Bulletproof Picasso

Bulletproof Picasso
Studio album by Train
Released September 12, 2014
Recorded 2013–14
Genre
Length 43:39
Label Columbia
Producer Azeem, Espionage, Greg Kurstin, Jake Sinclair, Butch Walker, Whams
Train chronology
California 37
(2012)		 Bulletproof Picasso
(2014)		 Christmas in Tahoe
(2015)
Singles from Bulletproof Picasso
  1. "Angel in Blue Jeans"
    Released: June 9, 2014
  2. "Cadillac, Cadillac"
    Released: September 29, 2014
  3. "Bulletproof Picasso"
    Released: January 26, 2015
  4. "Give It All"
    Released: May 19, 2015

Bulletproof Picasso is the seventh studio album by American rock band Train. The album was released by Columbia Records in Friday-release countries on September 12, 2014, and in the United States on September 16, 2014. It is available on CD, vinyl and as a digital download.[2] It is the band's first album without drummer and founding member Scott Underwood, who departed from the band before it was recorded. It is also the band's first album since For Me, It's You in 2006 to feature a full band line up. The producers were Azeem, Espionage, Greg Kurstin, Jake Sinclair, Butch Walker and Whams.

Background

With Bulletproof Picasso, the band set out to achieve goals that would allow them to become a more mainstream band. Guitarist Jimmy Stafford explained that the band had never been "cool" and "hip", something he believed this album would make them, enabling them to feel justified in their desires to play at and sell out Madison Square Garden and even becoming musical guests on an episode of Saturday Night Live.[3] Lead singer Pat Monahan also expressed an intent for a more personal, yet ambitious record, stating that "I've always wanted to emotionally connect with people through the songs, but I also want to get into people's lives with this album" and that he felt that he wanted to create "everything that [he'd] wanted to".[4][5]

Recording

Lead singer Pat Monahan had started creating material for Train's seventh studio album during the band's Mermaids of Alcatraz Tour, in support of California 37. Monahan stated in a Radio.com interview during the latter stages of the tour, "I'm going to spend the whole fall tightening up what I started and creating everything that I've wanted to. San Francisco, Seattle, New York and Nashville will be the main places I'll write it".[5] Monahan had also stated, in an interview with Jason Tanamor of Zoiks! Online, that due to the ambitions set for the new album, wanting to do their "best work", writing for Bulletproof Picasso was harder than what they had previously written and recorded.[6] The production team on the album were the following: Azeem, Espionage, Greg Kurstin, Jake Sinclair, Butch Walker and Whams.[7]

Packaging

The title of the album, Bulletproof Picasso, while borrowing the name from the album's second track, also serves as a statement about the band's long-running career, representing the band's 20-year career as artists. The phrase Bulletproof Picasso is a reference to Spanish painter, poet and playwright Pablo Picasso, who, while in a different artistic medium to Train, who are musical artists, creates art nonetheless. The phrase means that the band, as artists, are bulletproof, and will continue as artists, dodging every bullet shot at them.[6]

Promotion

The music video for "Angel in Blue Jeans" was shot in the Mojave Desert. The video was described as a Tarantino-style spaghetti western, which complemented the song's western influences; an overall influence in the composition of Bulletproof Picasso as an album.

Bulletproof Picasso was formally unveiled by the band and Columbia Records on June 9, 2014, announced for a September 16, 2014 release date in the United States.[8] "Angel in Blue Jeans" was the first track to be lifted from Bulletproof Picasso. The track was released as a single by Columbia Records on June 9, 2014, serving as the lead single from Bulletproof Picasso.[9] Guitarist Jimmy Stafford originally tweeted a cryptic message on May 5, 2014, a month before the release of "Angel in Blue Jeans", concealing the title of the single in an anagram that read, "sgijannulaebenel".[10] "Angel in Blue Jeans" was also released to Adult contemporary radio and Triple A radio for airplay on June 16.[11][12]

The album cover and track listing of Bulletproof Picasso was unveiled on July 15, 2014, with preorders for the album on digital download and physical formats starting on the same day. "Angel in Blue Jeans", which appears as the third track on the album, was also released early on the iTunes Store ahead of the full release of Bulletproof Picasso when pre orders for the album started on the store.[13][14] A music video to accompany the release of "Angel in Blue Jeans" was also released on July 15, coinciding with the commencement of preorders for Bulletproof Picasso.[15] The video, which featured American actor Danny Trejo as his Robert Rodriguez character Machete and Canadian television hostess and actor Hannah Simone, was shot in the Mojave Desert and is staged as a Tarantino-style spaghetti western.[16] It also stars lead singer Pat Monahan as the antagonist taking hostage of a woman, played by Simone, who acts as the love interest of Machete, played by Trejo.[17] The video had fetched over a million views by August 1, 2014.

The title track was released to iTunes on July 29, along with the announcement of a sauvignon blanc wine of the same name to be available when the album is released.[18]

A promotional single, "Wonder What You're Doing for the Rest of Your Life", was released on August 25, 2014, preceding the release of Bulletproof Picasso.[19][20][21]

"Cadillac Cadillac" was sent to US Hot AC radio stations on September 29, 2014, as the Second single off of the album.[22]

"Bulletproof Picasso" will be sent to US Hot AC radio stations on January 26, 2015, as the Third single off of the album.[22]

"Give It All" will be sent to US Hot AC radio stations on May 19, 2015, as the Fourth single off of the album.[22]

Tour

Train had made numerous performances and appearances on television and radio in the three-month lead up to the release of Bulletproof Picasso. The band had expressed their intent to let fans hear new material on tour before Bulletproof Picasso was released in September, with Jimmy Stafford stating that they were "too excited to not play any other songs off the record", with Stafford being motivated by his opinion that Bulletproof Picasso was the best album the band had ever made.[23] Set lists staged for the band's pre-album performances included "Cadillac, Cadillac", "Bulletproof Picasso", "Angel in Blue Jeans" and "The Bridge"; the most new material the band had played on a single tour.[24] The band, however, while keen to perform new songs, felt uncomfortable at the possibility of throwing off long-time fans during the "limbo period" between the releases of "Angel and Blue Jeans" and Bulletproof Picasso, where fans have not heard the new material. Stafford further explained, "You don't want to put a song no one has heard between "Hey, Soul Sister" and "Meet Virginia" because it feels like a lull in the show. So it's tricky".[25]

The band's promotional media tour started with an appearance on Sirius XM Radio show The Howard Stern Show on June 9, 2014, coinciding with the album's unveiling. The band also premiered "Angel in Blue Jeans" on the show before the track was released as a single the same day.[8] The band also appeared on 94.3 FM The Point on June 11 as part of a radio special entitled "Breakfast with Train", where the band invited fans to ask questions and spend breakfast with them.[26] They performed on the Today Show on June 13, as part of the show's Toyota Summer Concert Series held at Rockefeller Center in New York City.[27] On August 27, they performed at the MLB Fan Cave in New York City.

The Picasso at the Wheel Tour was announced in January 2015, and began on May 21, 2015, in Wheatland, California.

Opening acts
Tour dates

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[29]
Billboard[30]
USA Today[31]

Critical

Writing for USA Today, Elysa Gardner says "The best tracks on Train's latest album are the driving and high-spirited ones, where Pat Monahan's sweet, keening tenor... evocative here of a Wings-era Paul McCartney... rides meaty but crisply percussive arrangements." Richard Bienstock for Billboard writes how "the Bay Area rock band buffed out the rootsier and rockier aspects of its sound for a more pop-centric approach" that's another "extension of its bid for mainstream glory."[30]

Commercial

The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on its first week of release, selling 50,000 copies in the United States in its first week.[32] As of June 2016, the album has sold 145,000 copies in the US.[33] The album also debuted at No. 7 on the Canadian Albums chart.[34]

Artwork

The album art features a burning Cadillac (in reference to the album's single "Cadillac, Cadillac") with a licence plate that reads "PICASSO". This album art was cited among Billboard's worst album covers of 2014.[35]

Track listing

Bulletproof Picasso
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Cadillac, Cadillac"  Pat Monahan, Al Anderson, Butch WalkerWalker, Jake Sinclair[a] 3:23
2. "Bulletproof Picasso"  Monahan, Walker, Trent Mazur, Michael FreeshWalker, Whams[a] 3:53
3. "Angel in Blue Jeans"  Monahan, Espen Lind, Amund BjørklundWalker, Espionage, Sinclair[a], Ayb Asmar[a] 3:25
4. "Give It All"  Monahan, Amir SalemAzeem, Sinclair 3:44
5. "Wonder What You're Doing for the Rest of Your Life" (featuring Marsha Ambrosius)Monahan, Jerry Becker, WalkerWalker, Sinclair[a] 3:23
6. "Son of a Prison Guard"  Monahan, BeckerWalker, Sinclair[a] 3:39
7. "Just a Memory"  Monahan, Lind, Bjørklund, Naomi NevilleEspionage, Sinclair 3:48
8. "I'm Drinkin' Tonight"  Monahan, Matraca Berg, BeckerWalker 3:35
9. "I Will Remember"  Monahan, WalkerWalker 3:13
10. "The Bridge"  Monahan, Greg Kurstin, WalkerKurstin 4:29
11. "Baby, Happy Birthday"  Monahan, Eg WhiteWalker, White[b] 3:43
12. "Don't Grow Up So Fast"  Monahan, Tom DouglasWalker 3:23
Total length:
 43:39
Notes

Personnel

Additional Musicians
  • Sakai – background vocals
  • Nikita Houston – background vocals
  • Aaron Zuckerman
  • Amor Salem
  • Butch Walker
  • Espen Lind
  • Greg Kurstin
  • Jake Sinclair
  • Larry Goetz
  • Mark Stepro
  • Noah Gersh
  • Rob Mathes – strings and horns
Technical personnel

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[37] 15
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[38] 141
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[39] 7
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[40] 144
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[41] 32
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[42] 32
UK Albums (OCC)[43] 9
US Billboard 200[44] 5
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[45] 20

Release history

Region Date Format Label Catalog no.
Germany[46] September 12, 2014 Digital download Columbia Records none
Australia[47]
France[48] September 15, 2014
United States[2] September 16, 2014
  • CD
  • Digital download
  • Vinyl

References

  1. ↑ "Train's 'Bulletproof Picasso' Makes a Hard Turn into Pop: Album Review". Billboard.com.
  2. 1 2 "Bulletproof Picasso: Train: Music". Amazon.com. ASIN B00LUSUUG0. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  3. ↑ The Loop Staff (July 18, 2014). "Train's Goals for the Future: Be "Cool & Hip", Play "Saturday Night Live"". 97.9 The Loop WLUP-FM. Merlin Media, LLC. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  4. ↑ Schuley, Ben (July 15, 2014). "Train Announce Brand New Record; Bulletproof Picasso Featuring Smash Single "Angel in Blue Jeans"". The Daily Crescendo. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Reuter, Annie (August 6, 2013). "Q&A: Train's Pat Monahan on New Music, 'Mermaids of Alcatraz' & the Likelihood of Going Country". radio.com. CBS Radio. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Tanamor, Jason (July 18, 2014). "Exclusive Interview: @Train Front Man Pat Monahan Talks 'Bulletproof Picasso.'". Zoiks! Online. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  7. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/bulletproof-picasso-mw0002709245/credits
  8. 1 2 Columbia Records (June 9, 2014). "Grammy Award Winners Train Premiere New Single 'Angel in Blue Jeans' On Howard Stern Show Today". Yahoo! Finance (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  9. ↑ Dresdale, Andrea (June 9, 2014). "Train Releases New Single, "Angel in Blue Jeans"; New Album, "Bulletproof Picasso", & Tour Coming in September". ABC News Radio. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ Stafford, Jimmy (May 5, 2014). "8:30 am -May 5, 2014 (An anagram of the first single from the...)". Twitter. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Hot/Modern/AC Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Future Releases on Triple A Radio". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014.
  13. ↑ Daw, Robbie (July 6, 2014). "Train's 'Bulletproof Picasso' Album Cover & Tracklist Revealed". Idolator. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  14. ↑ Schuley, Ben (July 15, 2014). "Train Announce Brand New Record; Bulletproof Picasso Featuring Smash Single "Angel in Blue Jeans"". The Daily Crescendo. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  15. ↑ Rose, Rebecca (July 18, 2014). "Danny Trejo Lip Syncing Train Is a Work of Mysterious, Haunting Art". Jezebel. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  16. ↑ Schillaci, Sophie (July 15, 2014). "EXCLUSIVE! On Set With Danny Trejo, Hannah Simone and Train: The 'Angel in Blue Jeans' Shoot". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  17. ↑ Daw, Robbie (July 15, 2014). "Train's "Angel in Blue Jeans" Video Features Danny Trejo, A Lot of Guns & A Beautiful Girl: Watch". Idolator. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  18. ↑ Save Me San Francisco Wine Co. (July 29, 2014). "Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co. Releases "Bulletproof Picasso" Sauvignon Blanc After Earning Impact Hot Brand Award". Fox 5 Las Vegas (Press release). PR Newswire.
  19. ↑ http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/bulletproof-picasso-train/0886444773126
  20. ↑ http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/cadillac-cadillac-train/0886444800297
  21. ↑ http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/wonder-what-youre-doing-for-the-rest-of-your-life-train/0886444810678
  22. 1 2 3 http://www.allaccess.com/hot-modern-ac/future-releases
  23. ↑ Grosteffon, Josh (July 6, 2014). "Train prepping for release of new album in September". Midland Daily News. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  24. ↑ Bonfiglio, Jeremy D. (July 13, 2014). "Train a combination of seasoned musicianship, sense of fun". The News-Dispatch. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  25. ↑ Bonfiglio, Jeremy D. (July 10, 2014). "Train keeps on moving forward". The Herald-Palladium. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  26. ↑ Ryan, Matt (June 4, 2014). "Breakfast With Train at The Point". 94.3 FM The Point. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  27. ↑ Today staff (May 4, 2014). "New acts announced! Full lineup of the 2014 summer Concert Series on TODAY". NBC. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  28. ↑ http://savemesanfrancisco.com/post/119308720028/the-picasso-at-the-wheel-tour-starts-on-thursday
  29. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Bulletproof Picasso – Train". AllMusic. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  30. 1 2 Bienstock, Richard (September 16, 2014). "Train's 'Bulletproof Picasso' Makes a Hard Turn into Pop: Album Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 17, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  31. ↑ Gardner, Elysa (September 16, 2014). "Listen Up: Tim McGraw, Barbra Streisand and Train". USA Today. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  32. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (September 24, 2014). "Barbra Streisand Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200, Chris Brown at No. 2". Billboard.
  33. ↑ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016.
  34. ↑ "Folk Albums". Billboard. October 4, 2014.
  35. ↑ Billboard staff (December 18, 2014). "30 Best & Worst Album Covers of 2014 – 28/30". Billboard.
  36. ↑ "Train Bulletproof Picasso CD & Live in San Francisco CD". QVC. Retrieved 2014-09-15.
  37. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Train – Bulletproof Picasso". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Train – Bulletproof Picasso" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  39. ↑ "Train – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Train.
  40. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Train – Bulletproof Picasso" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Train – Bulletproof Picasso". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Train – Bulletproof Picasso". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  43. ↑ "Train | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  44. ↑ "Train – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Train.
  45. ↑ "Train – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for Train.
  46. ↑ "Bulletproof Picasso – Train". iTunes Store DE. Apple Inc. July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  47. ↑ "Bulletproof Picasso – Train". iTunes Store AU. Apple Inc. July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  48. ↑ "Bulletproof Picasso – Train". iTunes Store FR. Apple Inc. July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
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