Customer Reviews

Save Me, San Francisco

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Train is back! This record really captures a great mix of their old sounds AND new styles. Songs like "Breakfast in Bed", "Marry Me" and "You Already Know" really give off the old 'Train' CD vibe and then those like "I Got You" and "Brick By Brick" show more of the 'My Private Nation' and 'For Me, It's You' sound. There are a few tracks that sound similar to Pat's solo record but that doesn't mean that those songs aren't memorable! Overall. I was very pleased listening to the new one and after a 3 year gap, this is a very redeemable disc that should put Train back on the map! 5 stars!

I think Train have really made a mark with this record, and it's probably their best since Drops of Jupiter - which has been very hard to top! This album overall has a catchy vibe and there's a few songs that really make me smile. It's quite a happy album, with a few slower songs here and there to even it out. This is for sure their comeback album!

Save Me, San Francisco: Awesome track! It has a slight country feel to it at first, but once the song starts to move along you find yourself tapping along and wondering when Train got so much groove. I love the "oh hell no!" part. 5/5

Hey, Soul Sister: Another toe-tapper... I just fell for this song when I first heard it. Something about the bongo sort of feel at the start, and then it just builds and you get into it. It's such a fun, happy song and always make me feel cheery! 5/5

I Got You: This track is in same sort of vibe as the previous two before it. Happy-clappy sort of music and easy to listen to. 4.5/5

Parachute: This track is a slight change than the other three before, more mellow and slowing down a little. It's a great song, more like the Train I'm used to hearing. I actually think of Daughtry when I hear it - not that that's a bad thing I guess. It has some really beautiful metaphors in the lyrics. 4.5/5

This Ain't Goodbye: This tracks slows it right down... and I LOVE this song. It's beautiful. Almost on a par with Drops of Jupiter. 5/5

If It's Love: Another catchy one; I like the fast-paced lyrics. 5/5

You Already Know: It takes a full minute for this song to get moving, so it drags a bit. But once you get past the start, it picks up and ends up being a pretty good track. 4/5

Words: This starts with Pat's vocals scratching into your ear and straining all desperate-like. It's nice. Very nice indeed. 5/5

Brick By Brick: A really nice slower track. It's quite a standard Train ballad, but that doesn't make any less good. It's not really ground-breaking material but it doesn't have to. If it's not broken, don't fix it. 4.5/5

Breakfast In Bed: This is a little different to the rest of the songs. It's more mellow, and has that indie feel with hushed vocals. It's not a favourite, but it's not bad. 4/5

Marry Me: This is a great way to wind down the record. A beautiful acoustic track, just Pat's voice and a guitar. I could see this becoming a 'first dance' song for weddings especially with the line: "Marry me today and every day." Sweet song. 5/5

Don't get me wrong, I love all of Train's albums. Maybe a few more than others. There were some great songs on the past two, My Private Nation and For Me It's You, but I felt like both albums were over-produced and lacked that unique sound that was so amazing on the first two albums. Their debut album and Drops of Jupiter had, for lack of a better term, a REAL feel. As if to say "Yeah, we're singing about this really deep stuff, but we're singing about it in a way you can really relate to." Save Me San Francisco returns us to that frame of reference. The songs are witty, sometimes fun and sometimes moving (and sometimes both), and Monahan's vocal performance is more incredible than ever. A few of my personal favorites are "Parachute", "This Ain't Goodbye", and "Marry Me". "I Got You" has a rockin mash-up of The Doobie Brothers' "Black Water". The first single, "Hey, Soul Sister" is more for the mainstream radio audience, but still enjoyable. Conclusion: True Train fans are going to be pleasantly surprised! I will be listening to this non-stop for the next few months.

My initial impression is that "Save Me San Francisco" is a better CD than "For Me, It's You." There seems to be a more relaxed vibe to the songs, which is good. I read that the band wanted to get back to its roots, but I don't really hear that. I always thought that the first Train CD just had that recorded in the basement feel, something fresh and free. "Save Me" still has some of that slickness of the last two discs, but it's not trying for arena grandeur. The title track and "You Already Know" capture some of what Train used to be. The rest is good, but I don't think that I will be listening to it a lot a couple of months from now.

If only Rob Hotchkiss and Charlie Colin would come back. I think they would help sharpen the songwriting and flesh out the music. And help create that "thing" that made the first two Train CD's so memorable to me.

With their catchy melodies, sometimes profound lyrics, and Pat Monahan's rather unconventional voice, Train has, for some time, been one of my favorite bands--and one of the most underrated, in my opinion. When I heard about Monahan's solo album, I was afraid the band had dissolved, so, naturally, I was very happy to hear about this album.

What sets Train apart from many other bands is that their music sounds heartfelt and, as such, escapes from the dreadfully manufactured sound of so many modern bands. Their music covers the gamut from soulful ballads to engaging ditties.

Favorites include the following:

Hey, Soul Sister: I hear it a lot on the radio, so I'm apparently not alone in thinking that this is a very catchy tune. This song is what I like to think of as quintessential Train. Though the Hawaiian feel to it isn't entirely original these days, it contains the unique lyrics at which Train excels at writing. It's the sort of song that makes me want to dance every time I hear it, and one that only seems to get better each time I hear it.

Parachute: A sweeping romantic ballad, that invokes some very lovely imagery. This song exemplifies one of my favorite things about Train's music: their inventive use of language. I also can't resist the dramatic music and Monahan's equally dramatic vocals.

This Ain't Goodbye: This sad breakup song is the perfect vehicle for Monahan's plaintive voice.

Marry Me: Another great love song. How could any woman resist a line like "Marry me, today and every day/if I ever get the nerve to say hello in this cafe"? The stripped down sound of the acoustic guitar and Monahan's vocals make this a very personal song.

Train's music is wonderful in and of itself, but what really makes this band special for me is their writing. Their lyrics always sound thoughtful and soul-searching. I'm happy to add this excellent release to my collection of much-loved Train albums.

For those of you who say "Train is Back", I ask "where"? They lost themselves after Drops of Jupiter and based on this set of music, I don't think they found the trail of bread crumbs home. Bland, pop music. No heart; no soul. Oatmeal, not gumbo. I'm so disappointed I can't stand it. Is it bad? No. Is it good? Nope. Glad others are enjoying it. Wish I could.

I do not buy many CD's, however I saw a performance of "Soul Sister" on TV and I loved it. I bought the CD to listen to in my car.....I just love it!! 1 or 2 songs that are a little slow and forgetable, but the rest are catchy fun songs! I am a new Train fan!

Train is definitely back; Save Me, San Francisco is amazing and showcases Patrick Monahan's amazing, distinctive voice! Love the energy and heartfelt lyrics including the title track, Soul Sister and Marry Me! Can't wait to see these guys again live!!!

Train began their careers as roots rockers with pop sensibilities. They operated with a folk-like moxy that flirted with pop hooks and catchy guitar riffs. Although their debut self-titled eponymous was mediocre at best, it carried some great tunes such as "Meet Virginia," the band's first hit single. The band enlisted the help of super-producer Brendan O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Stone Temple Pilots, Incubus) for their 2001 album Drops of Jupiter, an album which personifies the band's style and sound perfectly. The album featured top-of-the-line songs with even the lesser songs shaping up as decent efforts. The band collectively won a Grammy Award for the album's title-track single for which band is best known. In 2003, the band released My Private Nation, an album that boasted a more mainstream sound but still contained some of the band's strongest material including "Calling All Angels" and "Get to Me." However, the band suffered from the departures of bassist/guitarist Charlie Colin and guitarist/bassist Rob Hotchkiss. My Private Nation was also promoted poorly with the clearly made-for-radio single "Get to Me" receiving a single release long after the album's release in 2003 and the song failing to receive a music video. As a result, the album floundered while Train's popularity seriously waned by the time their 2006 album For Me, It's You come around.

For Me, It's You featured the greatest stagnation from the band since their debut album. The tunes were too polished and generic. Lacking a defining or enduring personality, For Me, It's You failed on the charts while its two singles "Cab" and "Give Myself to You" only resonated on the adult contemporary charts. Subsequently, lead singer Pat Monahan recorded a solo album that allowed his worst tendencies to roam free. Last of Seven, released in 2007 boasted Monahan's continuous pop culture references and pop hooks. Much of the album was written by professional pop songwriters and session musicians resulting in an overtly pop album. Monahan also co-wrote two songs with pop songwriter Guy Chamber for Tina Turner's one hundred and tenth greatest hits album. In 2008, it became clear that Monahan had become a full-fledged pop musician throwing rock music to wayside. Monahan brought his new musical persona back to the long-awaited Train album Save Me, San Francisco. Plagued with a long period of inactivity, fledging popularity, the departure of two replacement musicians and a horrible album title, Save Me, San Francisco is not the album Train fans have been waiting for. It sounds far more like another Monahan solo album. The majority of the album was written by Monahan with professional songwriters while lead guitarist Jimmy Stafford and drummer Scott Underwood making two or less contributions to the songwriting, something that betrays their style of having the band members contribute to the songwriting.

Save Me, San Francisco is purely a pop album in which Train seems to be sporting to regain the popularity they lost after 2003's My Private Nation. It is overtly mainstream sound and any of the folk rock styles they previously sported seeming like an afterthought. It doesn't seem like a band album with much of its instrumentation seeming too orchestrated and over-produced. The songs are less memorable because they sound alike and Monahan's pop references becoming tiring and clichéd. The album doesn't move along, it plods up and down with forced tunes laced with professional intent for success. It seems that Train lost a big part of themselves after the loss of Colin and Hotchkiss. The addition of professional musician Brandon Bush and session/touring musician Johnny Colt helped very little with their live shows lacking the same fire (watch Midnight Moon and listen to Alive at Last, you hear the difference) and their songs lacking emotion or passion during the For Me, It's You phase. Save Me, San Francisco is another plunge into the ordinary and Monahan's pop vision. Listen to Train's "Hey Soul Sister" and Monahan's "Her Eyes" or "Two Ways to Say Goodbye" and you'll realize what you're listening to. You're not listening to Train, you're listening to Pat Monahan with pop songwriters and two band members who now act as hired hands.

Ok, I was a fan of Train...until 2001's "Drops Of Jupiter" punched my right in the stomach. It was such a disappointment that I vowed right there, while sitting in my chevy cavalier on a clear July afternoon, that I would never buy a Train album again. A bit dramatic yes, but I take my music quite seriously. "Drops Of Jupiter" was shoved into the dark depth of an obscure CD Book and I began the long process of healing. Then it happened, late 2009 my boyfriend purchased "Save Me, San Francisco" for me and I wandered back into the soulful arms of Train ( my boyfriend is now dealing with the aftermath of this action i.e. being victim to my multiple clicks of the repeat button.)

Basically, as soon as "Save Me, San Fran" hit my iPod, I was in love. Deep, glorious love. Seriously, "Hey, Soul Sister", "I Got You", "Parachute", "If It's Love", "You Already Know", "Words", "Brick By Brick", "Breakfast In Bed", and "Marry Me"....pure audio gold. From the silly Soul Sister ( "So gangsta, Im so thug"...really Pat? Really?) to the sultry and soft Breakfast in Bed, this CD is not to be missed. Do yourself a favor and pick it up. And the next time you drive past a chevy cavalier and see a girl rocking out to what sounds like musical awesomeness, just nod and exchange a knowing look, cause it just might be me enjoying an old friend. ;)