Rhyme Over Reason: 'Nation' Pales in Shadow of 'Jupiter'

First, the good news. "My Private Nation" contains several excellent songs that will stay with you long after you hear them. My favorites include I'M JUST ABOUT TO COME ALIVE, the wistful, broken-relationship, album closer, and FOLLOWING RITA, with its poignant country twang reminscent of the "Train" album. The first single, CALLING ALL ANGELS, is definitely the catchiest on this CD, though it sounded to me like the band was trying to make a ripoff sequel to their massive single DROPS OF JUPITER by cashing in on JUPITER's spiritual, chorus-backed sound (and the same reference to the "atmosphere" in their opening lines). And therein lies the difficulty with "Nation" - it comes after one of the most amazing albums of the last 10 years, "Drops of Jupiter", and cannot even approximate the former album's strength. It was almost impossible that Train could match their 2001 brilliance with any new album, and suprising that Capitol Records did not promote more of Jupiter's songs beyond the title track. Now with "Nation", Train seems to have abandoned that brilliant formula of straightforward rock, achingly beautiful lyrics, and enough hook to keep you coming back, and replaced it with forced rhymes and meandering tunes. Song lyrics do NOT have to rhyme! Yet on several "Nation" songs, Train just dulls its output with overly-cute rhyming - most aggravatingly on the otherwise-enjoyable title track (forcing 'punk', 'junk' and 'bunk' in successive lines) and on SAVE THE DAY ('karaoke' and 'hokey pokey', anyone?) - but you will notice it throughout "Nation", as though Train is falling into one of those clever-rhyming funks a la Barenaked Ladies. Also, several of their songs borrow chord progressions FROM OTHER SONGS ON THE ALBUM - check out the middle of the Mr.Big-esque YOUR EVERY COLOR, almost indistinguishable from the same part in CALLING ALL ANGELS, and, also, the frenetic riff from the opening of ALL-AMERICAN GIRL pops up again later in a different song. We are also treated to two mentions of "shave your legs" in two different songs. What is going on here? The album is not a total loss - and I should mention LINCOLN AVENUE is growing on me as an excellent track - but most of the good stuff is on the second half of the album, making it a less-than-thrilling followup to the brilliant "Jupiter".

I think it's better

I hadn't heard Drops of Jupiter when I heard this CD and I fell instantly in love with it. I subsequently bought Drops of Jupiter and yes, it's a great CD and I can see why some people think My Private Nation is over-produced compared to it. However, this is the CD I could happily sit and listen to over and over all day. It hasn't become boring or trite and I think the lyrics and their quirks and hooks are outstanding and if you don't like a frosting of strings on a few songs, I don't think that's a reason to downgrade the effort. This one is one of my current Top Ten.

A step in the wrong direction

Following thier unbelievable success with "Drops of Jupiter", Train again hooked up with producer Brendan O'Brien for their next project. After months of song writing, recording, cutting songs, pushing the release date back, and the departure of guitarist Rob Hotchkiss, the cd "My Private Nation is released. Train's progression into a more pop influenced genre in "Drops of Jupiter" is further continued with their latest cd, however this time it is at the expense of lyrics, song writing (which used to be two of Train's best qualities), and a founding member. I suppose you really can't blame the band, after all DOJ pretty much solidified the band's space in the musical scene. Quirlky lyrics worked we;; with "Meet Virginia", and the pop sound worked extremely well with "Drops" and Mr. O'Brien did well with the last album, so why not continue down that road?

Well the result of that journey is a very subpar effort from a band once known for originality, and a classification with all those other disposable radio pop/rock groups out there like Matchbox 20 and 3 Doors Down who all sound the same. In the past, Train took on songwriting as a team effort, with ever member having influence on what was released. This cd features three songs "My Private Nation", "All American Girl", and "Save The Day" which were written by only O'Brien and Monahan, not surprisingly they are the worst songs on the cd. The lyrics on many songs are trite and contrived, two leg shaving references, and name dropping ahoy! The piano, which worked well in DOJ, just seems like it's thrown in just to be there on some songs and is really out of place.

The lack of Rob's song writing influece is very obvious between the first and second halves of the cd, in which Rob only collaberated on the last several tracks (gee I wonder why he left?). "Lincoln Avenue" and "Following Rita" get back to showing Train's ability to write really good blallads, and the lyrics to these are am uch needed well written departure from the first half of the cd. Then there's "I'm About to Come Alive", which is one of the best songs Train has ever written. Another heart felt ballad featuring acoustic guitars (I'd been wondering where those went). Just a shame it has to be on an album like this.

While "My Private Nation" has it's shining moments in the end, I'd definately recommend anyone unfamiliar with Train to pick up one of their other two cds, as they are much better. That said, a lot of people do like this cd, and if you like the single "Calling All Angels" then you'll likely enjoy this album far more than I. It's just does not suit my taste at all, and that's coming from a pretty big Train fan.