Matchbox 20 - Yourself Or Someone Like You (Limited Edition) -2CD (1998)

Matchbox 20's debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You, is a professional collection of post-grunge mainstream rock. There are affectations of alternative rock in the image and sound, but Matchbox 20 relies more on standard rock & roll cliches than the average alternative rock band. For old-school alternative fans, that may be a big deal, but for a generation raised on Live and Pearl Jam wannabes, they'll sound fresh and fine. Yourself or Someone Like You may deliver the sound, but it only occasionally comes up with songs as solidly constructed as their breakthrough, "Push." Then again, perfection is rare on a debut album, but based on this record, Matchbox 20 doesn't show many signs that they would develop into something unique. [Yourself or Someone Like You is also available in an import release.]~Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine