Killers, Pink, Train: Big rockers all

It looks like rockers are celebrating Christmas early this year with the arrival of three very important albums. Battle Born by the Killers, The Truth About Love by Pink and California 37 by Train. Each of these is not only epic. Each album is, there is no hype here, so far the best ever by these multi award-winning, big-selling artists. Whoever thought these acts cannot get any better is now eating humble pie.

Battle Born by Killers. There have always been references to Nevada in all albums by the Killers. Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoemer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. love their home state a lot. The band shows this even more in its latest album. It turns out that Nevada is called Battle Born because it was founded after the American Civil War and those two words are in the flag of Nevada.

In a way though, this new CD was indeed born of battle. It is the Killers’ first after four years, the last one was Day and Age, and after solo efforts by Flowers, Stoemer and Vannucci. For a while there, fans were starting to think Killers was kaput. But the guys reunited and as with most offshoots of notable upheavals, this album turned out to be also very special.

Listen and prepare to be blown away. Killers is an American band and that is what I hear in Battle Born. This is rock that is part-country, part-pop, sometimes uncouth or a bit naïve but it is always music that stands sure and proud. The anthemic Flesh and Bone and Battle Born show this best. Brandon’s singing is majestic and those guitars spell classic rock. Miss Atomic Bomb which tells a familiar tale about girls who dream of striking it rich in Vegas is very well-written. And Runaways is the crowd-pleaser with the big Killers sound that will rock stadiums.

The Truth About Love by Pink. It is a fact. Pink swears a lot. Remember F**** Perfect? I wish she wouldn’t so that parents can allow kids to listen to her music without having to worry if the CD is the explicit edition or not. Her sound is so infectious and Pink always has something intelligent to say in her songs. But these are often overshadowed by the foul language. A feast though is waiting for those who are not bothered by the swearing from this, her new CD. This album is truly one commercial tune after another.

Can you imagine a rock album that flows? This one does because Pink’s writing is better than ever and the production is first rate. Best of all are the sweet ballads Try, Beam Me Up, and The Great Escape, which strangely remind me of Mick Jagger singing As Tears Go By. The big hit single is Blow Me (One Last Kiss). Most adorable is Just Give Me A Reason, a duet with Nate Ruess, the guy with the voice to die for from fun, all about witty lyrics are The Truth About Love and Where Did The Beat Go? Then if you want Pink, hot on the dance floor, there are Are We All We Are and Slut Like You.

California 37 by Train. If Killers rock is Americana in Nevada, Train goes all out for cosmopolitan California. These guys must also love California a lot. Remember their last album from three years ago was Save Me San Francisco. This is not the surfing Beach Boys kind of music though but something more contemporary. It is fun, sunshine rock with hints of country, hip-hop and Latin rhythms and lots of guitars. Train playing is assured and the vocals soulful while the writing is better than in previous releases. Listen to how they did This’ll Be My Year. I know this one was inspired by or outright copied from Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start The Fire and its listing of important events. Still songs like these are hard to pull off and Train did theirs very well.

I have always known that Train is one of those rock bands who also excel with ballads. But they rose beyond expectations this time around with three great ones, Feels Good At First, When The Fog Rolls In and the really sweet We Were Made For This. Bruises, 50 Ways To Say Goodbye and Mermaid are solid, infectious rockers. Then if you want soul in your rock, check out Drive By. And those of you who imagine California as long drives in the sun and beautiful girls, you have the right sort of background sounds in Sing Together, California 37 and the bonus track, To Be Loved.