My Private Nation is the third studio album by American rock band Train. It was released June 3, 2003. The album was reissued February 8, 2005, as a CD+DVD dual disc set. The album is certified Platinum in the US.[1]
Reception
My Private Nation received mixed reviews from most music critics.[3] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 61, based on 6 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[3] Allmusic editor Thom Jurek praised the band's existential lyrics and producer Brendan O'Brien's contribution to the album, stating "O'Brien's gorgeous multi-layered production [...] chromatic shadings and the textures of contemporary psychedelia are rooted in the heart of an ambitious garage band [...] he gets the sound of how big Train actually is in a context that is as aurally beautiful musically as it is emotionally and lyrically poignant".[2] Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker dubbed it Train's "finest effort yet", complimenting the band's "amusingly self-deprecating lyrics" and the songs' "surface attractiveness".[4] Sean Daly of The Washington Post noted layers of "featherweight joy" and "Hallmark-deep, guitar-driven pop", and noted lead singer Pat Monahan's performance, "[he] throws his body into every lyric and sounds like a showoff cross between Live's Ed Kowalczyk and Journey's Steve Perry".[10] E! Online commented that the band "sound[s] like a better Counting Crows (with a dreamier frontman) and less-challenging Wallflowers".[3] Despite writing that "Pat Monahan's vocals can be a bit grating and Train's material sometimes strays into Black Crowes Lite range", Chicago Sun-Times writer Jeff Wisser called the album "a greatsounding collection of slight but irresistible little poprock confections", noting "a sure sense of songcraft and a well-honed pop sensibility" in the songwriting.[5]
Q gave the album three out of five stars and stated "[Train] continues to adhere firmly to the rootsy rock of fellow travellers Matchbox Twenty and Counting Crows, while their earnest musicianship and hard work will delight fans of that sort of thing".[3] Jeff Puma of The Hartford Courant commended Train for their "sincere attempt at a positive message", but wrote "The effect, unfortunately, is schmaltz, and Train comes off as a poor man's Counting Crows".[6] Rolling Stone writer Gavin Edwards called the band "radio-ready, professional and utterly dull", commenting that "The up-tempo songs are worse than the ballads, and the attempts at lyrical sass are even worse than the sentimental cliches".[9] Glenn Gamboa of Newsday found the band's "sorta rock" style "painfully predictable" on most songs, but stated "The last three songs - the Oasis-ish 'Your [Every] Color', the '80s power-ballad throwback 'Lincoln Avenue' and the gorgeous 'I'm About to Come Alive' - finally fulfill the promise hinted at in the previous seven songs and most of the previous two albums, for that matter".[8] Despite calling them "still essentially Matchbox Twenty Jr.", Los Angeles Times writer Steve Hochman commented that the band "expands its menu beyond vanilla, with some playfulness in words and music, and producer Brendan O'Brien helping bring some imagination to the arrangements".[7]
Track listing
- U.S. Edition
|
1. | "Calling All Angels" | Charlie Colin, Patrick Monahan, Jimmy Stafford, Scott Underwood | 4:01 |
2. | "All American Girl" | Monahan, Brendan O'Brien | 3:17 |
3. | "When I Look to the Sky" | Colin, Monahan, Stafford, Underwood | 4:04 |
4. | "Save the Day" | Monahan, O'Brien | 4:05 |
5. | "My Private Nation" | Monahan, O'Brien | 3:22 |
6. | "Get to Me" | Train | 4:05 |
7. | "Counting Airplanes" | Train | 4:21 |
8. | "Following Rita" | Train | 3:44 |
9. | "Your Every Color" | Train | 4:26 |
10. | "Lincoln Avenue" | Train | 3:36 |
11. | "I'm About to Come Alive" | Colin, Rob Hotchkiss, Monahan, Stafford, Underwood, Clint Bennett | 4:05 |
Bonus tracks
|
|
12. | "Better Off Alive" | 3:15 |
Total length: | 46:22 |
|
|
12. | "Out Here in the Open" | 3:44 |
Total length: | 46:51 |
- DVD
- Entire album in 5.1 Surround Sound and enhanced LPCM Stereo
- Documentary film 21 Days With Train
- "I'm About To Come Alive" music video
- "My Private Nation" live version music video
- Exclusive footage of a rare instore performance
- Karaoke surprise appearance footage
- Band member profiles
- Discography
Charts
Album
Single
Certifications
Organization |
Level |
Date |
RIAA – USA |
Platinum |
March 6, 2004 |
Personnel
- Patrick Monahan – lead vocals, percussion
- Jimmy Stafford – lead guitar, backing vocals, mandolin
- Scott Underwood – drums, keyboards, piano, programming, percussion
- Charlie Colin – bass, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Rob Hotchkiss – rhythm guitar, bass guitar, piano, backing vocals
References
- ↑ "Radio Swiss Pop - Music database - Band". Retrieved 2018-06-30.
- 1 2 Jurek, Thom (2005). Review: My Private Nation. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2011-02-13.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 My Private Nation Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2011-02-13.
- 1 2 Tucker, Ken (June 6, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2011-02-13.
- 1 2 Wisser, Jeff (June 22, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on 2011-02-13.
- 1 2 Puma, Jeff (June 5, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. The Hartford Courant. Retrieved on 2011-02-13.
- 1 2 Hochman, Steve (June 1, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2011-02-13.
- 1 2 Gamboa, Glenn (June 3, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. Newsday. Retrieved on 2011-02-13.
- 1 2 Edwards, Gavin (June 26, 2003). "Review: My Private Nation". Archived from the original on November 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2011-02-13.
- 1 2 Daly, Sean (June 4, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2011-02-13.