Bulletproof Picasso

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 2006's For Me, It's You to feature a full band line up. The producers were Azeem, Espionage, Greg Kurstin, Jake Sinclair, Butch Walker and Whams.

Bulletproof Picasso
Studio album by Train
Released	September 12, 2014
Recorded	2013–14
Genre	Rock pop rock[1]
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
"Angel in Blue Jeans" Released: June 9, 2014 "Cadillac, Cadillac" Released: September 29, 2014 "Bulletproof Picasso" Released: January 26, 2015 "Give It All" Released: May 19, 2015

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

• The Magic Numbers and Natasha North (Europe)
• The Fray and Matt Nathanson (North America)[28]

Tour dates

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, attendance, and gross revenue

Date	City	Country	Venue	Attendance	Gross revenue
Europe
March 24, 2015	London	England		6,588 / 9,706	$290,085
North America
May 21, 2015	Wheatland	United States	Toyota Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
May 22, 2015	Mountain View		Shoreline Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
May 23, 2015	Chula Vista		Sleep Train Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
May 24, 2015	Los Angeles		Hollywood Bowl	N/A	N/A
May 26, 2015	Phoenix		Ak-Chin Pavilion	N/A	N/A
May 27, 2015	Albuquerque		Isleta Amphitheater	N/A	N/A
May 29, 2015	Dallas		Gexa Energy Pavilion	N/A	N/A
May 30, 2015	The Woodlands		Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion	N/A	N/A
June 3, 2015	Pelham		Oak Mountain Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
June 5, 2015	Atlanta		Aaron's Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
June 6, 2015	Tampa		MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
June 7, 2015	West Palm Beach		Coral Sky Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
June 9, 2015	Charlotte		PNC Music Pavilion	N/A	N/A
June 10, 2015	Raleigh		Walnut Creek Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
June 11, 2015	Hershey		Hersheypark Stadium	N/A	N/A
June 13, 2015	Virginia Beach		Farm Bureau Live	N/A	N/A
June 14, 2015	Camden		Susquehanna Bank Center	N/A	N/A
June 16, 2015	Wantagh, New York		Nikon at Jones Beach Theater	N/A	N/A
June 18, 2015	Bangor		Darling's Waterfront Pavilion	N/A	N/A
June 19, 2015	Saratoga Springs		Saratoga Performing Arts Center	N/A	N/A
June 20, 2015	Mansfield		Xfinity Center	N/A	N/A
June 21, 2015	Uncasville		Mohegan Sun Arena	6,033 / 7,151	$435,885
June 23, 2015	Toronto	Canada	Molson Canadian Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
June 24, 2015	Darien Center	United States	Darein Lake PAC	N/A	N/A
June 26, 2015	Bethel		Bethel Woods Center for the Arts	N/A	N/A
June 27, 2015	Holmdel		PNC Bank Arts Center	N/A	N/A
June 28, 2015	Bristow		Jiffy Lube Live	N/A	N/A
June 30, 2015	Burgettstown		First Niagara Pavilion	N/A	N/A
July 1, 2015	Clarkston		DTE Energy Music Theatre	14,637 / 14,637	$497,359
July 2, 2015	Cincinnati		Riverbend Music Center	N/A	N/A
July 3, 2015	Tinley Park		Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
July 10, 2015	Nashville		Bridgestone Arena	9,773 / 11,866	$334,947
July 11, 2015	Maryland Heights		Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
July 12, 2015	Noblesville		Klipsch Music Center	N/A	N/A
July 15, 2015	Cuyahoga Falls		Blossom Music Center	N/A	N/A
July 17, 2015	Kansas City		Starlight Theatre	N/A	N/A
July 18, 2015	Englewood		Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
July 19, 2015	West Valley City		USANA Amphitheatre	N/A	N/A
July 21, 2015	Stateline		Harveys Outdoor Arena	5,694 / 6,500	$371,262
July 22, 2015	Boise		Taco Bell Arena	N/A	N/A
July 24, 2015	Ridgefield		Amphitheater Northwest	N/A	N/A
July 25, 2015	George		The Gorge	N/A	N/A

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
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.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Cadillac, Cadillac"	Pat Monahan, Al Anderson, Butch Walker	Walker, Jake Sinclair^[a]	3:23
2.	"Bulletproof Picasso"	Monahan, Walker, Trent Mazur, Michael Freesh	Walker, Whams^[a]	3:53
3.	"Angel in Blue Jeans"	Monahan, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund	Walker, Espionage, Sinclair^[a], Ayb Asmar^[a]	3:25
4.	"Give It All"	Monahan, Amir Salem	Azeem, Sinclair	3:44
5.	"Wonder What You're Doing for the Rest of Your Life" (featuring Marsha Ambrosius)	Monahan, Jerry Becker, Walker	Walker, Sinclair^[a]	3:23
6.	"Son of a Prison Guard"	Monahan, Becker	Walker, Sinclair^[a]	3:39
7.	"Just a Memory"	Monahan, Lind, Bjørklund, Naomi Neville	Espionage, Sinclair	3:48
8.	"I'm Drinkin' Tonight"	Monahan, Matraca Berg, Becker	Walker	3:35
9.	"I Will Remember"	Monahan, Walker	Walker	3:13
10.	"The Bridge"	Monahan, Greg Kurstin, Walker	Kurstin	4:29
11.	"Baby, Happy Birthday"	Monahan, Eg White	Walker, White^[b]	3:43
12.	"Don't Grow Up So Fast"	Monahan, Tom Douglas	Walker	3:23

Live in San Francisco – bonus disc[36]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Drive By"	Monahan, Lind, Bjørklund
2.	"Calling All Angels"	Monahan, Charlie Colin, Jimmy Stafford, Scott Underwood
3.	"Save Me, San Francisco"	Monahan, Sam Hollander, Dave Katz
4.	"Hey, Soul Sister"	Monahan, Lind, Bjørklund
5.	"Drops of Jupiter"	Monahan, Colin, Rob Hotchkiss, Stafford, Underwood
Total length:			24:17

Notes

• "Just a Memory" contains excerpts from "Pain in My Heart", as performed by Otis Redding and written by Naomi Neville.
• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^[b]} signifies a vocal producer

Personnel

Pat Monahan – lead vocals, acoustic guitar Jimmy Stafford – guitar Jerry Becker – keyboards, guitar Hector Maldonado – bass guitar Drew Shoals – drums 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 Azeem – producer Espionage – producer Greg Kurstin – producer Jake Sinclair – producer Butch Walker – producer Whams – producer

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

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