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Album Review
by Isla Synn
11-11-2003
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| Pink: 'Try This', a Janis Joplin tribute |
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Pink: 'Try This'
(BMG)
Pink: the third morphing phase
“Try this? What’s in it?”, A. Sceptic enquires. “Blind faith,” smiles advertiser.
Pink’s third offering ‘Try This’ is a mixed bag of her attempting to break the mould once more by morphing into a punk-rockier style chick. Still steadfastly refusing to be pinned down, as she proclaims on the inlay, “Embrace the freak that you are!” Single ‘Trouble’ and ‘God Is A DJ’ rev along on the guitar-based sound and her feisty persona shines through. She’s even more in her element on the frantic ‘Try Too Hard’.
‘Last To Know‘ is more heartfelt, ‘Oh My God’ has Peaches guesting on, ‘Tonight’s The Night’ is a good mood-setting track but, in general, ’Try This’ is a homage record. Nine songs are Tim Armstrong’s (Rancid) and sound fresher than the ones penned by the principal songwriter of the previous ‘M!zzundaztood’ disc, Linda Perry… ’Waiting For Love’ is fatuous and we could have done without. On the whole, this is high radio-friendly music masquerading as subversive songs for the dys-gen.
‘Try This’ simply continues the hegemony of corpo-Americrap and Pink is emblematic of the US-style ladettes. Alecia Moore, to give her real name, owns her success to naked ambition and recycling, with its commercial impact as strange as finding out that Westlife have had 10 (correct, t-e-n) Number Ones in the UK. Wow, there is so much between gutter and the sky, floating freely - mediocrity.
We’d like to report excitement but we lost our pink-tinted glasses after so much dye used on her follicles. People probably responded with their money when single ‘Trouble’ entered/peaked at No. 7 before retreating two places the following week. Sure, the charts ain’t what they used to be but when you can’t place a single higher on such a compromised list… Well, who knows what women grant?
Most of today’s artists sound huge in every department but originality. Pink said her favourite track on the new album is a tribute to the rebellious rock singer Janis Joplin. “The song’s about being tough on the outside and vulnerable on the inside. I see now that I am also talking about myself,” she explained.
She doesn’t recall the late female-hell raiser much, nor the Courtney Love’s anti-tude but more like being a hybrid of Billy Idol and sexed-up Hazel O’Connor [ask your grandpa!] who is jumping on every bandwagon in sight. We are environmentally friendly but CDs like these make us go environMENTAL!
6/10 (pizze)
Isla Synn
11-11-2003
Pink’s album ‘Try This’ is released 10 November 2003 by BMG
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