No Soul No Strain Explained

No Soul No Strain
Type:Album
Artist:Wire Train
Cover:Nosoulnostrain.jpg
Released:1992
Recorded:at Toad Hall Studio in Pasadena, California
Length:47:30
Label:MCA[1]
Producer:Bill Bottrell
Prev Title:Wire Train
Prev Year:1990
Next Title:Last Perfect Thing... A Retrospective
Next Year:1996

No Soul No Strain is the fifth album by the American band Wire Train, released in 1992.[2] [3]

The first single was "Stone Me".[4] The band supported the album by touring with Live, among others.[5]

Production

The album was produced by Bill Bottrell.[6] Wire Train started work on the tracks in a cabin close to Yosemite National Park, and finished them in a Los Angeles studio.[7]

Critical reception

The Chicago Tribune wrote: "Wire Train sounds too much like too many other modern rock outfits to be cited for iconoclastic genius and originality, but the California quartet does an exceptional job of delivering a variety of immediately accessible, funky pop hooks with a minimum of dull filler." Miami New Times deemed the album "delightfully casual and smartly cool real rock."[8]

The State praised the "chunkier guitars and complex rhythms," writing that "this is Wire Train's most ambitious work to date." The Capital Times opined that "the wittiness of the lyrics ('Jesus and Mohammed were just a couple of regular guys who made a lot of good friends after they died') is supported by consistently compelling music."[9]

Track listing

All songs written by Wire Train.

  1. Stone Me - 3:50
  2. Open Sky - 4:02
  3. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah - 5:33
  4. Crashing Back to You - 4:52
  5. Hey Jordan - 4:41
  6. Other Lover - 2:56
  7. How Many More Times - 3:35
  8. Willing It to Be - 3:41
  9. Higher - 3:25
  10. Impossible - 2:36
  11. When I Met You - 3:26
  12. 17 Spooks - 4:56

References

  1. News: Wire Train No Soul No Strain . News & Record . Rolling Stone . June 5, 1992 . W5.
  2. News: Heim . Chris . Other rock releases appearing this week... . Chicago Tribune . 15 May 1992 . Friday . O.
  3. News: Peterson . Karla . Train has a full head of steam . The San Diego Union-Tribune . July 9, 1992 . Entertainment . 4.
  4. News: Gettelman . Parry . Dawn Patrol . Orlando Sentinel . 17 July 1992 . Calendar . 12.
  5. News: Cutting-edge music . The Salt Lake Tribune . 26 June 1992 . C7.
  6. No Soul No Strain by Wire Train . Billboard . May 30, 1992 . 104 . 22 . 50.
  7. News: Sculley . Alan . Wire Train Returns to Raw, Driving Sound . Daily Press . 31 July 1992 . Newport News . Splash . 12.
  8. News: Baker . Greg . Program Notes . Miami New Times . April 29, 1992.
  9. News: Rasmussen . Eric . Wire Train No Soul No Strain . The Capital Times . June 11, 1992 . 1F.