Matchbox Twenty Exile on Mainstream (2022 Reissue) 2LP

The first compilation album from Matchbox Twenty was originally released in 2007 and featured six brand new songs including "How Far We've Come" plus 11 of their most popular tracks like "Push", "Bent," "Unwell" and more.

Matchbox Twenty immediately established themselves as one of modern pop-rock's most popular and talented new bands with the arrival of their blockbuster debut album, 1996's Yourself or Someone Like You. The album generated five extraordinary hit singles - including "Long Day," "Back 2 Good," and "3 am" - on its way to RIAA Diamond Award certification for total U.S. sales now exceeding 12 million. Two further multi-platinum albums followed, with 2000's Mad Season and 2002's More Than You Think You Are each spawning a steady stream of hugely successful singles, including such chart-topping favorites as "If You're Gone," "Disease," and "Bright Lights."

In order to create something truly special for their fans, the band returned to the studio in 2007 to record their first new material in five years. Grammy-winning producer Steve Lillywhite oversaw the sessions in L.A., marking the band's first work with the renowned producer - whose credits include the likes of U2, The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, and many others. Out of the session came six brand-new songs, turning the package into a new EP with a bonus of 11 Matchbox Twenty hits. The new tracks also marked their first recordings as a foursome.

Exile on Mainstream...is not only the first of their albums to bear a simple yet clever title, it's a collection of hits that traces their progression into a good, solid mainstream band and is also buttressed by an EP that finds them livelier than ever... when these moments are put together as a hits collection, it makes for a surprisingly entertaining batch of mainstream rock.