- 2022-06-14
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MUSIC
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Donate to support families affected by the crisis in Ukraine ➔ Train Releases New Album “AM Gold”: Streaming
American rock band Train released their 11th studio album “AM Gold” on May 20, 2022 via Columbia Records.
It is their first album in five years since the 2017 album “A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat”.
The album comprises 11-track, featuring guest appearances from Sofía Reyes and Jewel.
The band frontman Pat Monahan told Rock Cellar about where the album title came, “When we were writing the record, because of how eclectic it was, my manager came up with the name AM Gold. He felt like it was like an old-school AM Gold compilation of a bunch of different varieties of music. Seemed like an appropriate name.”
The band worked with producer Butch Walker on the album. He said, “He's an extraordinarily talented, wonderful guy. Butch maybe wouldn't be the right guy for a certain kind of pop album, but he was the perfect guy for this [one]. Not just because he is a close friend and a great musician, but because we're a similar age. He understands the same era and what I was trying to get done. I think he did a beautiful job recording it.”
The band made the album during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pat Monahan, Jerry Becker (keyboards) and Matt Musty (drums) wrote the songs together over Zoom.
“I wrote virtually with my bandmates instead of professional writers from London and Nashville and New York,” Pat Monahan told USA Today. “I think it ended up being a much better album because of it.”- Pat Monahan explained of some tracks for the album via GRAMMY.
“AM Gold”
“'AM Gold' was the last track to be written, and it was basically because — as my manager would [say] — I'm not good at picking hits or even [knowing] what a good record sounds like, or album. People don't make albums anymore, but I should, because Train fans have been listening to albums for 25 or 30 years. So, I need to continue to make albums for people who like what I do.”
“Cleopatra” featuring Sofía Reyes
“It's a story that you learn when you're a child. The vision of Cleopatra and Mark Antony and how brief their time together was. It's a story that you learn when you're a child. That was the inspiration for the song, which was pretty simple.
But Sofía is a really amazing artist. And when we asked her to be part of it, she filled the void which was missing so much. I was singing the la-la-las, and it needed to be a woman, because I'm singing to a woman who's singing to me.
She just sang it so much better than I ever could have done it. And then, she added some Spanish to the song, which was just enough to be so romantic and beautiful. I really appreciate her being part of it.”
“Running Back”
“'Running Back' came early. I was like, 'Wow, we can probably do a lot of great songs if we can make this.' That was with [keyboardist and guitarist] Jerry Becker and [ drummer] Matt Musty. They were actually here in my studio — in this dungeon that I live in.
And then, when it was lockdown, we just tried to continue it on Zoom — whatever we could. We would send some of these things to [guitarist] Taylor Locke and [bassist] Hector Maldonado to finish up, and have the girls — Sakai [Smith] and Nikita [Houston] — come and sing on the tracks when they were at the latter part of the writing.” -
“Turn the Radio Up” featuring Jewel
“I mean, talk about authentic! [Laughs.] No one's more authentic than Jewel. I've known her in a peripheral way for 20 years, and now I know her better. I love her music; I love her voice; I love her Instagram. What she speaks about and stands up for.
Well, she was going to do this tour with us. I sang on her record, and we just thought it'd be a good idea if we got on each other's albums for the sake of a great summer. And also, we'd been friends with each other for such a long time, so it was about time.”
“Amber Light”
“That song was just so simple — about going back to high school and being in love for the first time and going to bonfires and having six-packs of beer and trying to get girls to like you. How sometimes the people who affect you the most will never, ever know it. I'm 53, and there's no way that the 53-year-old woman who made a huge difference in my life even thinks about it anymore.”
“Fake Flowers” via USA Today
“There's 'Fake Flowers,' which includes the jab 'The only thing real about you is your lies. That song really meant a lot to me. I originally wrote that for a musical we're writing. And the song just has become so important to me that I was like, 'This can't be for the musical.'” (The musical is an adaptation of the 2013 movie “Begin Again,” which starred Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo.)
“Bettin' On Me”
“That song really does sum up my life [because] no one's really thinking, 'Hey, I wonder what Train's doing right now? I wonder what kind of record they're going to make?' If I don't bet on me, then nobody will.”
Photo by Brooke Clark
Background photo by Benjamin Zucker - source : Apple Music
