Try! (John Mayer Trio album)
Encyclopedia
Try! is the first live album by the John Mayer Trio
. It was released by Columbia Records
on November 22, 2005
. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.
(guitar/lead vocals), Pino Palladino
(bass), and Steve Jordan (drums/backup vocals). Unlike previous efforts by John Mayer, Try! focuses on popular blues
renditions rather than adult-contemporary pop
songs. The CD
includes two cover songs, "Wait Until Tomorrow
" by Jimi Hendrix
, and "I Got a Woman
" by Ray Charles
; two of Mayer's previous album, Heavier Things
's songs, "Daughters
" and "Something's Missing
"; and also showcased two songs from Mayer's then forthcoming album, Continuum, "Vultures" and "Gravity
".
said, "over most of these sixty-three minutes [of the album], Mayer proves he can bowl you over, not just make your knees weak," ultimately giving the album three out of four stars. Katy Hastey of Billboard found that "while "Try!" is brimming with talent, it's not consistently compelling." People
magazine heartily praised the album, concluding, "Here's hoping Mayer keeps this new groove going for his next solo disc."
Additional personnel
Production personnel
John Mayer Trio
In February 2005, the trio played Mayer's single "Daughters" at the 47th Grammy Awards, for which Mayer went on to win the award for Best Male Vocal Performance later that night . The Trio released "Come When I Call" exclusively to iTunes...
. It was released by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
on November 22, 2005
2005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.
Production
The trio features John MayerJohn Mayer (musician)
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
(guitar/lead vocals), Pino Palladino
Pino Palladino
Pino Palladino is a Welsh bass guitarist who gained fame playing primarily rock and roll, blues rock, and rhythm and blues music, although he has been lauded for his ability to play most genres of popular music, including jazz, neo soul, and funk...
(bass), and Steve Jordan (drums/backup vocals). Unlike previous efforts by John Mayer, Try! focuses on popular blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
renditions rather than adult-contemporary pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
songs. The CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
includes two cover songs, "Wait Until Tomorrow
Axis: Bold as Love
Axis: Bold as Love is the second studio album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Under pressure from their record company to follow-up the successful debut of their May 1967 album Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love was released on Track Records in the UK in December 1967...
" by Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, and "I Got a Woman
I Got a Woman
"I Got a Woman" is a song co-written and recorded by American R&B/soul musician Ray Charles and released as a single in December 1954 on the Atlantic label as Atlantic 45-1050 b/w "Come Back Baby." Both sides later appeared on his 1957 album Ray Charles .-Origin:The song builds on...
" by Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
; two of Mayer's previous album, Heavier Things
Heavier Things
Heavier Things is the second studio album by American musician John Mayer, released September 9, 2003 on Columbia Records in the United States. The title of the album itself is a subtle response to certain criticism of Mayer's music. The album debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart,...
's songs, "Daughters
Daughters (John Mayer song)
"Daughters" is the third single from Heavier Things, the 2003 studio album from blues singer-songwriter, John Mayer. The critically acclaimed song won numerous awards, including the 2005 Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the 47th Grammy Awards....
" and "Something's Missing
Something's Missing
"Something's Missing" is a song by John Mayer. It is the third track from Heavier Things, Mayer's second studio album. This song is distinct from all other songs by Mayer as it was the only song to have appeared on every live release Mayer had contributed to up to Where the Light Is. This included...
"; and also showcased two songs from Mayer's then forthcoming album, Continuum, "Vultures" and "Gravity
Gravity (John Mayer song)
"Gravity" is a song by American singer-songwriter guitarist John Mayer and is featured on three of his releases: the 2005 live album Try! by the John Mayer Trio, his 2006 studio album Continuum, and his 2008 live album Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles...
".
Reception
Critical response to the album was mixed, with most critics being impressed with Mayer's progression and Palladino and Jordan's musicianship, while still being underwhelmed. Christian Hoard of Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
said, "over most of these sixty-three minutes [of the album], Mayer proves he can bowl you over, not just make your knees weak," ultimately giving the album three out of four stars. Katy Hastey of Billboard found that "while "Try!" is brimming with talent, it's not consistently compelling." People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine heartily praised the album, concluding, "Here's hoping Mayer keeps this new groove going for his next solo disc."
Track listing
Personnel
Musicians- John MayerJohn MayerJohn Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, art directionArt directorThe art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
, graphic designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience... - Steve JordanSteve Jordan (musician)Steve Jordan is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, musical director and Grammy Award-winning artist, who has made a name for himself as a producer from the Bronx in New York City. A graduate of the Fiorello H...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, production - Pino PalladinoPino PalladinoPino Palladino is a Welsh bass guitarist who gained fame playing primarily rock and roll, blues rock, and rhythm and blues music, although he has been lauded for his ability to play most genres of popular music, including jazz, neo soul, and funk...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Chalmers AlfordChalmers AlfordChalmers Edward "Spanky" Alford was an American three time Grammy winning jazz guitarist. Alford was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He was well known for his playing style and use of arpeggiations...
– guitar on track 11
Additional personnel
- Ames Bros. – art direction, graphic design
- Danny ClinchDanny ClinchDanny Clinch is a photographer and film director who was born in Toms River, New Jersey in 1964. He graduated from Toms River High School East in 1982 and after attending Ocean County College, he attended the New England School of Photography, a two-year institution located in Boston, MA.Clinch...
– photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film... - Michael Caulfield – photography
Production personnel
- John AlagiaJohn AlagíaJohn Alagía is an accomplished music producer. He is best known for his work with the Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer. Alagia is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and a graduate of Georgetown University...
– additional production - Roger Moutenot – Pro ToolsPro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Chris Nelson – additional engineering
- Hardi Kamsani – additional engineering
- Joel Singer – additional engineering
- Peter Gary – additional engineering
- Joe Ferla – mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, recordingSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
on tracks 3 and 10 - Chad FranscoviakChad FranscoviakChad Franscoviak is a sound engineer and producer based out of Los Angeles, California. He is most well known for his work on John Mayer albums...
– recording on all tracks except 3 and 10 - Greg Calbi – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...