – engineer (7)
- David Thornier – engineer (12), mixing (2, 7, 8, 10, 12)
- Jon Belec – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Jason Dale – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Mark Gottlieb – assistant engineer
- John Morrical – assistant engineer
- Hal Winer – assistant engineer
- Kevin Mills – assistant engineer
- Gary Paczosa – additional recording (9)
- Zach McNees – mixing assistant
- Tony Maserati – additional mixing (2)
- John O'Brien – programming
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for ...Something to Be
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! scope="col"| Chart (2005)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
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! scope="row"| Singaporean Albums (RIAS)
| 1
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Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2005 year-end chart performance for ...Something to Be
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2005)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 15
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! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 46
|-
!scope="row"|Worldwide Albums (IFPI)
|47
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2006 year-end chart performance for ...Something to Be
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2006)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (ARIA)
| 95
|}