Cradlesong (album)

Cradlesong is the second solo studio album by the Matchbox Twenty lead-singer Rob Thomas, released on June 30, 2009 by Atlantic Records. The album's first single "Her Diamonds" was a success around the world, while reaching number three in Australia and topping the Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart, meanwhile other singles "Someday" and "Mockingbird" attained success on the Adult Contemporary charts.

Cradlesong
Studio album by
Rob Thomas
ReleasedJune 30, 2009
Recorded2007–09
GenrePop rock
Length52:34
LabelEmblem, Atlantic[1]
ProducerMatt Serletic
Rob Thomas chronology
...Something to Be
(2005)		 Cradlesong
(2009)		 The Great Unknown
(2015)
Singles from Cradlesong
  1. "Her Diamonds"
    Released: April 22, 2009
  2. "Give Me the Meltdown"
    Released: June 9, 2009
  3. "Someday"
    Released: December 1, 2009
  4. "Mockingbird"
    Released: April 20, 2010
  5. "Real World '09"
    Released: July 30, 2010

The album received mostly positive reviews, with the single "Her Diamonds", a song written about his wife and her illness, receiving praise by many reviewers. The album takes a pop rock feel with a variety of sounds mixed by longtime producer Matt Serletic who is praised for smooth production of the album. It debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number #3 selling 122,000 copies, while reaching top-ten positions in Canada and Australia.

Background

On September 15, 2008, Thomas told Billboard.com that he's "probably about 80 percent done" with his second solo record, tentatively titled Cradle Songs at the time.[2] Thomas characterized the album as "the usual mish-mosh of styles, but hopefully just holding true to a bunch of good songs." with the article also mentioning that the record will nonetheless feature several tracks that "take a more global, rhythmic direction after working with South American and African percussionists." Thomas explained one such experiment:

We started off with the idea of doing a newer version of (Paul Simon's) The Rhythm of the Saints, and that kinda carried us a long way through. It gave us a whole new bed to work with, like 'How do I get my pop sensibility around this and work it into that?' It was a lot of fun. But you go through different phases when you're writing; it took a different turn, and I just followed it, too.

On February 25, 2009, it was announced via Fox News that the album's then-supposed title was Cradle Song.[3] It was mentioned, in addition, that there "are at least four hot singles awaiting radio play including 'Her Diamonds' and 'Someday.'" On the same day, Thomas announced on his official website that he has been "back and forth to Los Angeles quite a bit, mixing the new record." However, he denied the album will be released in May, mentioning it "looks like it won't be coming until the last week of June or the first week of July."

On March 2, 2009, Clark Collis of Entertainment Weekly interviewed Thomas, where he confirmed he has since shelved his initial efforts to evoke The Rhythm of the Saints, and claimed the album is scheduled for a June 30 release.[4] Having played half the forthcoming album to Entertainment Weekly, it was reported that many of the lyrics on Cradle Song center around troubled relationships, and three more song titles were revealed: "Meltdown" (described as "INXS-esque power pop" that stood out as "a possible first single"), "Fire on the Mountain" (an "epic, tribal drum-driven" track inspired by Dave Eggers' book "What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng") and the melancholic country-leaning "Getting Late" (suggested as the "set's likely closer" and what Thomas described as "a little ditty about death." in the vein of Tom Petty and Willie Nelson.) The proper magazine article added that "Someday" is a power ballad with a tinkling piano introduction reminiscent of 1980s band Damn Yankees.

On March 4, 2009, Thomas clarified on the message board of his official web-site that the album's title will be one word: "cradlesong". He announced that the lead single for this album had been chosen and a director is being sought after for the video. Thomas also announced that, at the time, he had mixed eleven songs so far and had recorded a total of twenty-seven. He confirmed a total of twelve songs will make the final cut, but added "the first pressing will have an extra 3 on it as well" and "later in the year i'm going to try to find a way to release the others, but i'll keep popping them out here and there at shows."

On March 6, 2009, minute-long snippets of the tracks "Meltdown" and "Her Diamonds" were temporarily featured on the front page of his official site. Despite being removed from the website, they are presently being featured in a RateTheMusic survey.

On April 27, 2009 the first single "Her Diamonds" was released on iTunes. The song is about his wife Marisol and her longtime illness. This was followed by "Give Me the Meltdown" on June 9, "Someday" on June 16, and "Fire on the Mountain" on June 23. All four singles were released before the album's release date on June 30, 2009. "Someday" featured in promo spots for NBC's 2009 fall season of The Biggest Loser.[5]

Rob kicked off his Cradlesong Tour in Hollywood, Florida starting on September 23, 2009 at the Hard Rock Live.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Billboard(favourable)[6]
The Boston Globe(positive)[7]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
The New York Times(favorable)[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
USA Today[12]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 7 reviews, which indicates "generally positive reviews".[13] The Billboard review said that "Thomas returns with a soaring collection of infectious pop songs that are destined for heavy rotation in 2009 and beyond". The Rolling Stone review said that "There is plenty of unexpected texture to keep your ears engaged". The Los Angeles Times review would say that "Thomas presides over a sleekly produced, constantly undulating mixture of sounds that seems designed to appeal to all of the people all of the time". The Allmusic review was also positive: "This dogged sense of purpose does result in a tighter, better record than Something to Be and even it's not a lot of fun, it's not meant to be: it's big music about big issues, even inflating personal issues to the universal". The Boston Globe review said that: "The Matchbox Twenty frontman's second solo album showcases all of his admirable middle-of-the-road gifts and offers a glimpse of the possibilities when he explores the more extreme edges". The New York Times review considered Cradlesong his second persistently polite, numbingly polished solo album".

Chart performance

Cradlesong made a positive debut on the Billboard 200 at number #3, selling 122,000 copies while "Her Diamonds" ascended up the Billboard Hot 100 to a peak of 23. As of July 12, 2015, Cradlesong has sold 493,000 copies in the United States.[14]

Track listing

All songs written by Rob Thomas, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Her Diamonds" 4:38
2."Gasoline" 3:55
3."Give Me the Meltdown"Thomas, Matt Serletic3:12
4."Someday"Thomas, Serletic, Shy Carter4:07
5."Mockingbird" 4:00
6."Real World '09"Thomas, Serletic, Nellee Hooper2:45
7."Fire on the Mountain" 5:09
8."Hard on You" 2:42
9."Still Ain't Over You" 3:09
10."Natural"Thomas, Serletic4:48
11."Snowblind" 3:53
12."Wonderful" 3:28
13."Cradlesong" 4:13
14."Getting Late" 3:27
Bonus track
No.TitleLength
15."Little Wonders" (radio version)3:33
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Sleep Till the War Is Over"Thomas, Garfield Mayor3:58
17."Believe" 3:29
German bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
18."Years from Now" 3:37
19."Remembered Well"Thomas, Frank Romano3:46
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
20."Overrun" (B-side to "Her Diamonds" single)4:12

Bonus DVD

A deluxe edition is available exclusively from Target stores in the US. Included is the original standard studio album, as well as a bonus DVD which includes interviews, plus a behind-the-scenes look at the album photo shoot and video shoot for "Her Diamonds". It can be purchased in said stores or online via Target's website.

Personnel

Charts and certifications
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References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Cradlesong - Rob Thomas". AllMusic. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  2. "Rob Thomas Gets Worldly On New Solo Album". Ultimate Guitar. 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  3. "Rob Thomas, Out of the Matchbox". Fox News. 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  4. "Rob Thomas: Talking with the artist about his new album, 'Cradle Song'". Entertainment Weekly. 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  5. Someday Songfacts
  6. "Music - Review of cradlesong". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 27, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  7. "cradlesong Album Review by Boston Globe". bostonglobe.com. 2010-05-31. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
  8. "cradlesong Review". EW. 2009-10-09. Retrieved 2010-07-07.
  9. "cradlesong Review". Los Angeles Times. 2010-05-29. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
  10. "cradlesong- Album Reviews". New York Times. 2009-10-09. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
  11. Rosen, Jody (2009-06-29). "Cradlesong : Rob Thomas : Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  12. Gundersen, Edna (2009-06-29). "Rob Thomas, Cradlesong: Rock This Cradle". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  13. Metacritic - cradlesong by Rob Thomas
  14. "Upcoming Releases: Hits Daily Double". Hits Daily Double. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015.
  15. "Australiancharts.com – Rob Thomas – Cradlesong". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  16. "Rob Thomas Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Rob Thomas. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  17. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  18. "Charts.nz – Rob Thomas – Cradlesong". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – Rob Thomas – Cradlesong". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  20. "Rob Thomas | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  21. "Rob Thomas Album & Song Chart History". Billboard 200 for Rob Thomas. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  22. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2015 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  23. "American album certifications – Rob Thomas – Cradlesong". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 12, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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