Train are a damn funky band from San Fransisco (much like Counting Crows) and had been playing the area for a few years before being "discovered". After signing a deal with Columbia, the band were left to their own devices. They toured extensively and released a self-titled album.
While on the subject of Counting Crows comparisons, their first album features Crows keyboardist Charlie Gillingham and is produced by Crows guitarist David Bryson.
The radio stations soon got hold of the catchy Meet Virginia and it became an instant hit.
Because of their years of experience before making it big, their gigs were always good value, usually lasting for about an hour and a half (pretty good for a band on their first album) and including a few unreleased tracks and covers, such as Aerosmith's Last Child and Led Zepplin's Ramble On
In fact, Train eventually released their cover of Ramble On on their limited edition EP, One and a Half, along with 4 new songs and an acoustic version of Meet Virginia.
In the tail-end of 2000, Train settled down to record a second album. This was released in March 2001 with the title Drops of Jupiter. The title track has been getting a lot of airplay in the USA and even a little bit over here (on Radio 2, Xfm and Virgin).
On June 19th, 2001 they kicked off their first European Tour and they seem to be getting pretty big here. The Drops of Jupiter single even got to number 10 in the UK chart!
I first got into Train when the kind and benevelent Judi Smith sent me their self-titled album back in February 2000, but it has taken them this long to make it in the UK. Kinda says something about the crap they play on the radio over here, doesn't it!
Audio Samples
- The song called Train from the album called Train by the band called Train. This isn't the album version though - it's a live, acoustic version from Fantasy Studios, and it's the B-side to the Aussie single of Meet Virginia.
- The song called Drops of Jupiter from the album called Drops of Jupiter by the band called Train.
Review: Camden Dingwalls 16/06/2001
I saw Train at Camden Dingwalls on their first ever European date in June and they were brilliant. The place was full of Americans, as you'd expect with a band that's completely unknown in this neck of the woods. Anyway, maybe a full review will follow.
Review: Shepherd's Bush Empire 01/2002
Saw them again in January 2002 at the Shepherd's Bush Empire. But once again, no review. I don't know why I keep forgetting to write them :-(
Links
- TrainLine.com - official website
- - egroup.