Train - "Hey, Soul Sister (Country Mix)"

I was just sent this via Play MPe and it features a remix which surprisingly freshens up the ubiquitous song.

I always thought Calling All Angels would've made for a good country cover. I'm not as sure how this song will work with a country mix, but I'll be interested in hearing it.

Are you kidding? What's next, a rap mix?

Well, if CMT can play Jessie James and Uncle Kracker, I suppose they can play Train. I don't know about radio.

CMT has also played Nickelback's "Rockstar" and Kid Rock hosts the CMT Awards and his videos get played.

As for Train and "Hey, Soul Sister", it's really a cool song and it fits in the country format somewhat. Look how Uncle Kracker's "Smile" has become in the country format and "Smile" was released nearly a year ago and it's still going strong in AC. So both songs fit on country radio.

Personally, I don't see it that bad that they are realeasing the song. For me it's worse that it's being remixed. It's possible that I end up liking it, but my initial feelings aren't good. I still can't stand the country mix of "Smile", while I do like the original. If this song fits in the country format, they probably should've release it as it is. But radio may probably disagree.

Let me say this about the remix, it adds to the song. It really doesn't feel like a gratuitous remix with just a little steel in it. There's a lot of fiddle and banjo in the mix.

This craze needs to end... I'm tired of seeing Nickelback, Jessie James, and Uncle Kraker on CMT.

I wouldn't even listen to those artists for pop music, let alone this fake country remix crap these people keep sending out.

I wouldn't say that at all, but I suppose everyone has their own opinion...

I can hear some of the instrumental changes in the song, but it doesn't sound as "country" as I'd hoped it'd be. Easton Corbin would be dissapointed, because he's "A Little More Country Than" this...

But I do like this song. I've heard it at baseball games, and..maybe even on commercials? I've had some friends play it on their computers, but I don't listen to any stations that would happen to play this song...

While I'm not sure if I'm in favor of pop or AC or whatever genre artists trying it out on country (or at least if they permanently keep re-mixing all their songs), this is still a good song and I think it has the chance to do well. I either see it being a hit, or a miss. Uncle Kracker has a more gravelly voice that is better suited for country (and a lot of genres). Train definitely sounds pop, and although I prefer to listen to country music, this is a feel-good song.

One other note...didn't the country remix of "Smile" get released not too terribly long after the original version was released to other formats? Seems like this song is quite old..?

That's actually not ironic at all.

I think this is a great song. Fun lyrics, cool beat and easy to sing along to. I'm glad people who only listen to country will get a chance to hear it. A good song is a good song, regardless of what genre it is.

"Smile" was released on July 13, 2009 which is almost one year ago. It first entered the Hot 100 and then over to the AC charts where it has had a slow climb and then the country version was released which at first was confined to one country station in Detroit played but then turned national on the country charts and it has been going ever since. It even returned to the Canadian Hot 100 and is now climbing back up there.

Back to Train, it's obvious that they wanted to do a country remix of the song as it sounds like it could be a country song. It could be the first country song to use a ukulele as far as I know. And speaking of which, did you know that Brandon Bush, Kristian Bush of Sugarland's brother, played keyboards in the band, don't know whether he still plays with them or not.

Brandon Bush tours with Sugarland.

If you perceive inconsistency in a person's stance, you should find a more polite way of engaging in a debate about it. Your chosen method comes off as unnecessarily mean-spirited (whether or not you intended it to), especially since calling out another person's fandom is often a retaliatory tactic that derails discussion.

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But I also disagree with ShaniaGotchaGood that this sounds more country than most, or even many, current country singles. Pat Monahan's vocal performance isn't remotely country, for one thing -- by that I mean it features neither twang nor drawl nor cry, and his phrasing is so rhythmic that it doesn't strike me as fitting the more typically lyric-driven approach in country music. The instrumentation of the remix doesn't strike me as country, either -- I was expecting more of an "accent" via a banjo. I am, perhaps, biased by the Dixie Chicks cover of the song, which featured Emily Robison playing banjo and Natalie Maines singing with a (very) slight cry in her voice. They made the song sound a bit country-pop in a "Landslide"-esque fashion (but "Hey, Soul Sister," unlike "Landslide," is a song that lends itself to the cutesy approach).

To illustrate what I'm talking about, here is the Dixie Chicks' first performance of "Hey, Soul Sister" in Toronto on 8 June 2010.

"Drops Of Jupiter" was one of my favorite pop songs of the past decade.

That being said, it's really funny; I heard both this and "Smile" on the same day and thought, given the propper mixes, that they could do well on country. Both are also two of the best Adult Contemporary songs of the past year. This song, especially for the ukulele that Joey mentioned, is one of a few reasons why this song is refreshing. Though it may not be the most... normal addition to country radio, it will be a nice one. Train on my radio is not a bad thing, since this era I have secretly been a fan of them.

Yeah, I'm not hearing much of a country song in this, whether the original, the new mix, the Dixie Chick cover or any other cover. There have definitely been pop songs of late that could lyrically and melodically work as a country song with the right vocals and mix but I'm just not hearing it with this one.

I don't see it performing well on the charts but stranger things have happened.