Yourself or Someone Like You
Yourself or Someone Like You is the debut studio album by American rock band Matchbox 20, released in 1996. The album features a sound similar to traditional rock and post-grunge.[4] The album features themes of adolescence, loneliness, psychological abuse, humiliation, depression, anger, and alcoholism. The album sold several million copies in the U.S and was certified Diamond, and it was also certified multi-platinum in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. To date, the album has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.[5]
Yourself or Someone Like You | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 1, 1996 | |||
Recorded | June 1996 | |||
Studio | Triclops Recording, Atlanta, Georgia | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 46:43 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Matt Serletic | |||
Matchbox 20 chronology | ||||
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Singles from Yourself or Someone Like You | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide |
Artwork lawsuit
In 2005, almost a decade after the album's release, the band was sued by Frank Torres, the man on the album's cover. Torres claimed the band never asked for his permission to use his image on the sleeve. In the litigation, Torres claimed the photo was taken as he was walking down the street after being asked to pose. He also claimed the photo had caused him mental anguish. Torres justified the delay in suing Matchbox 20 by claiming he had first seen the album photo within two years of the litigation.[6] Eleven years after the lawsuit, Torres died of heart failure in 2016 at the age of 73.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Rob Thomas except where noted.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Real World" | 3:50 |
2. | "Long Day" | 3:45 |
3. | "3AM" (writers: John Leslie Goff, John Joseph Stanley, Thomas, Brian Yale) | 3:46 |
4. | "Push" (writers: Matt Serletic, Thomas) | 3:59 |
5. | "Girl Like That" | 3:45 |
6. | "Back 2 Good" (writers: Serletic, Thomas) | 5:40 |
7. | "Damn" | 3:20 |
8. | "Argue" | 2:58 |
9. | "Kody" | 4:03 |
10. | "Busted" | 4:15 |
11. | "Shame" | 3:35 |
12. | "Hang" | 3:47 |
Total length: | 46:43 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Girl Like That" (live) | 3:57 |
2. | "Kody" (live) | 4:01 |
3. | "Damn" (live) | 3:32 |
4. | "Mercy, Mercy Me" (live) | 3:01 |
5. | "Push" (acoustic) | 4:12 |
6. | "3AM" (acoustic) | 3:56 |
Personnel
Adapted credits from the liner notes of Yourself or Someone Like You.[7]
Matchbox 20
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Additional musicians
|
Production
- Matt Serletic – producer, mixing engineer
- Jeff Tomei – engineer
- Travis McGehee - engineer/mixing engineer
- John Nielsen – assistant engineer
- Greg Archilla – mixing engineer
- Malcolm Springer – assistant mixing engineer
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering engineer
- Don C. Tyler – digital editing
- Tony Adams – drum tech
- Craig Poole – guitar tech
- Jan Smith – vocal coach
- Valerie Wagner – art direction, graphic design
- Katrin Thomas – photography
- Chris Cuffaro – band photo
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Charts (1997) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian ARIA Albums Chart | 1 |
Canadian Albums Chart | 11 |
Dutch Albums Chart | 50 |
German Albums Chart | 21 |
New Zealand Albums Chart | 3 |
Swiss Albums Chart | 46 |
UK Albums Chart | 50 |
US Billboard 200 | 5 |
End-of-decade charts
Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard 200[8] | 28 |
Certifications
Country | Providers | Certification | Sales or Shipments |
---|---|---|---|
Australia | ARIA | 10× Platinum[9] | 700,000[10] |
Canada | CRIA | 8× Platinum[11] | 800,000[10] |
New Zealand | RIANZ | 5× Platinum[12] | 75,000[10] |
United Kingdom | BPI | Gold[13] | 100,000[10] |
United States | RIAA | 12× Platinum (Diamond)[14] | 12,000,000[14] |
Singles
Year | Song | U.S. Hot 100 |
U.S. Modern Rock |
U.S. Mainstream Rock |
U.S. Adult Top 40 |
U.S. Top 40 Mainstream |
UK | AUS | CAN | CAN Alt. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | "Long Day" | — | — | 8 | — | — | — | 83 | 43 | 18 |
1997 | "Push" | 5* | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 38 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
"3 A.M." | 3* | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 64 | 31 | 1 | 1 | |
1998 | "Real World" | 38 | 13 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 119 | 40 | 5 | 8 |
"Back 2 Good" | 24 | — | — | 4 | 8 | — | — | 11 | — | |
References
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Yourself or Someone Like You – Matchbox Twenty". AllMusic. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
- Christgau, Robert (2000). "Matchbox 20: Yourself or Someone Like You". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
- Harris, Keith (2004). "Matchbox Twenty". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 519. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- http://www.allmusic.com/artist/matchbox-twenty-mn0000383889
- "Bio". Matchbox Twenty. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
- "Matchbox Twenty sued over album cover". Archived from the original on 2005-05-27.
- Yourself or Someone Like You (liner notes). Matchbox 20. Lava. 1996. CD 92721.CS1 maint: others (link)
- Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2000 Albums". Aria.com.au. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
- Various (2005). "Standard for Certifying Awards of Countries" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2009-06-17. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
- "Gold and Platinum". Cria.ca. 2011-11-01. Archived from the original on May 1, 2010. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
- "Press Releases- Newsroom". Time Warner. Retrieved 2011-12-03.
- "Certified Awards Search". BPI. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
- "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Retrieved 2011-12-03.