''Try'' is the fourth studio album by
contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...
ian
Bebo Norman
Jeffery Stephen "Bebo" Norman (born May 29, 1973) is a contemporary Christian musician from Columbus, Georgia, US. His most successful album to date is ''Myself When I Am Real'', which included hit songs "Great Light of the World" and "Falling Do ...
. The album is the third with
Essential Records, and his fifth album overall, including his first independent release. This album was released on August 24, 2004, and the producers are
Brown Bannister
Elliott Brown Bannister III (born August 15, 1951) is a contemporary Christian music (CCM) producer and songwriter.
Biography
Bannister released one album of his own, ''Talk to One Another'', in 1981 on NewPax Records. It was reissued on the Reuni ...
,
Matt Bronleewe
Matthew Ryan Bronleewe (born December 13, 1973) is an American record producer, musician, novelist and songwriter.
Biography
Matt Bronleewe was born on December 13, 1973, in Dallas, Texas. As a boy, he moved to central Kansas, Lorraine, with his ...
and
Mitch Dane.
Critical reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's Rovi said that "like a
John Mayer
John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he left for Atlanta in 1997 with fellow guitarist Clay Cook, with whom he formed the short-liv ...
or
Jack Johnson for the Contemporary Christian set, Bebo Norman plays earthy, soulful, acoustic-based music honed though hard touring. As with the aforementioned artists, he tempers his classic sensitive singer/songwriter fare with a keen ear for pop melody and passionate delivery."
In addition, Rovi wrote that the album is "a sure candidate for a CCM/pop crossover, Norman reveals himself as an artist primed and ready for the mainstream on TRY."
[
'']CCM Magazine
''CCM Magazine'' is an online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music and media, published by Logan and Amanda Sekulow.
History
''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has been owned by Salem since 1999. O ...
s David McCreary said that "continuing in a similar vein is the decidedly organic, acoustic-driven project ''Try'', Norman’s fourth studio release. In many ways the selections found here recall the unobtrusive nature of his earliest work, most notably the independent '' The Fabric of Verse''. That’s not to say Norman has regressed musically; but, rather, that ostensibly he desires to remain true to the essence of his artistry."[ Furthermore, McCreary wrote that "another distinct difference evidenced on ''Try'' is the absence of expected tracks relating to singleness or longing for romance. It’s no coincidence that Norman’s affinity for such topics has shifted, given his recent departure from bachelorhood".][ McCreary went on to say that "by design, Norman and his production team have created a restrained yet magnetic sonic template intended to draw the listener in and not let go until the final note is played. And that’s exactly what happens each time this disc is spun."][
'']Christianity Today
''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...
s Russ Breimeier said that "''Try'' is unquestionably a good album, but it indicates an approach by Bebo Norman that is simpler, not more sophisticated."[
]Cross Rhythms
Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operates an FM and online radio station, produces radio shows sent internationally, and its website has resources about contemporary Christian music.
His ...
' Alan Chesters said that the album is "generally concerned with searching for, finding and experiencing faith" and how "each song seems to fit him like a glove and with arrangements easy and varied on the ear, from ballad to up-tempo, there's not a dud track to be found."[
Jesus Freak Hideout's John DiBiase said that "''Try'' succeeds on many levels as Bebo Norman continues to write relevant and meaningful songs for listeners to associate with and worship along to. While maybe not as powerful in some respects as ''Myself...'', ''Try'' marks a new chapter in the life of an incredible artist and musician, and like in any good book, continues to carry the listener along Bebo Norman's life story quite nicely."][
]Melodic
A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term c ...
's Pär Winberg said that "Bebo is one of my biggest favourites the last couple of years. His 3 latest albums have all three been a superb show in soft Midwestern singer songwriter rock. Add Bebo?s marvellous voice to the recipe and you all understand that I have some expectations on the guy. Unfortunately the new album is his weakest of the four. It feels quite uninspired and the songs are just there as a ?nice? background companion without grabbing the heart as his stuff use to do. The album is also far too soft and? nah? a major disappointment is what it is. Unfortunately."[
]
Track listing
Personnel
* Bebo Norman – vocals, acoustic guitars
* Mitch Dane – Wurlitzer electric piano
The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...
(1), acoustic guitars (1), vibraslap
The vibraslap is a percussion instrument consisting of a piece of stiff wire (bent into a U-shape) connecting a wooden ball to a hollow box of wood with metal "teeth" inside. The percussionist holds the metal wire in one hand and strikes the ba ...
(1), electric guitars (2), drum programming (2, 10), percussion (5), Rhodes
Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
(6), acoustic piano (9), analog delay effects (9)
* Cason Cooley – acoustic piano (5, 6)
* Matt Bronleewe
Matthew Ryan Bronleewe (born December 13, 1973) is an American record producer, musician, novelist and songwriter.
Biography
Matt Bronleewe was born on December 13, 1973, in Dallas, Texas. As a boy, he moved to central Kansas, Lorraine, with his ...
– keyboards (7), electric guitar (7), Wurlitzer electric piano (8)
* Jamie Kenney – keyboards (12)
* Ryan Booth – electric 12-string guitar (1), acoustic guitars (2), percussion (2)
* Stephen Mason – electric guitars (1, 4, 6), pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...
(1, 5), backing vocals (1), lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...
(4), banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin.
...
(5), baritone guitar
The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sche ...
(6), mandolin
A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
(6)
* Kenny Meeks – acoustic guitars (1, 2), nylon guitar
The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the modern steel-string a ...
(1, 10), mandolin (2)
* Gabe Scott – lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...
(2, 10), accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
(10)
* Bruce Gaitsch
Bruce R. Gaitsch (; born February 7, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is best known for working with notable bands and musicians such as Chicago, Peter Cetera, Madonna, and Agnetha Fältskog as a session musician and son ...
– acoustic guitars (3, 8, 11)
* Chris Graffagnino – electric guitars (3, 11)
* Paul Moak
Paul Moak (born July 8, 1979) is an American producer, engineer, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee.
Biography
Paul Greer Moak, III was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on July 8, 1979. He learned music at ...
– acoustic guitars (12)
* Aaron Sands
Jars of Clay is a Christian alternative rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. The members met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay. (2005). Making the GradeiTunes Originals - Jars of Clay. AC Audio Essential Records. They ...
– bass (1, 2, 4, 6, 10)
* James Gregory – bass (3, 7, 8, 11, 12)
* Grant Norsworthy – bass (5)
* Andy Hubbard – drums (1, 2, 4-6, 10), percussion (1, 2, 10)
* Eric Darken
Eric A. Darken is an American percussionist, composer, and programmer.
Biography
Drawing inspiration from his grandfather, a band leader. Darken began playing drums at age 12, and played timpani and mallets in high school. Darken attended ...
– drums (3, 7, 8, 11)
* Dan Needham – drums (12)
* Matt Slocum
Matt Slocum (born 27 December 1972) is a guitarist, cellist, pianist and composer, known for his work as the principal songwriter and lead guitarist of Sixpence None the Richer.
Biography
Born in Rhode Island to Joseph and Hildegard Slocum, ...
– cello (2, 10)
* John Catchings – cello (8)
* Keith Getty
Julian Keith Getty (born 16 December 1974) is a Northern Irish businessman, Christian singer and songwriter, best known for writing the song " In Christ Alone" in 2001 with veteran songwriter and worship leader Stuart Townend. Getty and his ...
– string arrangements and conductor (3, 11)
* Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra () was established in 1995, under the German conductor Friedemann Riehle. The orchestra has since produced many classical and film music recordings, working with labels such as Decca, EMI, Sony BMG and various ...
– strings (3, 11)
* Dan Muckala
Daniel John Muckala Work ID No. 881409494 ISWC No. T9052468594 is an American songwriter and producer.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, Muckala was a musical composition student at Belmont University in Tennessee.
Awards (select ...
– string arrangements (12)
* Anthony LaMarchina – cello (12)
* Chris Wilkinson – viola (12)
* David Angell – violin (12)
* David Davidson – violin (12)
* Charlie Lowell
Charles Daniel Lowell (born October 21, 1973)Jars WorldJars World: Music: Tim. Date of Birth noted. Retrieved 9 August 2007. is an American pianist most known for being the pianist and keyboardist for Christian alternative folk rock group Jars of ...
– backing vocals (1)
* Brandon Heath
Brandon Heath (born Brandon Heath Knell; July 21, 1978) is an American contemporary Christian musician. He has released eight studio albums: ''Don't Get Comfortable'' (2006), ''What If We'' (2008), ''Leaving Eden'' (2011), ''Blue Mountain'' (20 ...
– backing vocals (2, 4, 6, 10), acoustic guitars (7)
* Jill Phillips
Jill Anne Gullahorn (''née'', Phillips; born February 15, 1976) is an American Christian musician based out of Nashville, Tennessee, who brings a folk rock and roots rock sound with contemporary Christian music themes.
Early and personal li ...
– backing vocals (5)
* Ellie Holcomb
Elizabeth Asher HolcombASCAP IPI #584603533 (née Bannister; born September 12, 1982) is an American CCM-folk singer-songwriter and she grew up in Nashville. Her father is noted music producer Brown Bannister, and she was a member of Drew Hol ...
– backing vocals (12)
* Michael Mellett – backing vocals (12)
Production
* Executive producer – Jordyn Conner
* Producers – Mitch Dane (1, 2, 4-6, 9, 10); Matt Bronleewe (3, 7, 8, 11); Brown Bannister (12).
* Orchestra technical producer on tracks 3, 11 – Joni McCabe
* Engineers – Mitch Dane (1, 2, 4-6, 9 & 10); Aaron Swihart (3, 7, 8 & 11); Steve Bishir (Track 12).
* Assistant Engineer on Tracks 3, 7, 8 & 11 – Michael Modesto
* Recorded at Sputnik Sound and Dark Horse Recording Studio (Franklin, TN); Pentavarit and Alex The Great Recording (Nashville, TN).
* Mixing – Richard Dodd (Tracks 1-11); Steve Bishir (Track 12).
* Mix Assistant on Tracks 1-11 – David Streit
* Mixed at Oxford Sound (Nashville, TN).
* Digital Editing – Dave Dillbeck and Bill Whittington
* Mastered by Richard Dodd at RichardDodd.com
* A&R production – Michelle Pearson
* Production coordinator on track 12 – Traci Sterling Bishir
* Art Direction – Stephanie McBrayer and Bebo Norman
* Cover Design, Package Design and Photography – Jeremy Cowart
* Management – Blanton Harrell Cooke & Corzine.
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2004 albums
Bebo Norman albums
Essential Records (Christian) albums