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TRY THIS
Pink
(Arista/BMG)
Pink is a gal who will try anything once -- at least musically.
Her 2000 debut Can't Take Me Home was a tepid set of teen-pop and soul-hop. The 2001 followup M!ssundaztood was a harder-hitting fusion of R&B grooves and pop-rock power, thanks to producer Linda Perry.
Now, on her third CD Try This, the magenta-haired Alecia Moore gets the party started in a whole new direction by collaborating with the last person you'd expect: Rancid singer-guitarist Tim Armstrong. The punk icon co-wrote, played and produced nine of the disc's 15 tracks, giving Pink a much-needed rougher edge, both on pop-punk anthems like Trouble and on groovier electro-punk offerings like Last to Know.
Pity Armstrong didn't helm the whole disc. In what seems like an obvious label-enforced compromise, Pink also includes a couple of blatantly commercial dance-pop throwaways and a few tracks with old pal Perry, all of which have a decidedly been-there-done-that feel. Their inclusion may give the album a few more singles, but it also derails and dilute the disc, turning Try This into an unfocused mish-mash.
Ultimately, you get the feeling Pink was trying too hard. Or perhaps not hard enough.
Track Listing
1. Trouble
2. God Is A DJ
3. Last To Know
4. Tonight's The Night
5. Oh My God Featuring Peaches
6. Catch Me While I'm Sleeping
7. Waiting For Love
8. Save My Life
9. Try Too Hard
10. Humble Neighborhoods
11. Walk Away
12. Unwind
13. Love Song
14. Hooker (hidden track)