Paying tribute to the city that helped launch their career, Train’s new album Save Me, San Francisco revisits the down-to-earth musical foundation that first made them famous.
“Hey, Soul Sister” was released as the first hit single from the album. Meant to build anticipation for the CD,, the song is reminiscent of the well-known “Drops of Jupiter” with an added infusion of Jason Mraz folk.The song has a sweet and catchy tune, setting the bar high for the rest of the album.
The band continues to play to the adult contemporary audience with classic rock references to the “Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers, as well as Sonny and Cher. In the groove-based melody, “I Got You,” frontman Pat Monahan sings, “I got you like Sonny and Cher, you know I’ll be there/ I got you, let old black water bring us together.” The nostalgic touch brings the band back its melodic rock roots.
Train also uses their musical expertise to incorporate a new variety of instruments. The band traditionally uses a lot of keyboard, as well as both acoustic and electric guitars. The titular track, “Save Me, San Francisco,” expands string instrumentation to experiment with traditional folk string instruments such as the ukulele and mandolin.
Monahan continues to give a stellar vocal performance. His voice is a Train trademark that easily blends with the orchestral instrumentation to create a potent, powerful combination.
Like in the mega-hit “Drops of Jupiter,” Train continues to utilize a full orchestra. “You Already Know” utilizes a complete string section to build a solid classical framework, yet juxtaposes it with an electronic keyboard. The result is a combination of the classic and the pop-experimental that listeners will love. “You Already Know” is a progressive song that may become the basis for future Train hits.
While “You Already Know” successfully combines old and new, “Breakfast in Bed” does not. The sound is too synthesized and sounds horribly fake. It is not representative of the band’s roots, and takes away from the proposed musical direction of the album.
While love is a common lyrical theme, Train doesn’t focus on the fairytale aspect. Instead, the major theme of the album is one of devotion and promise. Take, for example, the lyrics to “Brick by Brick: “If we hold on to each other/ We’ll be better than before/ And brick by brick, we’ll get back to yesterday.” The lyrics are not strictly talking about a girl; they are talking to the band’s devoted fans. With their fifth album, Train is returning to their musical home.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, drummer Scott Underwood discussed how pleased he is with the outcome of the band. After a three-year hiatus, several solo projects and various band restructurings, everything came back together.
“Now I feel like our feet are back on the ground, finally,” he said.
Train fans will be pleased with the band’s new album. Although there are some rocky sequences, the overall product is agreeable. It’s obvious that Train has learned what works and what does not work in their music, a fact exemplified by their career highs and lows. Save Me, San Francisco serves as a comeback album as it revisits the successful points of the band’s history and aims to reassert Train’s popular ranking in the adult contemporary genre.
3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
