Save Me, San Francisco

by Train

Overview

San Francisco's Train hit the charts with a bang early in the 21st century with hits like "Calling All Angels" and "Drops of Jupiter." Save Me, San Francisco took four years to make, four studios in the United States and England, songwriting collaborators, and even a handful of producers, though Martin Terefe gets the final credit. Save Me, San Francisco is a focused record, centering around the theme of a wandering young rocker who falls in love and wants to settle down. The title track opens with an acoustic guitar playing a variation on the classic I-IV-V progression, a snare kicks in, and Pat Monahan's voice is in prime Bob Seger confessional style. A piano and electric guitars enter on "whooo-hooo-hooo" chorus, and it's near-perfect radio rock. That said, the single "Hey Soul Sister," a love song with the best anthemic Train chorus to date, is the album's most memorable cut, name-checking Mr. Mister and employing a Madonna metaphor -- crediting her in the process. Acoustic guitars, kick drums, tom-toms, mandolins, and a B-3 underscoring Monahan's emotive lyrics and melody make it literally unforgettable. "I Got You" samples the Doobie Brothers' "Black Water" as an intro, and then further uses its chorus with a faux-reggae backbeat. It's a high-gloss, big-production pop number. There are a couple of Monahan's signature ballads here, too: the conflict-laden "This Ain't Goodbye," arranged with strings, and "Words," with its undying profession of standing in the eye of the storm to protect the protagonist's beloved. "Brick by Brick," with its swelling choruses, has a lyric that promises the moon and tries hard to deliver it, in the processional 4/4 time that underscores all of Train's power ballads. The album concludes with in "Marry Me," in which Monahan sings prayerfully, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, flute, and muted percussion. Save Me, San Francisco is a love song to the band's hometown. Their loyal fan base will no doubt celebrate it to be sure, but more than this, Save Me, San Francisco sounds like Train are swinging hard for the pop fences. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	08/16/2024
Label:	Sony Legacy
UPC:	0196588975813
Rank:	2911

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Train   Primary Artist
Andreas Olsson   Keyboards
Jimmy Stafford   Guitar
Kristin Wilkinson   Viola,Violin
Pat Monahan   Vocals
David Davidson   Violin,Strings
Gregg Wattenberg   Bass
Espen Lind   Piano,Ukulele,Keyboards,Guitar (Bass)
Scott Underwood   Drums,Percussion
Sarighani Reist   Cello
Nikita Germaine   Vocals (Background)
Martin Terefe   Bass
Butch Walker   Keyboards,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
David Angell   Violin
Mikel Paris   Keyboards
David Angel   Violin
Hector Maldonado   Bass
Jerry Becker   Piano,Celeste,Keyboards,Percussion,Fender Rhodes,Organ (Hammond)
Claes Bjoerklund   Piano,Keyboards,Mellotron,Synthesizer
Love Sponge String Quartet   Strings
Sakai   Vocals (Background)
Ghost Of Harlem   Piano
The Love Sponge Strings   Strings
Dave Eggar   Strings
Josh Berger   Bass
Jeff Allen   Bass
The Ghost of Harlem Keyboards   Piano
Nikolaj Torp   Organ (Hammond)
Sean Gould   Bass,Guitar

Technical Credits

Andreas Olsson   Programming
Sluggo   Producer,Additional Production
Jimmy Stafford   Composer
Kevin Griffin   Composer
Pat Monahan   Composer
David Davidson   String Arrangements
Gregg Wattenberg   Composer,Producer,Additional Production
Espen Lind   Composer,Engineer
Luis Maldonado   Composer
Jon Marius Aareskjold   Engineer
Mark Endert   Mixing
Ryan Tedder   Composer,Vocal Producer
Scott Underwood   Composer
Martin Terefe   Producer
Butch Walker   Composer,Producer
Iain Hill   Assistant Engineer
Christopher "Tricky" Stewart   Composer
Doug Johnson   Mixing Assistant
Sam Hollander   Composer
Pete Ganbarg   A&R
Jerry Becker   Composer,Engineer
Claes Bjoerklund   Programming
Sacha Skarbek   Composer
Dyre Gormsen   Engineer
Amund Bjoerklund   Composer,Engineer
Jeff Malpass   Assistant Engineer
Jake Sinclair   Engineer
Frank Harkins   Art Direction
Alberto Hernandez   Assistant Engineer
Shawn Carter   Composer
Ross Petersen   Engineer
S*A*M   Producer,Additional Production
Nathan Winter   Assistant Engineer
Mark Holthusen   Photography,Illustrations
Ainsley Adams   Assistant Engineer
Dave Katz   Composer
Espionage   Producer
Bart Hendrickson   Programming
Dave Eggar   String Arrangements
Francis Murray   Assistant Engineer
Thaddis Harrell   Composer
Matt Malpass   Vocal Engineer,Vocal Producer
Terius Nash   Composer
Patrick Simmons   Composer
Ted Jensen   Mastering
Bryan Cook   Engineer
Sean Gould   Engineer