On Train's third album, My Private Nation, Pat Monahan, Charlie Colin, Jimmy Stafford, and Scott Underwood break down stereotypes while exploring human vulnerability. Where the group's previous album, 2001's Drops Of Jupiter, presented a band discovering how much it meant to its fans, My Private Nation reveals a band finding out just how much it has grown.

The album opens with its first single, "Calling All Angels," an early affirmation of Monahan's place among today's most provocative and insightful singers and songwriters. "I think Pat really nails the state of affairs and shows the hope involved in tragedy and adversity," says Scott.

"The song is massive now but it started kind of lo-fi," Underwood continues. "It sounds incredible," Charlie says, referring to the basic guitar, bass and keyboard parts he and Scott recorded at Scott's home. Producer Brendan O'Brien decided to build on these tracks rather than re-record from scratch.

Elsewhere on My Private Nation, some of Train's most effective moments come on swaggering rockers. "Save the Day" mixes freestyle boasts with a pop culture-lampooning wit that rapidly name checks Courtney Love, J Lo, and Superman. Two songs co-written by Monahan and O'Brien further skewer the phenomenon of celebrity.

Fame is a topic with which Train became intimately familiar in 2001, when their single "Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)" became one of the year's biggest hits. What the nature of 21st-century fame says about our culture, and what effect it had on the members of Train are central themes of the new album. "My Private Nation is about me and my generation, and me and my band," Pat says. "We are our own island; I don't know if a lot of people even understand us."

Train began in 1994 when Pat Monahan, an Erie, Pennsylvania, native living in Los Angeles, met Rob Hotchkiss (who left the band in 2003). After moving to San Francisco and appearing in coffeehouses as an acoustic duo, they added Colin (bass) and Stafford (guitar), who, like Hotchkiss, were veterans of the Apostles, an L.A. band. Scott Underwood came on board as drummer shortly afterward.

In 1996, the band went to New York City to play a showcase date for Columbia Records. The company turned them down. "We decided maybe they were right," Monahan said years later, "We made a lot of changes with the band, and I changed in my life, by asking myself how I could be a better bandmate, friend, husband, and father."

Its self-released, self-titled debut album was produced by the band and Curtis Mathewson. In February 1998, it was picked up by Aware/Columbia, and the band hit the road in a rundown 1987 Dodge Ram van with a little red trailer. It stayed on the road for the next two years.

In Autumn 1998, the Fox Television series, "Party Of Five," began to feature Train's first single, "Free," which had already received steady radio play. By August, a second single, "Meet Virginia," led Train to a four week stay at #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. In November 1999, the album was certified RIAA gold. It went platinum in March 2000.

Early in 2000, Train took a break from the road to begin recording a new album with producer Brendan O'Brien. The band recorded for the rest of the year, between headlining tour dates, and making television appearances.

When Drops Of Jupiter arrived on March 27, 2001, its title track, "Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)," was already a hit on several Billboard charts. The song's undeniable hook and lush orchestration by Paul Buckmaster won over scores of new fans and radio listeners. By June, Drops Of Jupiter was RIAA-certified platinum. By April 2002, the single had spent a total of 53 weeks on the Hot 100. It won a Best Rock Song Grammy for Train, as well as a Best Arrangement Grammy for Buckmaster.

The release of My Private Nation' in June 2003 reflects the change and growth spurred by the "Drops Of Jupiter" whirlwind. As Scott puts it, "Spiritually and culturally we've all grown tremendously. We're very close, we know each other so well, but right now it's nice to know how to completely live in this world as professional musicians."

"I hope there's going to be a moment when someone will refer to one of these songs as meaning something during a time that they were a little bit lost," says Pat, "and there was something that struck a chord with them, and they made a decision that maybe was better than they would have made otherwise."

My Private Nation was produced and mixed by Brendan O'Brien, whose résumé includes Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine, Paul Westerberg, Neil Young, Stone Temple Pilots, and Train's Drops Of Jupiter. The CD was recorded at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, Georgia, and mastered by the legendary Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering and DVD, Portland, Maine. Paul Buckmaster, who won the Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)/Best Background Arrangement Grammy for "Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)," returns on My Private Nation with string arrangements for the tracks "Lincoln Avenue" and "Your Every Color."