The Love Train

This article is about the EP by Meghan Trainor. For the song by The O'Jays, see Love Train.

The Love Train
2021 re-issue cover art
EP by Meghan Trainor
Released	February 8, 2019 (2019-02-08) February 12, 2021 (2021-02-12) (re-issue)
Genre	Dance-pop[1] R&B[2]
Length	19:58
Label	Epic
Producer	Andrew Wells Chris Gelbuda Tyler Johnson Meghan Trainor
Meghan Trainor chronology
Thank You (2016) The Love Train (2019) Treat Myself (2020)
Singles from The Love Train
"All the Ways" Released: February 11, 2019

The Love Train is the second EP by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor. It was released on February 8, 2019 by Epic Records. All of the material on the EP was produced by Andrew Wells, Chris Gelbuda, Tyler Johnson and Trainor. Critics described the lyrics as romantic as they were inspired by Trainor's marriage to Daryl Sabara.

"All the Ways" was re-released to radio as the lead single of The Love Train on February 11, 2019. Trainor described the EP as a predecessor to her then upcoming third major-label studio album, Treat Myself. It peaked at number 10 on the US Digital Albums chart and number 37 on Top Album Sales.

Background and composition

Meghan Trainor initially announced that her third major-label studio album, Treat Myself, would be released on August 31, 2018. However, it was delayed to January 25, 2019, and removed from iTunes that month.^[3] On February 4, 2019, Trainor announced the release of an EP, called The Love Train,^[4][5] which she described as a teaser for Treat Myself.^[6] The Love Train was inspired by Trainor's marriage with Daryl Sabara.^[6][7] Epic reissued the EP with three additional tracks on February 12, 2021, with the AJ Mitchell duet version of the track "After You", that was available on her third studio album Treat Myself, and "Throwback Love” and "Goosebumps” from the Target deluxe edition of her second studio album Thank You.^[8]

The opener and lead single, "All the Ways" is a love song, inspired by the work of ABBA.^[6][9] Mike Wass of Idolator described the song as having "cute synths" and a "pure-pop sensibility."^[10] "Marry Me" is a ukelele-driven song about Trainor's desire to make things official with her significant other.^[7] Trainor said that she wrote the song in a hotel room with Sabara.^[6] "I'm Down" has been described as a "dancefloor" anthem with a "big" chorus.^[7][6] "After You" is a piano ballad that sees the singer pleading for her lover to stay by her side.^[7] Wass described "Foolish" as having "frantic beats"; lyrics include "They say that fools rush in. But I, oh I, I wanna be foolish with you".^[7] "Good Mornin'" is an "atmospheric" song featuring Trainor's father playing the organ.^[7]

Promotion

Several music videos were released to promote The Love Train, one per day during a week. On February 10, 2019, a music video for "I'm Down" was uploaded to Trainor's YouTube account.^[11] One day later, the music video for "Foolish" was released. It was edited by her brother Ryan Trainor and features footage from Meghan and Sabara's wedding reception.^[12][13] On February 12, the music video for "After You", directed by Charm La'Donna, was released. It features dancers Kaycee Rice and Sean Lew.^[14] On the following day, the music video for "Good Mornin'" was released. It was directed by Baxter Stapleton and also featured two dancers.^[15] On February 14, the music video for "Marry Me" was released. Created by Toon53 Productions, it also featured Trainor's wedding footage.^[16][17] One day later, the music video for "All the Ways" was released. Directed by Brian Petchers, it stars Bailee Madison.^[18] The Love Train was also promoted through a press release, which drew controversy because of its "graphic nature and bizarre phrasing", with sexually ambiguous terms such as "wet", "junk" and "bangin'" being used.^[19]

"All the Ways", which was initially released as a promotional single for Treat Myself on June 20, 2018,^[20] was serviced to hot adult contemporary radio as the lead single from the EP on February 11, 2019, after Epic announced the album was delayed.^[21][22] Described as "fun" and "danceable" by Billboard, the song was originally used in a 2018 Target marketing campaign.^[9] It peaked at number 16 on the US Adult Top 40 chart.^[23]

Reception

The Love Train peaked at number 10 on the US Digital Albums chart and number 37 on Top Album Sales.^[24][25]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Idolator's Mike Wass described the EP as "overflowing with lush production and endearing sentiment" and "a major success."^[7] Writing for BroadwayWorld, Danielle Taylor was positive about the EP, and stated "the production on these tracks are (sic) fantastic and will hold us over until Trainor's next studio album is released".^[26] Radio.com's Kyle McCann wrote that the EP "gives fans a few bops to vibe to", and added "we're feelin' each of the six songs".^[27]

In a mixed review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called The Love Train a "breezy stopgap EP", further describing it as a "celebration of romance" coming from Trainor, "who had reason to extol the virtues of love". He added that the press release was "ridiculously overheated" and "carnal," also stating that the EP is "heavy on soaring ballads and persistent dance-pop that don't quite fit into the trends of the late 2010s."^[1]

Track listing

The Love Train – standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
1.	"All the Ways"	Meghan Trainor Andrew Wells Jacob Kasher Hindlin	Wells	2:55
2.	"Marry Me"	Trainor	Chris Gelbuda	3:36
3.	"I'm Down"	Trainor Wells Tyler Johnson Joshua Kear	Wells	3:16
4.	"After You"	Trainor Johnson Anders Mouridsen	Johnson	3:26
5.	"Foolish"	Trainor Wells Hindlin Gamal Lewis	Wells	3:19
6.	"Good Mornin'" (featuring Gary Trainor)	Trainor Wells Daryl Sabara	Wells Trainor	3:26
Total length:				19:58

The Love Train – digital reissue^[8]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
4.	"After You" (featuring AJ Mitchell)	Trainor Johnson Mouridsen Justin Trainor	Johnson	3:26
7.	"Throwback Love"	Trainor Kevin Kadish	Ricky Reed Kadish	3:13
8.	"Goosebumps"	Trainor Eric Frederic Gamal Lewis Eric Tobias Wincorn Joe Spargur Robert Riley Charles White Billy Ball	Reed	3:41
9.	"After You"	Trainor Johnson Mouridsen	Johnson	3:26

Notes

• All track titles are stylized in all caps.^[28]
• The Love Train's reissue was initially released with the solo version of "After You" missing from the track list, and some digital platforms displaying the original 2019 album artwork instead of the re-issued one.^[29][30] Both of these issues were corrected in subsequent re-uploads to digital music platforms.

Credits and personnel

Credits are referenced from the EP's liner notes:^[28]

• Meghan Trainor – songwriting (1-6), lead vocals, production (1-3, 5-6), percussion (6), backing vocals (1-3, 5-6)
• Andrew Wells – songwriting (1, 5-6), production (1, 3, 5-6), engineering (1, 3, 5-6), bass (1, 3, 5-6), guitar (1, 3, 5-6), synthesizer (1, 3, 5-6), programming (1)
• Jacob Kasher Hindlin – songwriting (1, 5)
• Chris Gelbuda – production (2), acoustic guitar (2), engineering (2), ukulele (2), backing vocals (2)
• Tyler Johnson – songwriting (3-4), production (4), keyboards (4), piano (4), recording engineer (4), backing vocals (3), programming (4)
• Joshua Kear – songwriting (3), backing vocals (3)
• Anders Mouridsen – songwriting (4), guitar (4), piano (4)
• Gamal Lewis – songwriting (5)
• Daryl Sabara – songwriting (6), percussion (6), backing vocals (1, 5, 6)
• John Hanes – engineering
• Bo Bodnar – engineering (1, 3-6), percussion (6), backing vocals (1, 3, 6)
• Randy Merrill – mastering
• Şerban Ghenea – mixing (1, 3-6)
• John Whitt, Jr. – synthesizer (1)
• Mitch McCarthy – mixing (2)
• Greg Magers – recording engineer (2)
• Rob Humphries – drums (3)
• Dan Higgins – saxophone (3)
• Drew Taubenfeld – guitar (5)
• Gary Trainor – organ (6), percussion (6), piano (6), featured artist (6), backing vocals (6)
• Ryan Trainor – percussion, backing vocals (1)
• Kelli Trainor – percussion (6), backing vocals (1, 6)
• Kameron Alexander – percussion (6), backing vocals (6)
• Nick Lobel – programming (4)
• The Vultures – production (4), band leader (4)

Charts

Chart performance for The Love Train

Chart (2019)	Peak position
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[24]	10
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[25]	37

Release history

Release history and formats for The Love Train

Country	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
United States	February 8, 2019	Digital download streaming	Epic	[31]
	February 12, 2021	Digital download streaming (re-issue)		[8]

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Love Train — Meghan Trainor". AllMusic. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
2. "REVIEW: Meghan Trainor's 'The Love Train' Consists of Generic Love Songs". Daily Nebraskan. February 18, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
3. Nied, Mike (February 4, 2019). "Change Of Plans: Meghan Trainor Announces 'The Love Train' EP". Idolator. Archived from the original on February 5, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
4. Acevedo, Angelica (February 5, 2019). "Meghan Trainor Announces New EP 'The Love Train'". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 6, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
5. "Meghan Trainor Überrascht Fans Mit 'The Love Train'-EP" (in German). BigFM. February 5, 2019. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
6. Feeney, Nolan (February 8, 2019). "Meghan Trainor On 'The Love Train' EP and Her Songwriting Evolution: 'This Is What I Want My Music to Sound Like'". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
7. Nied, Mike (February 8, 2019). "Loved-Up Bops Aplenty! Stream Meghan Trainor's 'The Love Train' Here". Idolator. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
8. Dresdale, Andrea (February 12, 2021). "New Music Friday: Surf Mesa, Meghan Trainor, Noah Cyrus". ABC News Radio. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
9. Thompson, Rita (June 21, 2018). "Meghan Trainor Debuts Melodic New Track 'All The Ways'". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
10. Wass, Mike (June 21, 2018). "Meghan Trainor Lays Down The Law On "All The Ways"". Idolator. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
11. "Meghan Trainor – I'm Down (Video By Ryan Trainor)". YouTube. Meghan Trainor. February 10, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
12. Acevedo, Angelica (February 12, 2019). "Meghan Trainor Debuts Fun Video for 'Foolish' with Footage from Her Wedding". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
13. Ernsberger, Parry (February 12, 2019). "Meghan Trainor's 'Foolish' Video Includes Wedding Footage From Her Big Day With Daryl Sabara". Bustle. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
14. Atad, Corey (February 12, 2019). "Meghan Trainor Spotlights Two Amazing Young Dancers In New 'After You' Music Video". Entertainment Tonight Canada. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
15. Naidoo, Sayushka (February 14, 2019). "Watch Meghan Trainor's Good Mornin' music video". JustNje. Retrieved March 3, 2019.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
16. Roth, Madeline (February 15, 2019). "Meghan trainor used her real wedding footage for new 'marry me' video". MTV Canada. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
17. Hines, Ree (February 14, 2019). "Meghan Trainor's wedding makes up her 'Marry Me' music video". Today. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
18. Fuentes, Tamara (February 15, 2019). "Exclusive: Meghan Trainor's 'All the Ways' Music Video Stars Bailee Madison Looking Fire AF". Seventeen. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
19. Trendell, Andrew (February 18, 2019). "People are pretty baffled by this bizarre and super-horny Meghan Trainor press release". NME. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
20. Tornow, Sam (June 19, 2018). "Meghan Trainor Announces New Album, 'Treat Myself'". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 20, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
21. "Hot/Modern/AC Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
22. Mylrea, Hannah (February 3, 2020). "Meghan Trainor – Treat Myself Review: Pure High School Musical (Without the Fun Basketball Scenes)". NME. Archived from the original on February 3, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
23. "Meghan Trainor Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
24. "Meghan Trainor Chart History (Digital Albums)".^{[dead link‍]} Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
25. "Meghan Trainor Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
26. Taylor, Danielle (February 11, 2019). "Meghan Trainor Is Head Over Heels For Daryl Sabara On 'The Love Train' EP". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
27. McCann, Kyle (February 8, 2019). "Meghan Trainor Releases 6-Track EP 'The Love Train' Featuring Her Wedding Song". Radio.com. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
28. The Love Train (Media notes). Meghan Trainor. Epic Records. 2019.
29. "The Love Train". Spotify.
30. https://music.amazon.com/albums/B08WCCPSMD ^{[bare URL]}
31. "The Love Train by Meghan Trainor". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019.