California 37: Mermaids Of Alcatraz Tour Edition

After the success of their comeback album “Save Me, San Francisco”, Train decided to stay close to California and released another album with a similar focus on the wine-growing areas outside of San Francisco. This album was not quite as successful as their previous one, but it still had some big singles, even if those singles were more focused on the Adult Top 40 and Adult Contemporary markets. In many ways, this album marks an elaboration of and a continuation of the previous one. It explores love and family, the bruises one has from past relationships that have gone wrong, and the desire for a new beginning and a fresh start. These are common longings, and well expressed. Now for a track-by-track review:This’ll Be My Year: The driving spoken-word song that begins this album closely resembles Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” only with a more guitar rock approach, one that blends the spoken word interests of Pat Monahan as songwriter with gentle hooks, and a love of pop culture references. This is a song that was waiting to happen, commenting on the fact that what the narrator really wanted was to find love and a sense of home. Maybe this’ll be my year.Drive By: A song about a one-night stand that is not what it appears, this is about being overwhelmed when one finds love and intimacy as a fairly shy and timid love. Surely, at least some people are like this, right? It was a well-deserved hit with its theme of romantic devotion and mid-tempo driving guitar part.Feels Good At First: This song slows down the mood in a country mood, reflecting on the fact that love feels good at first, but doesn’t always feel good. It is a soft and touching ballad with woodwinds that add to the pensive and reflective mood of the song, a suitable album track that reflects a mature experience of love, with all of its ups and downs.Bruises (featuring Ashley Monroe): This song continues the country vibe, with country singer Ashley Monroe, of the last song. The song talks about running into someone one knew in the past to reflect upon the bruises and wounds and losses that one gains over time as a romantic person in a cruel world that does not reward our faith in love or in the wisdom of our own hearts. This song was a mild hit on Adult Top 40 and Adult contemporary radio, and could have been a country hit as well, with its acoustic vibe.50 Ways To Say Goodbye: One almost feels guilty for liking this song. It features ludicrous ways for a partner to die as a way of lying about the fact that she left and wants nothing more to do with the narrator, a person who really doesn’t know how to say goodbye well (we all know people like that, I suppose), mariachi instrumentation, and references to Yom Kippur. It was also a hit single among those who didn’t entirely realize how sad this song is despite its fast tempo, or were laughing at the narrator. Some us feel too guilty to laugh, I suppose.You Can Finally Meet My Mom: This is a song about putting away the clutter that we often use to fill our lives and making time in our lives for those who mean the most to us. With pop culture references aplenty, a common Train phenomenon, a gospel choir singing the title over and over again, this is a song about the importance of finding love and settling down, with a wistful whistling to go along with the general mood of the song.Sing Together: Another song about marriage, this ukelele-based song (much like “Hey Soul Sister”) compares a loving life in marriage to singing together in a beautiful duet. It is a fitting metaphor for a song that appears like it was made to be sung at wedding receptions for people with similar romantic inclinations to the band. The close of this song is very sweet and lovely as well.Mermaid: The fourth of the songs on this album to become a radio hit, this song is funny and full of humorous inside jokes about treasure maps and pirates and, well, mermaids. It’s not surprising that this hook-filled power pop number became a hit, but it is a bit surprising that is was buried so deep in album, just to give a reference to Alcatraz and to serve as the inspiration for among the funniest tour titles ever: “Mermaids of Alcatraz.”California 37: This song is pretty fierce and serves as the true state of Pat Monahan reflecting on the hard work that it took for Train to become a relevant rock & roll act, showing a literal and metaphorical road, reflecting on an ex-wife and a lot of nasty critics, all with subtly distorted lyrics that befit a song about defying one’s haters and doing what one loves and finding success, and giving credit to those who stood by them when times were difficult.We Were Made For This: An abrupt shift of mood, this song with its sweet and repetitive instrumental part and lyrics soaked in love and devotion to one’s partner, this is a song for a lazy morning of cuddling in bed with a loved one while one’s kids are playing, for those lucky enough to enjoy that sort of thing.When The Fog Rolls In: The closing song of this album is a reflective piano ballad about the relationship between friends and lovers, and the fact that love doesn’t always seem to work out and when one’s path doesn’t always look clear, like a road when one is socked in by the fog. This song may be compared to “The Finish Line” and a sequel to “Half Moon Bay” from the previous album. It is a moody song, but a lovely one, perfect for those melancholy days when one is having to say goodbye to a past relationship.Overall, this album features nice elaborations and touches on what one gets used to hearing from a Train album. There is a mix of genres, including some country elements, there are excellent flourishes and instrumentation, a drastic shift in mood from devotion to melancholy to (surprisingly) anger, along with heartfelt lyrics. Four songs off of this album were worthy hits, and several more are likely to be wedding staples for a while to come. If you are a fan of Train’s music, this is a worthy album as part of their organic development from the start, even if it does throw a few curveballs to show surprise and growth.

Me and my wife's favorite band

This was my first ever Train album, and I think that it's pretty good stuff! I'm not that into other Train albums, so I think this is the only Train album I'll pay attention to. [Save me San Francisco was mediocre] Each song is interesting in its own way. The album does a nice job of including a variety of mellow songs [think Sing Together] mixed in with faster ones [think Drive-By]. Every song has at least SOMETHING about it--This'll be my Year: Fun and rockin' song! I enjoyed the intro where Pat Monahan almost sounds like he's just talking. There was only one problem--when I first began to listen to it, I hoped that when it ended, it would be rocking out. And it didn't. It also ended on a flat note, which I almost wish I could change. [4/5]Drive-by: An obvious single, and I can see why. It had a cool intro, memorable lyrics, and a great chorus [did he mention 2-ply?]--Oh, I swear to ya/ I'll be there for ya/ This is not a drive-by, I-I-I know/Just a shy guy/ Lookin' for a 2-ply/ Hefty bag to hold my I-I-I-I-I-I know [5/5]Feels Good at First: Bit more mellow than the first two songs, but I still like it. The reason why must be because the lyrics warmed my heart [specifically 'I'll learn to dance if you promise not to laugh']. [4/5]Bruises: The song that began my interest in Train. Pat sounds great next to Ashley Monroe, and I like how they both switched back and forth singing after the first chorus. And like I said, this album has a variety of songs--This one has a country feel to it, This'll be my Year had a rock feel to it, Drive-by was pop, and Feels Good at First was a mellow guitar ballad. [5/5]50 Ways to say Goodbye: I don't like it as much as a lot of other people, but it was okay. I thought it was cool to include a little bit of Mexican music during the verses. Once again, variety! [3/5]You can Finally Meet my Mom: Funny--and, at the same time, heartwarming. But Pat might have gotten a little lazy during the chorus. ["You can final eat my mom"?] [4/5]Sing Together: It's cool how Pat was able to sing a song with only three instruments--a trumpet, a ukulele, and his voice. Sweet and simple song. [5/5]Mermaid: An entertaining story about a guy who meets a mermaid on a remote island. Funny and catchy, too. [5/5]California 37: Short, but I enjoyed it while it lasted. The synthesizer used on Pat's voice sounds cool at first, but gets a little old after a while. It's also pretty edgy, even though it sometimes includes humorous lines, like "Now I'm as as happy as a flea/ All around dogs, you see". This is also the #1 anthem to people who love California [I know Pat does for sure.] [4/5]We Were Made For This: Very dark and lonely sounding, it actually sounds amazing. After a slow intro, the rhythm picks up and eventually enters an awesome guitar solo. After that, the music becomes extremely mellow, and Pat's voice sounds beautifully quiet during the last chorus. He actually almost sounds like he could be crying! The best song on California 37 BY FAR. [6/5]When the Fog Rolls in: Great last song on the album, but it kind of gets old after a while. Pat's voice here really irritates me, too. Might be my least favorite on the album. [2/5]In conclusion, this was a great album! I didn't rate a single song 1/5 stars. You could also by Save me San Francisco, but this album is probably more worth the money.

I enjoyed Train back when they became big, including enjoying seeing them in concert back when the all-time great "Drops of Jupiter" was a big hit. Their return in 2009 "Save Me, San Francisco" was a great summer album for me and my family, and I truly enjoyed most of the songs. This latest album also gets plenty of airplay in my house and car with the family, but some of the song styles are not quite for me.The first single "Drive By" is a good example. A very catchy tune, but with a borderline dance beat to it. Later on the album, "Mermaid" and the title track revisit that style. Not bad, but for sure not at all the rock vibe I would expect from these guys on uptempo songs by them.Other songs on the album are much better. Take the opening track "This'll Be My Year". As others have mentioned, it does that chronology thing much like Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" from a good 23 years back. However, it is a truly fun, catchy, "summertime driving" kind of track. "Feels Good At First" is classic-sounding Train. I also rather like the country-ish duet sound of "Bruises". "We Were Made For This" is also a very strong pop/rock offering towards the end of the album. "50 Ways To Say Goodbye" is another different sound but pretty unique--I've actually gotten to like that one quite a bit. "When The Fog Rolls In" is a melancholy but fine ending track--very heartfelt and emotional.All in all, very fun to listen to and pretty good to very good songs. Not a 5-star effort like "Save Me, San Francisco" (or "Drops of Jupiter" back in the day), but a solid 4 stars.

That I like this album isn't in doubt but how much I like it is. There is certainly a departure from their normal relatively straight forward AOR style. This album is more acoustic, a bit folky in places with a bit of country and rap thrown in, plus some latin influences along with more traditional full blown anthemic choruses. Often these different styles can surface on the same track! Having given it a couple of plays, it has certainly left me wanting more. I think they have left enough of their normal style in the mix to satisfy die hard fans but I'm not sure the change in direction will attract a new market, which is what they are surely trying to do. I think their first single off the album 'Drive In' is their fastest selling track in the USA but I'm not sure there is anything else as commercial on the rest of the album. So for me the jury is still out but I think I can fairly safely say that it will never match the irresistible consistency of 'Save Me San Francisco'. This doesnt make it a bad album though. In summary, it's worth buying to make your own mind up.

Great delivery time. CD like new for a used disk, cover what you would expect for used but still in good condition, nothing torn to wallet, all good. Thank you, recommend!! 🙂

I decided to get this album on the strength of 'Mermaid' and '50 ways'. Can only say I'm damned glad I did! Cannot fault any tracks on this album, all outstanding. For me 'You Can Finally Meet My Mom'is one of the best songs I ever heard, very emotional and uplifting. I would've bought this album for this song alone and still given it 10/10 even if the rest of the tracks were rubbish.From the first track, Train coming steaming at you at full speed, the successive tracks keep you wanting more... and boy what a journey!The album is packed full of outstanding, catchy rock songs coupled with thoughtful and at times amusing lyrics which in my eyes is the perfect combination.Simply brilliant....highly recommendedThis album, perhaps Train certainly deserve more recognition and credit on the strength of this album. I think I need to hear some more from them...

Not completely what I expected from this album. Apart from the song currently playing on the radio (Drive By), the rest of the album has a slight ballad bias and also a slight country edge to it.New:I've been listening to this album again over the last few weeks and have to admit that it's much better than I initially thought with quite a good mix of songs and lyrics.Hence the rating change from 3 to 4.

I LOVE this CD, and have had it playing in the car on long journeys for months: Mermaid has become the soundtrack of my summer!It's hands down my favourite Train CD, and is packed full of hits that you'll probably recognise from raido play (Drive By, Bruises, 50 Ways to Say Goodbye and Mermaid). I love the variety - as well as the quality - of the tracks and I can't recommend it highly enough!