''Yourself or Someone Like You'' is the debut album by American rock band

Matchbox 20 Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, ...

. It was released on October 1, 1996, by Lava Records and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

Composition and release

The album features a sound similar to traditional rock and

post-grunge Post-grunge is a derivative of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s rock bands such as Bush, Candlebox and Collective Soul that emulated the ...

. The album features themes of

adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the ...

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, loneliness,

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

psychological abuse Psychological abuse, often called emotional abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another person to a behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumat ...

, humiliation, depression, anger, and alcoholism. According to Rob Thomas, the album's title was originally to be ''Woodshed Diaries''. However, that changed when Thomas and Paul Doucette were at a woman's musical performance at Café Largo when the singer said "this song is for you, or someone like you". They loved the phrase so much that they insisted on changing the album's title, despite the fact that 3,500 copies of the album with the original title had already been made. Their labels agreed, however the name change resulted in the album's release being delayed. The album sold a mere 610 copies in its first week, but eventually went on to sell several million copies in the United States. ''Yourself or Someone Like You'' became one of the few albums to achieve the prestigious

Diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

certification, and it was also certified multi-platinum in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. To date, the album has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide.

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 - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

, 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 emotional distress. Torres justified the delay in suing Matchbox 20 by claiming he had first seen the album photo within two years of the litigation. Torres died in 2016 at age 73.

Track listing

Original release

Australian limited edition bonus CD

Personnel

Matchbox 20 * Rob Thomas – lead vocals; acoustic guitar on "Hang" *

Kyle Cook David Kyle Cook (born August 29, 1975) is an American musician best known as a member of the band Matchbox Twenty, serving as the lead guitarist, banjo player, backing and occasional lead vocalist. Career Matchbox Twenty Kyle Cook joined Matc ...

– lead guitar, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "Hang" * Adam Gaynor – rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

Brian Yale Brian Joseph Yale (born November 14, 1968) is an American musician who is the bass guitarist for the band Matchbox Twenty and has been nominated for four Grammy Awards. Early life and education Yale grew up in Orange, Connecticut. He graduated ...

– bass * Paul Doucette – drums Additional musicians *

Matt Serletic Matthew Michael Serletic II (born 1970 or 1971) is an American record producer, songwriter, and music executive. Career As a teenager, Serletic joined a band with members of Collective Soul, a group for which he would later produce. Serletic ...

– keyboards, percussion *Elizabeth Burkhardt – bassoon and woodwind leader on "Back 2 Good" *Amy Porter – flute on "Back 2 Good" *Yvonne Powers – oboe on "Back 2 Good" *Ted Gurch – clarinet on "Back 2 Good" *Douglas Smith – bass clarinet on "Back 2 Good" Production *Matt Serletic – producer, mixing engineer *Jeff Tomei –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

*Travis McGehee - engineer/mixing engineer *John Nielsen – assistant engineer *Greg Archilla – mixing engineer *Malcolm Springer – assistant mixing engineer *

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

–

mastering engineer A mastering engineer is a person skilled in the practice of taking audio (typically musical content) that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distr ...

*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 Chris Cuffaro (born April 14, 1960) is an American photographer. Primarily known for his portraits of musicians, Cuffaro has photographed Michael Hutchence, Henry Rollins, George Michael, George Harrison and Jane's Addiction, among others. He ...

– band photo

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yourself Or Someone Like You Matchbox Twenty albums 1996 debut albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Matt Serletic