In my first week back to work I’ve taken a renewed focus on mental and physical health. I’m back to running at lunch time, which will hopefully bring me back to a world where the only spare tire in my life is in the trunk of my car where it belongs.
I’m also making an effort to keep writing music reviews, as this experience gives me joy. And on that note…
Disc 1650 is…Try This
Artist: Pink
Year of Release: 2003
What’s up with the Cover? It’s a Giant Head cover. Pink is suggesting we try something and based on her expression, I am inclined to accept.
How I Came To Know It: This is one of Sheila’s albums, so I came upon it by proximity.
How It Stacks Up: Pink has nine studio albums, but this is the only one in the collection, so it can’t stack up.
Rating: 2 stars but almost 3
In recent years I’ve come to embrace mainstream pop. Don’t get me wrong – I haven’t abandoned my previous loves - metal, folk, classic rap and many other genres remain in heavy rotation – I’ve just learned to appreciate a good pop song.
As a result, I was excited when I rolled this album which has been in the collection for a very long time but that I haven’t pulled out since my pop epiphany. The result was…OK. I liked “Try This” overall, but it doesn’t leave a lasting impression and is generally held back by the unfortunate production trends of the early oughts.
Let’s start with the good stuff, which includes Pink’s vocal talent. Pink has a big voice and she’s a natural belter, with the ability to deliver a club hit, a pop croon or a rock snarl with equal believability.
Despite being a step down from the commercial success of 2001’s “Missundaztood” it features one of my favourite Pink singles, “Trouble”. “Trouble” is pure pop fun, where even the overblown production (which I will gripe about shortly) suits the tune. Pink wants us to know she is trouble, but listening to the song it feels like it will be a very enjoyable kind of trouble. “Trouble” doesn’t break any new ground; it is simple straightforward pop anthem done well.
The second single is “God is a DJ” which has all the same elements as “Trouble” but it doesn’t quite land. A big part of this is the pseudo-electronica background beat, and it only gets worse when the chorus hits like a bad parody of a Tom Cochrane salad, with too much dressing.
The biggest issue on “God is a DJ” is also the biggest issue on the record, which is that early oughts production. Way too much is going on, and the result is just a lot of loud, masking songs that don’t always have the bones to fight their way through the murk. “God is a DJ” tries to “break it down” on the bridge, and even resorts to a bass solo at one point but can’t bring it home.
Pink tends to mix in heavy topics with her pop fun, which I always admire in her records. On “Try This” she has a few, my favourite being “Save My Life” which is a song about relapsing back into drug abuse. The song doesn’t provide answers so much as a plea for help that may or may not be answered. It gets a bit stewed around in the production, but the wall of noise backs off enough times that I forgave it.
In other places, the topics seem serious but come across as overblown. “Last to Know” is a song about Pink being upset that some guy didn’t come to her show. There must be more to the relationship to cause the reaction, but with openings like:
“Why was I the last
to know
That you weren't coming to my show?
You could have called me up to say "good luck"
You could have called me back, you stupid fuck
Why was I the last to know?”
…it comes across as pretty self-absorbed. Hey, Pink – you ever think that maybe he’s Spiderman, and he was delayed while fighting crime? These things happen.
This is the era of hidden tracks, and the one on this record – “Hooker” – happens to be one of my favourites. It’s a nasty tune about a sellout, a poser or maybe just that truant Peter Parker guy from a couple paragraphs earlier. In any event, its pure vitriol delivered in a tune that is half rock song/half club banger.
The addition of that track makes for 15 total, which is one too many, and the full 55 minutes drags near the end. I got restless each time through, and while “Hooker” was a fine farewell song, it takes a little too long to get there.
Best tracks: Trouble, Save My Life, Walk Away, Hooker
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