Tim Brough's Black Leather Bookshelf

Back On Track
4 Out Of 5 Stars

"Save Me San Fransisco" was a somewhat prophetic title for Train. For many, the band had been written off, even the members themselves were in the throes of doubt. What's a band in trouble to do? Get back to their roots. The reward was one of the biggest singles of 2010, a million selling album, and a band that suddenly were everyone's golden boys.

"Save Me San Fransisco" is a journeyman's effort, filled with breezy melodies and a free spirited sound. They even lift a few lines of another San Fransisco band, The Doobie Brothers' "Black Water" to reference their home city one more time (on "I Got You"). In fact, pop cultrure references are all over the album: Winger, Madonna, Mr.Mister, the Fillmore, Sonny and Cher (yeah, check your cool-meter at the door, folks) that come off as catchy as they are corny. After all, if they can pull off the rhyme of "Hey Soul Sister, ain't that Mr Mister on the radio?" and get you to believe they mean it, then Train has got more going on than most bands who want you to take them ever so seriously.

Lead singer Pat Monahan delivers the goods vocally, too. He's just earnest enough to make "Marry Me" transcend its sappy wedding bells tale, yet can make the travelogue of the title track feel like both a confessional and a plea to Train's old fans to remember the band and the good times that the likes of "Drops Of Jupiter" did in the early 2000's. "Save Ne San Francisco" does that and more. It's not only a great return to form for Train, it's one of the better pop albums you're likely to hear from this decade.

When You Move Me, Everything Is Groovy
5 Out of 5 Stars

Proving that "Save Me San Francisco" was no fluke, Train roll on with their career's second act with "California 37." They've matured into a first class pop band, wielding hooks alongside an often bizarre sense of humor. Kind of like Maroon 5, but without the teen-idol thing going on. They're even smart enough to self-reference their surprising comeback on the opening song by giving lead singer Pat Monahan the opportunity to give both a history of his life and the evolution of Train in under four minutes, but to thank the band's fans and then do it all without the least bit of irony. "This'll Be My Year" alone would put the album at 4 stars just for compositional value alone.

However, "California 37" has plenty of other charms. There's the twisted "50 Ways to Say Goodbye," in which Monahan cuts down an ex-lover by singing "How could you leave me on Yom Kippur?" The mariachi inspired horns on "Drive By" (a great single, by the way), lift that song into a fun and unusual direction, and the title track again turns to Train's fans and thanks them for being there when the band wasn't in the spotlight.

Relationships are also put to the test, song-wise, including "You Can Finally Meet My Mom," sung as a plaintive love song with a straight face. Country singer Ashley Monroe sings along in a duet about old flames getting back together in "Bruises," made ironic by the fact that both parties are coming down from bad relationships. Train keeps making these very standard sounding pop songs that have crispy tops, so the temptation to call "Highway 37" perfect is awfully close. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. At the very least it's a 4.5 just on the unconventionality of the lyrics and the fact that I've been listening to it for over a year without getting tired of it.