Train Album: “My Private Nation”

Train's third album, "My Private Nation," could rank as their best.

From the strong opening (first single) "Calling All Angels" to the heartfelt closing "I'm About to Come to Life," this disc is packed with heartfelt yet humorous lyrics, marvelous musical and vocal work, and great beats that will get your foot tapping.

Train hasn't abandoned their sound with this release, though it is slightly different than their last release, "Drops of Jupiter." "When I Look to the Sky," "Following Rita," "Lincoln Avenue," and "I'm About to Come to Life" are perhaps the most similar to the "Drops" disc.

Highlights are "Get to Me" (Go on/hitch a ride/on the back of a butterfly/no better way to fly/to get to me) "Counting Airplanes" (I don't spend my time with anyone/who doesn't think I'm wonderful/or somewhat cash refundable at times), and "When I look to the Sky" (When I look to the sky/something tells me you're here with me/you make everything all right), and "Save the Day," (hey baby/I don't wanna be your superman/i just wanna be your man/and I'll be super, baby).

""All American Girl," "My Private Nation," "I'm About to Come to Life" and "Your Every Color" are also standouts (they all are, to be honest).

Lead singer Pat Monahan delivers another great disc of raw vocal talent (for me, he's the highlight), delving into the depths of each song, interpreting the lyrics with a heartfelt earnestness.

Though Train had a slight parting of ways midway through the process of recording this album (Hotchkiss did help write about half of the disc for the hard-core fans who were wondering), the sound and music don't suffer.

"My Private Nation" is a fully non-skip album (listen to it all the way through at least once). It's a great follow up to "Drops," and definitely does NOT disappoint. Each song is superb and the entire collection is one that you'll want to listen to over and over again--definitely pick it up.

This band has staying power; the combination of soulful lyrics, a soulful voice, and great musicians isn't easy to find. Keep it up, guys!

Calling all 40-somethings who were teenagers in the early to mid-1970s. If you think most of the popular music on pop stations now is junk (I said "most", not all), you have to hear this CD by Train. I had never heard of Train. They have appeared on a couple of late night shows lately, but I didn't stay to watch. Well, I started hearing a song on the radio titled "Calling All Angels," and the rest is history. I bought the CD yesterday and have listened to it twice all the way through. There is not one song on this CD that I don't like. "Calling all angels," "Get to me," "following rita", "your every color", and "I'm about to come alive", are my favorites right now, but every song is good.

I know being in my 40s won't help sell this to teenagers, but I have to get the word out to my generation. This is a great album. This is music!

Train is the kind of band that is growing and developing so quickly that it becomes difficult to compare My Private Nation to Drops of Jupiter. I would say that the album definetely has less diversity than their previous work, but some of the songs definitely prove the band's hold on music. I wouldn't label "Calling All Angels" the best track on the CD. Musically, its very basic and a bit boring. From what I've heard other people say about the album, it seems to me that songs like "All American Girl", "My Private Nation" and "Following Rita" are grossly overlooked. If you're a fan of real music, you'll probably end up congregating around these songs. Train definetely has found a sound, which is that fast-talk heard on songs like "It's About You" and "Whipping Boy", but I think they've played it out on this record. This monotony is more than made up for by the last four songs. The bridge of "Your Every Color" is a musical masterpiece and "Lincoln Avenue" has Paul McCartney and Wings written all over it. "I'm About To Come Alive" is a definite look back at their older songs like "Homesick." I'm more than interested to see where Train goes next.

Never mind the 1-star review this album received in Rolling Stone magazine (after all, their reviewers dislike anything that isn't Jay-Z, Beck or The White Stripes). Train came back with their third album My Private Nation, and although there are some good songs on here, this really isn't their best album.

I'm not saying the album isn't all that because I was expecting another classic like "Drops Of Jupiter". But there ARE good songs on here, especially the leadoff single "Calling All Angels". Other tracks to check for are "When I Look To The Sky", "Lincoln Avenue" and "Get To Me".

But the rest of the album doesn't really stand out. I wasn't really feeling "Save The Day", and "Your Every Color" has metaphors that are somewhere between cheesy and boring. But then there are other songs that really could have been left behind, like "All American Girl" and the weird title track.

To tell you the truth, this album seems to have an equal number of good, bad and okay songs. My Private Nation isn't a total washout, but we all know that the guys of Train can do much better.

Anthony Rupert

I bought this CD for "Angels" but it has so much more to offer. This is my first Train CD and I haven't stopped playing it since I bought it two weeks ago. I think my dog is getting sick of it, from riding with me, but I'm not! I have to agree with another reviewer, "I'm about to come alive" is a very powerful song. I think lyrically, Train is creative and fun. Each song is a little bit different. Do not hesitate to buy this - I've been extremely happy with my impulse purchase.