My Private Nation
{{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |Template:Short description|noreplace}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Drops of Jupiter2001Live in Atlanta2003Studio albumMy Private NationTrain My Private Nation.jpgTrainJune 3, 2003Southern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, Georgia* Rock
- roots rock
- pop rock
- alternative rock43:07ColumbiaBrendan O'Brienx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}
My Private Nation is the third studio album by American pop 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It is Train's last album to feature bassist Charlie Colin and rhythm guitarist Rob Hotchkiss, who both left in 2003.
SinglesEdit
Four singles were released from this album. The first, "Calling All Angels", was a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #19, and was a huge success on the Adult Contemporary and Adult Top 40 charts. Second single "When I Look to the Sky" also hit the Top 100 and was successful in Adult Top 40 and the Adult Contemporary chart as well. Third single "Get to Me" was also a successful song on the Adult Top 40 chart, and the album as a whole has been certified platinum by the RIAA.
"I'm About to Come Alive" was covered in 2008 by country music artist David Nail, who released it as a single from his debut album of the same name.
ReceptionEdit
Template:Music ratings My Private Nation received mixed reviews from most music critics.<ref name="Metacritic"/> 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".<ref name="Metacritic">My Private Nation Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More. Metacritic. Retrieved on February 13, 2011.</ref> 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".<ref name="Jurek">Jurek, Thom (2005). Review: My Private Nation. Allmusic. Retrieved on February 13, 2011.</ref> Entertainment WeeklyTemplate:'s Ken Tucker dubbed it Train's "finest effort yet", complimenting the band's "amusingly self-deprecating lyrics" and the songs' "surface attractiveness".<ref name="Tucker">Tucker, Ken (June 6, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on February 13, 2011.</ref> 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".<ref name="Daly">Daly, Sean (June 4, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. The Washington Post. Retrieved on February 13, 2011.</ref> E! Online commented that the band "sound[s] like a better Counting Crows (with a dreamier frontman) and less-challenging Wallflowers".<ref name="Metacritic"/> 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.<ref name="Wisser">Wisser, Jeff (June 22, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved on February 13, 2011.</ref>
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".<ref name="Metacritic"/> 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".<ref name="Puma">Puma, Jeff (June 5, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. The Hartford Courant. Retrieved on February 13, 2011.</ref> 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".<ref name="Edwards">Edwards, Gavin (June 26, 2003). {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on February 13, 2011.</ref> 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".<ref name="Gamboa">Gamboa, Glenn (June 3, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. Newsday. Retrieved on February 13, 2011.</ref> 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".<ref name="Hochman">Hochman, Steve (June 1, 2003). Review: My Private Nation. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on February 13, 2011.</ref>
Track listingEdit
- U.S. Edition
Bonus tracksEdit
- 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
PersonnelEdit
- 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
Additional personnelEdit
- Brendan O'Brien – keyboards, piano, organ, guitars, marxophone, percussion, backing vocals
- Soozie Tyrell – violin on "Lincoln Avenue"
- Jane Scarpantoni – cello on "Lincoln Avenue"
- Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar on "Calling All Angels"
ChartsEdit
Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
Weekly chartsEdit
Template:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chartTemplate:Album chart| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|
Year-end chartsEdit
| Chart (2003) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
119 |
SingleEdit
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Calling All Angels" | Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks | 1 |
| 2003 | "Calling All Angels" | Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
| 2003 | "Calling All Angels" | Billboard Hot 100 | 19 |
| 2003 | "When I Look to the Sky" | Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks | 9 |
| 2004 | "When I Look to the Sky" | Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 24 |
| 2004 | "When I Look to the Sky" | Billboard Hot 100 | 74 |
| 2005 | "Get to Me" | Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks | 6 |
CertificationsEdit
Template:Certification Table Top Template:Certification Table Entry Template:Certification Table Bottom