For Me, It's You

by

Train

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Train's follow up to "My Private Nation" and "Alive at Last" is long-awaited and much anticipated.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Train's new release after a new assembly of band members and the drastic changes in the band, but I wasn't expecting "For Me, It's You."

Called their most "personal" and "most intimate" of all their records, "For Me, It's You" takes Train in an entirely new direction as a band. Gone are the mandolins, the catchy phrases that you're not quite sure what they mean but you love them anyway. Here are the new piano-driven pop songs, accentuated by more electric guitars and an enormous hole where the acoustic sound used to be.

Lead singer Pat Monahan's voice has continued to mature and he sound incredible on this disc. He carries every song flawlessly, creating emotion even if the lyrics are sub-par compared to the rest of the Train canon. I'm amazed at how good his voice continues to be.

New addition pianist Brandon Bush shines on several tracks ("Shelter Me," "Explanation," "Always Remember," "I'm Not Waiting in Line" to name a few), and it's fun to hear a piano so heavily favored in the mix. Bush is a talented, talented keyboardist and Train was fortunate to add him to the band. My only complaint is we don't get enough of guitarist Jimmy Stafford because everything is so piano-driven. Bassist Johnny Colt also makes some changes, as the songs have a much heavier bass influence - which is actually welcome, but again, not what one expects with Train.

The angst that has filled Monahan's life in the past year is obvious in the lyrics of the disc, as many songs address a heart breaking, leaving, or something else ending. There really isn't a lot of hope on the disc. In fact, the cheeriest song musically is the cover of "If I Can't Change Your Mind," all about a breakup because of accused infidelity that really didn't happen. But it's a great song.

Standouts on the disc are "Give Myself to You," "Shelter Me," "All I Hear," "If I Can't Change Your Mind," and "All I Ever Wanted." The latter builds to epic proportions as instruments are continually added and the song finally climaxes in a chorus that showcases Monahan's vocals and the band's beauty, backed by strings. "Give Myself" has such a great message: "When I find out who I am/I'm gonna know just what to do/When I pull myself back together again/I'm gonna give myself to you."

More differences include how the disc is mastered. On past Train albums, Monahan's voice has melded with the instruments. He was an instrument more than a voice. On "For Me," he is the voice. He's mastered more loudly than the other instruments, which works, but it is different than typical Train. My biggest complaint is how straightforward the songs are. One of Train's hallmarks was their depth lyrically. But here it's just absent. Not really any head scratchers, though "Skyscraper" is a great metaphor.

But for the most part it's all out there on "For Me." Also lacking is the band's versatility with different styles, different sounds. When I was about halfway through the album, I started to think I had already heard the songs before. There is nothing breakthrough musically on "For Me," and I'd venture to say it's even a bit boring musically. There are exceptions, "Shelter Me" for example, is a great rocky, groovy little tune that almost has a Paul McCartney influence.

Overall, Train's latest edition is their weakest disc. After all the upheaval in the band, it's acceptable. "For Me, It's You" just doesn't have the Train vibe. This disc is what I would have expected Pat's solo CD to sound like. There isn't anything wrong with that, but it's just not the Train I know and adore.

There are classic tracks on it that will be spun in my changer for a long time to come. But this is not a "Train," "Drops of Jupiter," or a "My Private Nation." There are skippable songs (for perhaps the first time), and there are some songs that just don't quite make it.

For those of you who weren't fans before, I'd highly recommend picking this disc up, because it's different than what you've heard and I daresay you'll like this, since Pat's pretty much flawless and the music is good. For us who are fans, pick it up, because it's Train and it's a good CD, just not what many of us were expecting or hoping for.

So.

A not-too-hip confession.

All apologies to U2 (Bono's self-righteous cants tend to irk me somethin' fierce, and didn't the Grammy voters get their Irishmen confused big time when they were doling out the Album of the Year trophy?!), R.E.M. (I'll always hold a warm corner in my heart for Stipe and the boys, even if their output post-Monster, 1998's unspeakably beautiful "Daysleeper" notwithstanding, has been uneven at best), and Roxette (who, now more than ever, seem poised for a monstrous, smothering, completely deserved comeback).

But my favorite contemporary band, far and away, is Train.

Here's the thing about Train that doesn't always get appreciated: They tell strong, complete stories, populated with people you instantly enjoy spending four or five minutes with, and - key, this - they funnel all of it through a conduit of really good, accessible music that makes you want more. Their 1999 self-titled debut album featured an enchanting smash called "Meet Virginia" (with its possible twist ending, depending on how you read the lyric). Their 2001 follow-up, Drops of Jupiter, was even better (helped by that once-a-century masterstroke called "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)," it nosed past Elton John's radiant, revelatory Songs from the West Coast to stand as that tough year's best album). Their 2003 effort My Private Nation, though it lacked anything with the overwhelming majesty of "Jupiter," was equally compelling and consistent.

That's why it pains me to report that their brand new record For Me, It's You is painfully, amazingly disappointing. Patrick Monahan and the boys made a concerted effort to step away from the formula - a dazzling latticework of lyrical wordplay laid atop top-notch percussion - that has served them so well in the past, and while I'm always a fan of artists stretching their legs and expanding their horizons, the record starts slow and is increasingly tough to slog through (you damn near need galoshes by the time the track number hits double digits), and you don't gain much from repeat listens. (Who knew what Train really always wanted to do was make a flippin' Coldplay record?!)

Luckily, it has a few bright spots, and thankfully the first radio single is one of them. Called "Cab," it's a piano-based, strings-laden (they're big violin fans), metaphor-heavy, slow-burning slice of comfort food, and while it's true that I initially wasn't sure what to make of it - discography-wise, having been reared on "Jupiter" and "Virginia" and "Calling All Angels" and "Counting Airplanes," it's an uneasy fit from any angle - I'm a sucker for a captivating, simple piano melody. The problem is that Train is essentially a singles act, dependent on sustained radio play, and with the exception of "If I Can't Change Your Mind" and possibly the title track, I don't hear much on this record that's going to create any traction for them.