THE CD: For me, it’s you (Columbia)
PERFORMER: Train
WEBSITE: Here
LISTEN: Here

It’s hard not to like Train. Even if you think they are just a Top-40 act that pops up every few years to fill in the spaces between other songs that are on the radio way too much, you have to admit, they do write some killer songs. In fact I can’t think of better song lyrically than 2001’s “Drops of Jupiter,” which takes on Van Morrison status as far as I’m concerned.

That’s why I was so excited to pick up their brand new album “For Me, It’s You” which came out this past Tuesday. I had already bought the first single, “Cab,” which is every bit as catchy as anything they have ever put out. Singer Pat Monahan has always had a way of reaching his audience with lyrics that were so creative there was slim chance anyone else had beat him to them. On “Cab,” when he sings Sometimes I feel like I’m the only cab on the road, you can’t help but admire his ability to sink some loneliness into everyday objects.

Unfortunately that is where this album somewhat parts with Train’s previous efforts. While you could probably get by with calling Train’s previous albums inspiring (think 2003’s “My Private Nation”) this album would be considered much darker and depressing. All the while Train’s music is right on with previous efforts, and mixing that with depressing lyrics kind of takes a little of the band’s charm and spirit away. Consider the following not so great example.

Where Train’s first single, “Meet Virginia,” introduced the listener to a woman who seemed so quirky and cool you wished you could meet someone just like her and then write a song about it too, tracks like “Shelter Me,” “Explanation” and “Always Remember” make me want to say “Dude, maybe you should stay away from this woman.” Also, skip “Skyscraper” if you want to do something more productive with your life for a couple of minutes.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of good things to check out on this album. Train’s worst attempt at a pop song still beats most bands absolute best try. The first track, “All I Ever Wanted,” is Train at its best; and “Give Myself to You” is sure to end up being the next single. The title track, “For Me, It’s You,” is also a keeper and when Monohan sings Everybody’s got something they want to sing about, laugh about, cry about it’s true . . . for me it’s you — it will make you glad you took the time to check it out.

All in all “For Me, It’s You” is not the Train album I was hoping for, but it’s still worth checking out. Maybe go to Itunes (which also has an Itunes exclusive track “I Wanna Believe”) and preview the songs to see which ones would be worth it before buying the whole album. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just that I know what Train has done in the past has been great, and this is, well, just a step down, which still qualifies as pretty good. In the end though, Train may say “For Me It’s You,” and you may say for me, it’s great, but when it comes to this album for me, it’s just O.K.

– by Mark Totten

This entry was posted on Monday, February 6th, 2006 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.