X2 Drops Of Jupiter/ My Private Nation

Overall Review: Two great albums for the price of one.Drops Of Jupiter:Drops Of Jupiter is the second album by Train and it continues in the country-influenced folk rock of the band’s self-titled debut. The album achieved platinum success, continuing the band’s popularity, largely thanks to the success of “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)” as a top 20 single and the follow up success of “Something More,” which continued the band’s upward commercial trajectory. Artistically, the album is a progression from the debut in that it contains some excellent album tracks and greater production values, and it also includes a mildly amusing video about the making of the album which finds the band in expansive form (Pat Monahan is particularly deadpan as an unreliable narrator). Of particular interest is that the band’s big hit from this album came after a long spell of writer’s block, which would inspire the band to keep trying to write a hit song that would make their album feel complete in the future. The album showed growth, was successful, and contains a variety of intriguing tracks. What follows is a track-by-track review.She’s On Fire – The third single from the album and a minor hit, this song shows the band’s continuing interest in portraying and analyzing women in the context of romance and a mixture of admiration and suspicion. It has a memorable title, good guitar work, and some excellent vocal harmonies and could very easily have been a massive country hit, in a good way.I Wish You Would – This bluesy roots rock song finds the band lamenting love lost, with some excellent harmonica playing to complement the generally melancholy gin soaked lyrics. One suspects that the evenhandedness of the song reflects a dysfunctional relationship with two people afraid of commitment, not a particularly unlikely situation for some people to be in.Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me) – This moving piano ballad was a well-deserved smash hit about a man musing about a woman with a tendency to roam, galactically speaking, with more than a hint of world weariness and longing. Its lush springs and intriguing lyrics hint at depth, detail, and enough New Age mysticism to capture a wide degree of interest. Over and over again the narrator asks if his lady love missed him while she was looking for herself.It’s About You – This song has some sparse instrumentation, contains a sly hinting reference to Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” in its chorus, and shows a somewhat clumsy attempt to show honor to a woman that the narrator appears to consider as a no-strings attached fling. The singer promises fun and a “freefall” for his intended, but his unwillingness to talk about what he’s done is a bit ominous in terms of long-term success.Hopeless – This deeply melancholy ballad, my favorite song from the album, is a natural follow-up to the previous song. The singer apparently developed feelings for his fling (she of the “secret midnight calls”) and finds that he suspects she has been unfaithful and playing with him. The result is a mournful but beautiful examination of heartbreak that still contains hope (perhaps hope against hope) that they will become a couple. This song honestly and painfully paints a picture of alternating despair and longing, and does so with immense sincerity.Respect – This song is a driving mid-tempo roots rock song about respect. It includes some of Monahans’s trademark covert white boy rapping (not that there is anything wrong with that) and obviously strives for a soulful vibe that is a bit more slight because of its repetitive chorus and bridge than most of the rest of this album, but it is effective and enjoyable album filler that manages to reference other songs that are an obvious homage. The sax work is excellent, though.Let It Roll – This song returns the album to a slower (perhaps even languid) pace, with its guitar work showing a distinctly country vibe. The song captures the feeling of a lonely late night drive full of melancholy pondering about what the narrator is missing and longing for which is, perhaps obviously, love. The song reflects on the passage of time and on love lost, and was probably written while the band was lonely and on the road.Something More – This track, the second single from the album, was a well-deserved hit with a driving message of dissatisfaction with a dysfunctional relationship that finds the narrator looking for something more, trying to call a girl who will not answer or return his calls, and sleeping way too much (presumably out of depression). In terms of its frustration and desire for a reversal, it resembles the Police hit “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” and its melancholy strings and heartfelt lyrics make it a memorable and excellent song.Whipping Boy – This song features some distorted guitar, a driving drumbeat, and some lyrics about respect that would not be out of place on an album a band like Stand, where the narrator’s willingness to bear the brunt of his partner’s anger appears to be more than a little ironic. Given the narrator’s earlier reluctance to come clean about his own behavior, it seems a bit odd that he would be so hard on a partner, but the instrument work is fine as usual on this album even if the lyrics are a bit unsatisfactory.Getaway – The emotional rollercoaster of the album continues with some fuzzy guitar work that backs lyrics about the narrator’s desire for a former lover to come back to him, even if she has been disloyal to him. The narrator simultaneously longs for his partner to come back so he doesn’t have to be alone while simultaneously talking about how he needs to be over her, and that his holding on to her can’t be wrong if she indeed comes back to him. Like much of the rest of the album, it features a strong ambivalence of moods ranging from desperation to despair.Mississippi – This song, one of the band’s many noble songs about state names (Meet Virginia, Idaho, etc.) ends the album on a suitably downbeat mood where the narrator appears to have resigned himself to the fact that his former lover does not flow for him any longer. The song contains some smooth trumpet work from the lead singer, but some downcast and gloomy lyrics that accurately reflect the heartbreak of unsuccessful romance.As a song cycle, this song is an unhappy and melancholy album about a failed attempt at finding love. The album veers wildly between hope, a sense of fun in doing the wrong thing, and a lot of angsty and unhappy and melancholy reflections on the repercussions about loving the wrong person. As this is a fairly common experience in life (unfortunately) the bright mood of its first single appears to have captured a lot of interest that was sustained by a fuller and sadder perusal of the album’s full sweep of emotions ranging from initial flirtation and romance to the long chain of dysfunctional patterns of communication and the inevitable and unhappy conclusion.My Private Nation:The third album of Train, this album marked a change in Train as a band, where there was a distinct shift from a rootsy country-influenced rock sound to a sound much more influenced by adult contemporary elements. The album did not cause any loss of support, as it had three hit singles (the first one being the smash hit “Calling All Angels”) and went to platinum just like Train’s previous two albums, a rare chain of success for a band in the contemporary music scene. The album itself, as might be expected, continues a focus on love and relationships, but also shows some surprisingly large political interests, with a bit of a tougher edge (especially on the album’s title track). All in all, this album was a worthy and successful album where Train’s sound matured but showed some surprising grit as well. What follows is a track by track review.Calling All Angels – The first single, and big hit, from this album, was a driving and meditative song with a big message. The song, with its desire for optimism and its rumination of the lack of safety all around the world, struck a definite chord with radio audiences, and deservedly so. Perhaps of most interest is the desire of the narrator for help from another place given the inability of human beings to get right.All American Girl – This song contains Train’s typical pop culture references (“Sexual Healing” again, among many others like Patrick Swayze) and offbeat wordplay, and an upbeat beat and an ironic appreciation of an overly bossy and demanding lover. The song itself was not gallant by any means, but perhaps most people judged it by its perky music and sunny title and did not pay too much attention to its lyrics about an unsatisfactory relationship.When I Look To The Sky – The album shifts in tone to this elegiac and lovely piano ballad to a departed (perhaps deceased) loved one. This song was the second single from the album, a moderate hit, and my favorite song from the album (so good it appears twice). The song reflects love, longing, and image of lonely sailing. These are not necessarily original concepts, but they are expressed in a beautiful way, showing the persistence of memory despite life’s ups and downs.Save The Day – This song features more white boy rap from Pat Monahan, with some fuzzy guitars where the narrator seeks to find love with a woman without the desire to save her. It contains suitably nationalistic (and even international) geographical references, and if it is album filler, it is enjoyable and witty album filler, which is not something to complain about when it is done with such panache. Given the fact that the song fits into the general concerns of salvation (of a sort) and a larger world scope, it manages to be both light and insubstantial but also thematically relevant.My Private Nation – This song is remarkably punchy, with a sense of defiance towards someone (probably a loved one) that contains references to travel (including a private jet and a bus) and reflects the loneliness of someone who feels that life drags them down but lacks the patience to deal with others and their differences. Despite the song’s fierce message, it manages to convey the isolation that comes from being private and lacking genuine relationships with others, which appears to be a consistent theme of this album.Get To Me – The third single from the album, and a minor hit, this song contains a lot of amusing and sometimes nonsensical appeals for a partner to get to him by any means possible from a camel to the wings of a nightingale to a jet airplane or a limo. It seems that this song is the other side of the tension of the previous song, where a fierce loneliness is countered by a desperate longing for love and intimacy. This whipsawing tension appears consistent throughout Train’s body of work, and accounts for their remarkable ambivalence towards relationships despite their obvious romanticism.Counting Airplanes – This song (which contains the album’s second reference to shaving legs) is another musing on isolation and the struggle to find intimacy in a world where the narrator’s fame and popularity lead to a lot of insincere flattery and the difficulty in finding real and genuine relationships. The title and general interest of travel of the album relate to the mood of the album and its attitude about universality and travel, making it a notable album track in supporting the larger concept of the album.Following Rita – This intriguing and moody mid-tempo guitar and piano ballad reflects a persistent, but somewhat ambivalent, attitude towards love and relationships. Despite its repetitive chorus and its mysterious verses, it manages to capture a mood of traveling and loneliness and the desire for love and family and the sadness of leaving loved ones behind, a common concern, it would appear, among rock & roll musicians who are also parents and spouses.Your Every Color – This midtempo song reflects a love for the changing moods of a lover, reflecting a loyal love (or at least attempting to). Given that the lead singer/songwriter of the band is a person of many moods, it is unsurprising that he would have a strong interest in a moody partner. That said, this is a suitable song in appreciation of staying with someone and appreciating the full range of their personality and moods rather than desiring a monochromatic partner.Lincoln Avenue – This piano ballad manages to strike a mood that seems like Ben Folds in its reflective mood about relationships and the absence of maturity and features a touching and vulnerable vocal track with a few falsetto parts and a classic rock guitar bridge. This is a song that would have made a touching single, if a somewhat out of left field choice. The choice of title, given the struggle with finding domestic bliss, seems a bit ironic, but it reflects an interest in means of transportation, at least.I’m About To Come Alive – This song, which inspired the name of the band’s first live album (“Alive At Last”) is a country rock song in the vein of the band’s first albums. It features the understandable appeal for the narrator’s partner not to give up on him. With excellent backup vocals and a message of patience that seems at odds with some of the other songs of this album, it is a fitting closing to an album and an excellent track.When I Look To The Sky (Radio Edit) – Not very different from the album cut, but with slightly different production, this song is a bonus track that closes the album. Since the song is such an enjoyable one, it’s not a bad thing to hear it twice.Overall, this album is intensely ambivalent in mood and approach. The song contains songs that are fierce and ungallant towards loved ones, but also full of longing for genuine love and intimacy, a desire to have a rooted and settled place and a wanderlust that includes numerous songs about travel and means of transportation. It is a song that is intensely personal and relational and yet also concerned with wide appeal throughout the United States. It seems as if Train could not determine what they wanted to say, or were unaware that their longings and pulls were so ambivalent. It is perhaps little wonder that this album was the peak of their popular success in their initial period and that personal and professional breakups would follow given the fact that this album appears pulled to the breaking point between a desire to hold on and let go, or even push away.

If like me you are a late to the game Train fan and you prefer your tunes less compressed and lossless, this is an economical way to catch up on your Train collection. Save at least two bucks versus buying them separately!

This is a good quality product. It more than met my expectations. It arrived on-time and with no issues.

Good tracks. Fans and soon to be fans will enjoy this album. Easy listening and pop sound, go for it!

Gifted to a Monahan fan

To me it is OK, not something that I want to listen too all of the time. Reminds me somewhat of old heavy metal rock, which I am less into these days.

This was my first Train purchase and I thought I would recognize more songs than I do. I also thought I would like more of the songs that haven't gotten any air time. It's OK.

I loved this duo of CD's. I am a huge fan of of Train so I really love it. Listen to the lyrics. They are brilliant.

I love train they are so versatile yet each track is as good as the last one a must for any train fan