Date of Release: Sep 28, 2007
Genre:
Rock
Styles: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Label: Atlantic
(7567-89966-2)
AMG Review:
Say this for Matchbox Twenty
-- they've gotten better the longer they've stuck around. And that's not
just their music, either: they've dropped the pretense of spelling
their name as matchbox 20, they've gone away from cumbersome album
titles, and they've embraced their status as MOR rockers. All of this is
evident on Exile on Mainstream, which is not only the first of their
albums to bear a simple yet clever title, it's a collection of hits that
traces their progression into a good, solid mainstream band and is also
buttressed by an EP that finds them livelier than ever. Bolder, too,
especially on the rockabilly of "I'll Believe You When" and the slow
oldies beat of "Can't Let You Go," which are light and dexterous in a
way they've never been before. These are balanced by a few cuts that
don't stretch quite as far, but the propulsive pop "If I Fall," charging
anthem "How Far We've Come," and earnest ballad "These Hard Times" are
smooth, accomplished mainstream pop that are better constructed in every
respect than their earliest hits. That much is evident by this EP's
juxtaposition with the 11-track greatest-hits disc, which has all their
big radio hits presented in chronological order. There are a few minor
hits missing -- "Angry," "Last Beautiful Girl," "Downfall," none of
which climbed that high on the charts -- so this has everything that a
modern rock or adult contemporary radio listener would know, and the
striking thing about listening to the disc is to hear how they abandoned
the angst-ridden cartwheels that weighed down "Push" and built upon the
snappy hooks of "Real World" and "3 AM," developing a sense of melodic
craft that flourished in the smooth ballad "If You're Gone" and the
arena rocker "Unwell." These were highlights on their respective albums,
but when these moments are put together as a hits collection, it makes
for a surprisingly entertaining batch of mainstream rock -- but the real
story is the bonus disc, which suggests that after this collection is
out of the way, Matchbox Twenty may have their first very good studio
album on the way.
Specs: EAC / APE / Cue / Log / No Covers
Track list:
1. How Far We've Come
2. I'll Believe You When
3. All Your Reasons
4. These Hard Times
5. If I Fall
6. Can't Let You Go
7. Long Day
8. Push
9. 3 Am
10.
Real World
11. Back 2 Good
12. Bent
13. If You're Gone
14. Mad Season
15. Disease
16. Unwell
17. Bright Lights
EAC Log:
Code
EAC extraction
logfile from 3. October 2007, 14:14 for CD
Matchbox Twenty / Exile
On Mainstream
Used drive : PIONEER DVD RW DVR-108 Adapter:
0 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure with NO C2, accurate stream, disable
cache
Read offset correction : 48
Overread into Lead-In and
Lead-Out : No
Used output format : Internal WAV Routines
44.100
Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo
Use compression offset : 0
Other options :
Fill up missing offset
samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent
blocks : No
Installed external ASPI interface
Range
status and errors
Selected range
Filename H:\Toasten
2\Matchbox Twenty - Exile On Mainstream.wav
Peak level
99.8 %
Range quality 100.0 %
CRC 75DB1903
Copy
OK
No errors occured
End of status report
Enjoy!
HERE