Train ALIVE AT LAST (Columbia)

With Billboard hits like 1998’s "Meet Virginia," 2001’s "Drops of Jupiter," and 2004’s "Calling All Angels," Train have built their reputation around a handful of catchy pop songs. Which is precisely why this live album — recorded in June 2004 over the course of a four-night run at the Work Play Theater in Birmingham, Alabama — is so well timed. The first live release in the band’s 10-year history (hence the title), it proves they’re not just cogs in the pop-music machine. Winning the crowd over with his palatable vocals and infectious enthusiasm, lead singer Pat Monahan shines on "She’s on Fire" and the previously unreleased "Landmine," and the band’s spot-on back-up vocals give color and depth to the arrangements. On the down side, the album includes two new studio tracks, "Ordinary" (from the Spiderman 2 soundtrack) and "New Sensation," that lapse into generic rock and lack the distinctive hooks of their hits. Still, as they prove on their cover of the Faces’ "Stay with Me," their talents extend beyond the limits of the studio walls.