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Train
Train
(Aware)
First Appeared in The Music Box, December 1998, Volume 5, #12
Written by John Metzger
Train's self-titled debut, which was released by Aware Records earlier this year, is one of those discs
that seems to improve with age. The powerful vocal presence of singer Pat Monahan
combines perfectly with the band's infectious melodies. Together, they unite to create gripping, yet
radio-friendly, roots-rock anthems.
Train began as a duo and was formed in San Francisco in 1994 by Monahan and guitarist Rob
Hotchkiss. Since then, the band has expanded with the addition of guitarist Jimmy Stafford, bassist
Charlie Colin, and drummer Scott Underwood. The quintet quickly became a staple on the Northern
California music circuit and garnered enough attention to land opening sets for Cracker in San
Francisco, Blues Traveler in Berkeley, and the Neville Brothers in Chicago and Los Angeles.
It certainly doesn't hurt for a young band to have a little help from its friends on its
debut disc. In Train's case, Counting Crows' guitarist David Bryson was hired to mix the album, which also features
the Crows' Charlie Gillingham on keyboards. Given their presence, it's not surprising that Train
approaches its music with a Counting Crows-like, guitar-driven sound, while also drawing liberally
from the songs of Blind Melon. Yet, the group manages to add enough of its own personality to make its endeavor worth
seeking out.
The irresistible songs run the gamut from the bubbly groove of Meet Virginia to the raging
bombast of If You Leave to the quietly introspective Blind. Throughout self-titled affair,
Monahan carries the songs with his passionate vocal delivery, but the rest of Train magically rises to each
occasion with music that effortlessly matches and complements the mood.
Homesick begins as a lonely Joni Mitchell-style folk song before it is transformed into an
aching anthem that pleads for forgiveness. The beautiful ballad Blind blends the folk music
of Tracy Chapman with the Counting Crows' Anna Begins. Shimmering guitar chords rake a dark,
blues-influenced landscape on Idaho, and Southern rock comes to the forefront on Free,
as sleek guitar lines ride upon a bounding bass rhythm, only to coalesce in the song's thunderous chorus.
Train's eponymous outing is quite an impressive debut; it is filled with songs that will seem familiar from the moment that
they first are heard. Yet, each meticulously-crafted track contains plenty of rewards that will quickly reveal
themselves even as the grooves become implanted in your brain. Train is certainly a band to keep an
eye on as its songs carefully walk the fine line between being radio-friendly and respectable.  ½
Train is available from Amazon.com.
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 1998
The Music Box
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