Train
got a little bit of a shakeup once
Jimmy Stafford
left the band in the wake of
Train Does Led Zeppelin II
.
Stafford
's departure means
is the
Pat Monahan
show, a move that doesn't necessarily result in a radical musical makeover on
a girl a bottle a boat
. Recorded in the months after the proudly retro
,
bears no traces of hard rock whatsoever. Instead,
dip into a variety of old pop styles, re-appropriating
Hoagy Carmichael
and
Frank Loesser
's old standard "Heart and Soul" for the proudly goofy "Play That Song," building "Valentine" on the bones of doo wop, and dressing "Loverman" in girl group accessories. Such colorful flourishes are not isolated. Despite such song titles as "The News," "Working Girl," "What Good Is Saturday," and "Lost and Found,"
is an exuberant album, a celebration of everything that makes
such a corny band. The hooks are big, the production is so glossy that it shines, and it's so cheerful it's bound to irritate anybody who isn't on the band's wavelength. If you're with them, though,
is a good time because of its eagerness to please. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine