My Amazon Reviews: Train "Save Me San Fransisco"

Back On Track
4 Out Of 5 Stars

"Save Me San Fransisco" was a somewhat prophetic title for Train. For many, the band had been written off, even the members themselves were in the throes of doubt. What's a band in trouble to do? Get back to their roots. The reward was one of the biggest singles of 2010, a million selling album, and a band that suddenly were everyone's golden boys.

"Save Me San Fransisco" is a journeyman's effort, filled with breezy melodies and a free spirited sound. They even lift a few lines of another San Fransisco band, The Doobie Brothers' "Black Water" to reference their home city one more time (on "I Got You"). In fact, pop cultrure references are all over the album: Winger, Madonna, Mr.Mister, the Fillmore, Sonny and Cher (yeah, check your cool-meter at the door, folks) that come off as catchy as they are corny. After all, if they can pull off the rhyme of "Hey Soul Sister, ain't that Mr Mister on the radio?" and get you to believe they mean it, then Train has got more going on than most bands who want you to take them ever so seriously.

Lead singer Pat Monahan delivers the goods vocally, too. He's just earnest enough to make "Marry Me" transcend its sappy wedding bells tale, yet can make the travelogue of the title track feel like both a confessional and a plea to Train's old fans to remember the band and the good times that the likes of "Drops Of Jupiter" did in the early 2000's. "Save Ne San Francisco" does that and more. It's not only a great return to form for Train, it's one of the better pop albums you're likely to hear from this decade.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Aerosmith "Permanent Vacation"

One Sober Comeback
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Despite the fact that the newly sobered Aerosmith released "Done With Mirrors" to a collective yawn, the band knew they were on to something when their guest appearance on Run DMC's cover of "Walk This Way" got the band back on the radio and MTV. In fact, if you read Steven Tyler's biography "Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?: A Rock 'n' Roll Memoir," he barely even mentions "Mirrors." The reason might just be that "Permanent Vacation" both buried "Mirrors" in its wake and took advantage of nostalgia the Run DMC turn had ginned up for the group.

"Permanent Vacation" pulled all the stops: hot producer Bruce Fairbairn came into the studio to slicken the band up, hired gun songwriters Desmond Child and Jim Vallance (who usually wrote for/with Bryan Adams) churned up the hooks, and both Tyler and Joe Perry were in top form. They also entered the world of 80's power ballads with "Angel," which put them back into the top ten for the first time in over a decade. The band had sharpened up considerably since going sober, with songs like "Hangman's Jury" and the cover of The Beatles' "I'm Down" taking the band back to their roots.

More to the point, Aerosmith was no longer afraid of an obvious hit single. Both "Rag Doll" and "Dude Looks Like a Lady" kicked out of any radio station with ear-shattering force. Their willingness to also embrace some fresh quirks (the Caribbean goofiness of the title track or the slick horns and strings that pop up throughout the disc) made clear that Aerosmith was both back and hungry to establish themselves back at the top of the American Rock Heap. "Permanent Vacation" was the first half of a mammoth one-two punch that "Pump" completed the clobbering (and became their first top ten album since the classic "Rocks").

   

My Amazon Reviews: The Bangles "Sweetheart Of The Sun"

Back with a Bang
4 Out Of 5 Stars

A surprisingly spry and energetic comeback, The Bangles' "Sweetheart Of The Sun" picks up right where their jangle-pop classics from the 80's left off. For a band that could have easily spent the rest of their performing lives playing "Walk Like An Egyptian" at state fairs, this album snaps with creativity while still showcasing their tight harmonies, chiming guitars and classic-pop sensibilities. There's even a rocking cover of Todd Rundgren and Nazz's "Open My Eyes."

That might be due to producer Matthew Sweet as producer. He's done a pair of cover albums with Susanna Hoffs, and he treats the band with care and a light touch. The Bangles are now a trio (bassist Michael Steele has retired) but the vocals are still recognizable. They strut their stuff right away with the opening "Anabelle Lee," a single so catchy and retro that it could have been an "All Over The Place" outtake. You can pick Susanna Hoffs' raspy voice right out of the mix, as sisters Vicki Peterson and Debbie Peterson blend in perfectly. Then they kick the gears up a notch with the peppery "Ball and Chain," reminding folks that Vicki was a darn good lead guitarist. Of course there's a wannabe "Eternal Flame," this time it's "One of Two."

What's really cool about "Sweethearts Of The Sun" is that it sounds like natural progression. As the mid-20's guy that bought "All Over The Place" and "Different Light" and still loves them both, this album sounds like something I'd have been expecting from the band three decades on. One member lesser, a little rougher along the edges and singing like (and about) adult women. Sweet was sympathetic enough to frame this all in an album that plays remarkably better than I think anyone would have expected. After all, anyone remember the dismal "Doll Revolution" from 2003? This time, I think you'll hang on to this Bangles Reunion for a longer time. One of 2011's more pleasant surprises.