Try This

''Try This'' is the third studio album by American singer Pink, released on November 11, 2003, by Arista Records. Wanting to expand more on the rock sound, which she explored on her previous record, ''Missundaztood'', for ''Try This'' Pink collaborated with punk band Rancid's singer and guitarist Tim Armstrong, and reunited with Linda Perry, who produced most of the ''Missundaztood'' album. As a result of this collaboration, ''Try This'' is a rock and roll, pop-punk and pop record, with lyrics exploring such themes as love, separation, fun.

''Try This'' received generally favorable reviews from music critics. However, retrospectively Pink herself expressed dissatisfaction with the record. She said that she was unhappy with the way the label wanted her to make an album after the success of ''M!ssundaztood''. Commercially, the album reached top ten in thirteen countries, including US ''Billboard'' 200, where it peaked at number nine, UK, where it reached number three, and Canada, where ''Try This'' peaked at number eight. It was certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA for shipments of over one million copies.

Three singles were released from the record. The lead single, "Trouble", reached top ten in Australia, Canada, UK, and many European countries. Single earned Pink her second Grammy Award, for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance on 2004 show. " God Is a DJ" and "Last to Know", second and third singles respectively, were moderately successful in European charts. However, all of the album singles failed to reach success in US. Some of the album editions also includes single "Feel Good Time" from soundtrack for the movie '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.'' Pink supported the album with the Try This Tour in 2004 across Europe and Australia. The live recording of the Manchester show was released in 2006, titled as '' Pink: Live in Europe''.

Background and composition

After the success of ''Missundaztood'' (2001) and its accompanying worldwide ''Party Tour'', Pink began work on her third studio album. Wanting to expand more on the rock sound she explored with ''Missundaztood'', Pink sought out producers and writers that had experience within the genre. Most of the tracks on ''Try This'' were produced and co-written by punk band Rancid singer and guitarist Tim Armstrong, whom Pink met through a mutual friend at a Transplants video shoot. The two hit it off and Pink ended up co-writing ten songs with him in a week when Transplants were on a tour with the Foo Fighters. Eight of these tracks appeared on ''Try This'', which also features three songs written with Linda Perry, who co-wrote much of ''Missundaztood'', Pink's second album. The album includes a collaboration with electroclash artist Peaches, "Oh My God", and Pink's contribution to the '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' film soundtrack, "Feel Good Time" (produced by and featuring William Orbit), as a non-U.S. bonus track.

''Try This'' was Pink's final studio album under Arista Records. In 2006, Pink said that she was unhappy with the way the label wanted her to make an album after the success of ''M!ssundaztood''. "I was kind of rebelling against the label on that one," she said. "I was going: 'You want a record? Fine, I'll write 10 songs in a week for your fuckin' record and you can press it up and put it out.'"Boyd, Brian
"Pink Panther"
''The Irish Times''. November 2006. She described the promotional campaign for the album as "an awful time. I was walking out of half my interviews crying. I just felt they were putting a quarter in the slot to watch the monkey dance." ''Try This'' is Pink's first album to carry a Parental Advisory warning, and therefore her first album released alongside an edited version. The font used throughout the album's artwork is the same that was used for then label-mates Ace of Base's ''Cruel Summer'' single.

Musically, ''Try This'' is a pop/ rock & roll album, which incorporates elements of punk rock ("Trouble"), R&B ("Catch Me While I'm Sleeping", "Love Song"), new wave and disco ("Humble Neighborhoods").

Critical reception

The album received almost entirely positive reviews from critics with an average Metacritic rating of 71, indicating generally positive reviews. However, there were some negative reviews, with ''New York'' magazine stating "Pink pitches a brand of seriousness that is pure Lifetime-TV mawkishness", and ''The Guardian'' commented that "Like a lot of pop at the moment, it just sounds like a wan imitation of Pink's second album". ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the album a positive review and called it "A hooky, engaging throwaway that expands Pink's range while holding on fiercely to her irascible inner child."

Commercial performance

''Try This'' debuted at number nine on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 147,000 copies, a weaker debut than that of ''Missundaztood''. The album also reached the top ten on album charts in the UK, Canada and Australia. As of March 2007, it had sold 719,000 copies in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan. ''Try This'' re-entered the Australian album chart in June 2009.

The album's first single, "Trouble", a song Armstrong original wrote for his band Rancid in 2003, reached number two in Canada and the top ten in the UK and Australia, but it peaked only at number 68 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2003, "Catch Me While I'm Sleeping" was issued as a promotional single in the U.S.; in the same period, a promo CD-R acetate of "Humble Neighborhoods" was made available in the UK. Follow-up single "God Is a DJ" failed to chart on the Hot 100, although it reached number 11 in the UK. A third single, "Last to Know", was released exclusively in Europe and peaked at 21 in the UK.

Pink embarked on the Try This Tour in Europe during 2004, and a DVD chronicling the tour was released in 2006. "Trouble" was used in the films ''White Chicks'' (2004), '' The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement'' (2004) and '' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'' (2005) as well as the first theatrical trailer for ''Tangled'', and "God Is a DJ" was featured in the film ''Mean Girls'' (2004).

Track listing

Notes
* signifies an additional producer.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

*Pink – lead vocals
*Tim Armstrong – guitar, acoustic bass, keyboards, backup vocals, loops, sound effects, engineer, producer
*Jonnie "Most" Davis – guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, drum programming, producer, keyboards, engineer, arranger
*Linda Perry – guitar, sitar, mellotron, producer
*Damon Elliott – percussion, keyboards, programming, producer
* John Fields – bass, guitar, percussion, piano, keyboards, drums, wah wah guitar, programming, mixing, engineer, producer
*Robbie Campos – acoustic guitar, producer, keyboards, arranger
*Dave Carlock – organ, keyboards, bass, drum programming, backup vocals
*Matt Mahaffey – synthesizer, glockenspiel, turntables, omnichord, keyboards, drums
*Atticus Ross – synthesizer, percussion, loops, engineer
*Vic Ruggiero – piano, Hammond organ
*David Paich – organ, Hammond organ
*Grecco Buratto – guitar
*Eric Schermerhorn – guitar
*Steve Stevens – guitar
*Matt Freeman – bass
* Janis Tanaka – bass
*Nick Lane – trombone
*Lee Thornburg – trumpet
*Greg "Frosty" Smith – baritone sax
*Charlie Bisherat – violin
*Travis Barker – drums
*Dorian Crozier – drums
*Joshua Seth Eagan – percussion, drums
*Bryan Keeling – drums
* Brett Reed – percussion, drums
*Galadriel Masterson – backup vocals
*Hopey Rock – backup vocals
*Lon Price – horn arrangements
* Roger Davies – executive producer
*Craig Logan – executive producer
*Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
*Dave Pensado – mixing
*Brian Gardner – mastering
*David Guerrero – engineer
*Dylan Dresdow – engineer
*Padraic Kerin – engineer
* Steven Miller – engineer, mixing
*Tony Cooper – assistant engineer
*John "Silas" Cranfield – assistant engineer
*Pat Dammer – assistant engineer
*Jay Goin – assistant engineer
*Femio Hernández – assistant engineer
* Chris Testa – assistant engineer
*Ethan Willoughby – assistant engineer
*Joshua Sarubin – A&R
*Jeri Heiden – art direction, design
*Glen Nakasako – art direction, design
*Andrew McPherson – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

!scope="row", Worldwide
,
, 2,700,000
, -

References

{{Authority control

2003 albums
Albums produced by Linda Perry
Albums produced by William Orbit
Pink (singer) albums
Arista Records albums
LaFace Records albums
Pop albums by American artists
Rock albums by American artists