Song: Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)  
Album: Room Service 
Year: 2001
Track: #9

Hmm. “Each to their own”  as they say. Not a huge lover of this one but this is clearly a Ghost Track, therefore let’s give it a re-visit.

This is an interesting song because around this time it seemed like Roxette were re-thinking their ballads. “Milk & Toast & Honey” and “Bringing Me Down To My Knees” sound nothing like the loud, bombastic power ballads from the early/mid 90s. By 2001, Roxette avoided their trademark “bigger is better” approach that worked on classics such as “Listen To Your Heart” and “Spending My Time” – by the time Room Service was delivered, the ballads were starting to simmer down a bit.

Perhaps “Anyone” and “Salvation” were the last of the “big ballads” for a while… that is until “Speak To Me” arrived and Marie kicked the chorus into a different stratosphere but that’s another story for another time!

Back to “Try” – it’s got that laid-back electro “smaller ballad” vibe but when you compare it to future similar songs such as “Reveal” or “Breathe,” it doesn’t really cut it. Or does it? Too harsh? It feels that by the time “Reveal” and “Breathe” were released, Roxette really got their head around how to master those poppy, but smaller ballads – much like they did with the wonderful “Sitting On Top of The World” from Charm School.

The interesting thing with Room Service is that at the time, Per mentioned Madonna producer William Orbit as a reference for the type of sound the album would feel like. Bearing that in mind, it makes you wonder why a track like “Entering Your Heart” didn’t make the cut but “Try” did. “Entering Your Heart” could have easily taken the place of “Try”, though some might disagree, but “Entering Your Heart” feels stronger and much more in line with that “electric airy” sound of William Orbit more so than “Try”.  But of course, these are just opinions. What are your thoughts?

You rarely ever see this song get a mention these days, it was overlooked as part of the 2001 Room Service Tour but to be fair only four Room Service tracks made the set list back then – this one  definitely qualifies as part of the Ghost Track series.

Agree? Disagree? Thoughts?