This came out in 2000 — or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
It doesn’t seem like it’s been four years since matchbox twenty’s first album Yourself Or Someone Like You.
Maybe that’s because the disc didn’t really take off until 1997, when Push became a hit — and after that, it never went away, lingering on the charts for more than a year and eventually selling 10 million copies. Now, as befits the kings of alterna-rock, the lads have become ridiculous and self-indulgent. First, they’ve traded in their number and lower-cased their name. Second, and more importantly, they’ve gone off the deep end on the insanely overproduced Mad Season. Yourself…’s alterna-folk simplicity and earnest provided much of its charm; here they’ve been replaced — or at least deluged — under layer upon layer of excess. String sections, multiple overdubs, precision harmonies — it all adds up to a bigger and more ludicrous production than Cats. Here’s hoping their Mad Season won’t last too long.
