For as long as Bebo Norman has been a household name in Christian music circles, I've had a bit of an ambivalent reaction to his music. I never hated the guy or anything, but I could never really get excited about his subdued, workmanlike brand of folk music. I guess I just preferred for my folk music to have more vibrant colors - either the brighter shades of an Andrew Peterson record or the darker hues of the now-defunct Five O'Clock People or something of that nature. Bebo always struck me as one of those guys that, while talented, didn't really use his instrumental or lyrical skill to its full intent on a record. He kept things more simple, and in that way he seemed to win a lot of people over. I don't think he ever dumbed it down like a lot of Christian music does - he was just floating somewhere in the middle between quality artistry and a middle-of-the-road adult contemporary style.

What really made me latch on to Bebo in more recent years had a lot more to do with his personality off record than anything he had ever recorded. Sure, I found a few classic tunes in his repertoire such as "The Hammer Holds", "Where the Trees Stand Still", and his first true radio hit, "Great Light of the World". But what I really enjoyed was seeing the guy in concert and just listening to him talk. Bebo's got a highly self-deprecating sense of humor and a tendency to ramble that, against all odds, is actually quite charming. In addition to that, he's spent most of his career with the stigma of being one of Christian music's most eligible bachelors. He's spoken openly about the subject of singleness, giving fellow believers who struggle with loneliness in that area something to relate to in his stories (and a few songs as well). He seemed like the kind of guy I'd have hung out with in college, taking walks around campus late at night and just talking about God, girls, and everything under the sun. Of course, not knowing the guy personally, concerts became the next best way to immerse myself in Bebo's world. In fact, he might be one of the only performers I've ever plunked down money to go see without actually owning any of his CD's. The whole atmosphere just makes me appreciate his songs, mellow and unassuming as most of them may be, 10 times as much as I do on his albums.

Things have changed a bit for Bebo in the last year or so. For starters, he's gotten married. Not surprisingly, when a singer has a reputation of being "that single guy" and then he gets hitched, he's not gonna be writing songs about waiting for his special someone to come along any more. It was difficult to adjust to this with Derek Webb last year (though he turned out a fine piece of work), and admittedly it's a bit weird to have a new Bebo album without that element present as well. Another change is Bebo's decision to produce with someone other than his old buddy Ed Cash, choosing to go with the multi-producer approach this time - Mitch Dane and Matt Bronleewe for a tiny bit of quirkiness and pop sensibility, and Brown Bannister for a smidegn of, uh, inspirational bombast. That's probably the biggest thing that weirds me out on Bebo's latest album, Try. Not that it's a completely different sonic venture - there are just some sounds and ideas that don't seem very "Bebo" to me.

And yet, at the same time, there's some of his best work on here. When you employ fine musicians such as Steve Mason and Charlie Lowell from Jars of Clay, Kenny Meeks, Cason Cooley from The Normals, Andrew Peterson's former right-hand man Gabe Scott, and Matt Slocum from Sixpence None the Richer, you're bound to get some interesting instrumental textures out of it. Heck, there are times when this album sounds like Bebo is singing lead for Jars, and that ain't a bad thing. But then there are times when it seems like he wants to be the acoustic-driven equivalent of MercyMe And I'm not so keen on that. Sure, I understand that Bebo's most popular song to date has been more of a "worship" song that employed more general and universal sentiments, and I loved "Great Light of the World", but I don't see that as a reason to start shedding what's unique about you as a songwriter and veering towards the ordinary, easy-to-swallow nature of inspirational music.

Clearly, Try is a mixed bag. My attitude about it seems to flip-flop based on which half of the album I happen to be listening to at the moment. The front half is a fairly solid series of songs, but the back half... well, let's just see if I can stay awake long enough to get that far. (It's a common problem with this guy, actually.)

Finding You
Maybe You could stop time, hanging on to daylight
Doesn't ever have to go away
I could sing a new song, maybe get the words wrong
But You know just what I want to say...
The best way to convince people you've changed is to place your quirkiest track at the beginning of your new record. Starting with a drum beat that takes a rather proper pace for the opening track of a Bebo album (that is, extremely relaxed), the listener is subjected to a brief moment of confusion when the beat speeds up, as if recorded on a tape that's being played faster and faster, until it finally gives way to a quick, carefree guitar strum. This is probably the most upbeat track Bebo has ever done, and it sounds a lot like what might happen if you took Jars of Clay's "Sunny Days" and worked in the infamous major, major-seventh, seventh, major-seventh chord progression from Sixpence's "Kiss Me". it's actually quite a fun song, with the drums and other instruments given free reign to frolick along with the guitar as Bebo's rough but charming voice celebrates the little joys of finding God in the least expected places. It's an early highlight of the record - and I don't just say that because it violates Bebo's usual speed limit. It's just nice to hear Bebo doing fast and catchy without being subjected to cliché pop production.

Nothing Without You
Take these hands and lift them up
For I have not the strength to praise You near enough...
In keeping with the Jars comparison from the previous song, the shift from upbeat and happy song into quiet, contemplative acoustic strum reminds me of how "Sunny Days" suddenly gives way to the subdued "Amazing Grace" on Who We Are Instead. Bebo plays it a little more straight than Jars here, though, starting off with a more intimate feel and gradually working in a combination of folksy instruments like the lap steel, dobro and mandolin and more modern drums and percussion until, boom, a big inspirational ballad sneaks up and whacks you over the head. It's passable as far as songs of this nature go - the lyrics don't tell us much that we can't already discern from the chorus in terms of man being able to accomplish nothing apart from God, but the music is colorful enough to stand out from your typical inspirational song. It's pretty clear that this one's supposed to be the next "Great Light of the World", but I think it's a bit too hushed and straightforward to really make as much impact. "Great Light of the World" may have had some cliché inspirational lyrics at certain points too, but that chorus packed one heck of a wallop.

Disappear
I don't want to care about earthly thing
Be caught up in all the lies that trick my eyes
They say it's all about me
I'm so tired of it being about me...
I had my misgivings about this one at first - it's a fuller, more pop-oriented tune, and Bebo didn't even co-write it (a first for him on one of his own albums) - it was penned by Chad Cates and Jesse Cates. The song moves at a fairly breezy pace, and it's basically a prayer about wanting to find solitude, to be out of the spotlight and "a million miles from the world", and to just bask in God's presence. It probably sounds a bit escapist from how I'm describing it, but I'd be lying if I said that I couldn't relate. It's the perfect song for driving home after a long work day, when that time you have in the car might just be the only time that day during which no one can bug you. Bebo's voice is at its strongest here and that really elevates it above the level of "typical folk-pop song" - his admission that "I would rather be cast away, separated from the human race, if I don't bring You glory" comes across even more genuinely because of it.

Try
And under the streetlight, we kissed
Never more tried and more true
It drew a new song from my lips
Singing if I can fall, I'm falling for you...
I love the way that the acoustic guitar defines the beat on this album's title track - it cautiously picks out a spidery 3/4 rhythm as Bebo reminisces about his youth and the day he wrote his first song. As he looks back on those years, he comes across the realization that he's a very fragile man who likes to live in the past where it seems safer - he's afraid to grow up. However, any good man will eventually learn how to get off of his butt and commence with the maturing process if he's got a wonderful woman to do it for, and Bebo is basically saying with this song that his wife is that woman. She makes him want to try. It's a wistful, personal song that gets sprinkled with just the right amount of keyboards and background ambience - the spotlight is never stolen from the acoustic guitar, but a little bit of color from the other players goes a long way.

Standing in Your Silence
Well, it's cold behind the earth
For a drifting satellite
But you know, for what it's worth
I've been praying for daylight...
It's kind of funny how my mind maps out an album after I've listened to it a few times - I know where all of the "fast" songs are if an album is mostly slow, even if I don't remember anything else about the songs. For some reason, anything that has even a light, shuffling beat gets marked as an upbeat, bouncy song in my mind when listening to a Bebo record. This would be one of those songs - it's like the most delicate version of "upbeat" that there is. Bebo and his band work up a nice blend of acoustic guitar, piano, mandolin, and banjo (yum!) for this one, creating a playful atmosphere as he takes another moment to describe how his wife has affected his world. I like how he focuses on a little detail or two when he's singing about her - here, he's enjoying the simple pleasure of a quiet moment, when he's in awe of her even if they don't necessarily have anything new to talk about or otherwise share with each other. She's still the one who makes his world go 'round, and as cheesy as that may sound (believe me, it can get there with the "Oh me, oh my" that starts off the chorus), it's effective.

Other Side of Day
Is it time that gets the best of us
Reminding all the rest of us that it's fading?
This is probably the most musically dense tune on the record, using a percussive approach to paint a slightly darker mood on the verses, which sets up a nice night-and-day contrast for the bright chorus, which is brimming over with a strong hook and a jubilant mandolin (go Steve Mason!) Night and day analogies have been used ad nauseum to describe the absence and presence of God, but Bebo still manages to use them effectively by describing his faith as being somewhat like a planet that slips in and out of the direct light of the sun. Even in the dark, the stars and the moon are there to reflect the light - this reminds me of a similar analogy that the David Crowder Band used on last year's Illuminate. My ears are really playing tricks on me since I'm already primed to make Jars comparisons here - there's a background vocal at one point that sounds an awful lot like Jars singer Dan Haseltine, but it turns out that it's Brandon Heath, one of Bebo's co-writers. Strong tune overall.

Soldier
What is the worth of a man living for himself
With a heart of his own?
This is the other tune on the album that Bebo didn't write - Brandon Heath was responsible for this one. To be honest, it kind of shows that someone else wrote it, because the song uses a simplistic analogy of God being a soldier who carries us home - it never really gets explained on a deeper level. I don't really get the feel of a war or a battlefield, just Bebo being scared and alone in some dark place and not being sure if he can trust God. I guess I've heard the phrase "Like a soldier" a few times in other songs that I can't quite remember the names of at the moment, so this song kind of blows right by me. I like the mellow, syncopated rhythm that it has, but it falls prey to the inspirational cliché of swelling strings that don't really do much except rise and fall in their volume level, and lines like "Where do I stand in this world?" just serve to make it sound more generic.

Drifting
Standing at the floodgate, steady as an earthquake
Can You hear my heart break, tearing at the seams...
Is it possible for a song to be light and dreamy, and yet frustratingly leaden, all at the same time? This song seems to indicate that it is. It's one of those tunes that almost immediately repels me with the wimpy-sounding keyboards and hushed vocal lines that start it off, but as it picks up layers along the way and becomes the most ridiculously overproduced thing Bebo's ever done, it also begins to exhibit a strange charm. The mood certainly fit's the title, as this sounds like the kind of song that you'd happily drift off to sleep while playing on repeat. That's not an insult, exactly - it's got a definite feeling of vulnerability about it, and the way Bebo stretches his voice is commendable - he sings the second verse a full octave higher than the first, and the chorus has a similar tune but lies somewhere in the middle. I like Bebo's description of his own fragility before God, but I don't like how he borrows lines from Chris Rice ("deep enough to dream") and Rich Mullins ("shaking like a leaf"). Still, it's got a melody that sticks in my head, like a little music box from my childhood days whose tune I'm trying to commit to memory before it finally breaks down for good.

How You Love Me
Hope came home, home to me today
And fear has run the other way...
This song is a short, quiet prayer, with a lean playtime of a minute and a half. During that time, it barely registers, reminding me of the sort of half-song that a folk singer would more likely end an album with. These sorts of tracks that can't make up their minds whether they're full songs or interludes kind of bug me sometimes. Nothing about it really stands out other than its length, and I don't think it makes for a notable transition between the surrounding songs.

Yes I Will
On the sacred path You bled for us
Scarred and broken up that hill
How terrible the cross, how glorious
I hear You say "Come follow Me", so I will...
This song was actually released earlier this year on the City on a Hill rehash album The Christ: His Passion, and it found some success as an upbeat radio-friendly song, recorded as a duet with Joy Williams. Well, you can forget everything you know about that version, because this one, while it maintains the tune and lyrics, has basically been stripped down to its bare essentials and then slightly embellished with things like a cello, an accordion, and some light drum programming. The acoustic guitar picks out the rhythm at half speed, so while it hasn't been slowed down all that much, it feels a lot slower. (Interesting how you can make a song feel slower without actually slowing it down just by changing how many beats the rhythm is subdivided into.) Written with City moguls Marc Byrd and Steve Hindalong, this is a devotional song about wanting to follow Christ up the hill to Calvary and sacrifice out lives for His cause. While I respect Bebo for re-recording this song in his own style instead of just recycling the existing version, I can't say that this particular take is terribly exciting. I do kind of like the abrupt ending, though, where Bebo practically whispers the last line, "Help me Jesus, when I feel afraid".

Borrow Mine
And the God we know will not fail us
We'll lay it all down as we call out
Sweet Savior, help our unbelief...
The confession of fear gives way to a ringing, anthemia ballad, the last "new" song on the record, in which Bebo promises a friend who is suffering from a shortage of faith that he/she can simply "borrow" some from him. Kind of an abstract concept, I guess, but at the same time, I kind of like that idea, that different people are weak in different areas and sometimes God uses them to strengthen each other. It basically amounts to another instance of slight overproduction on a song with a somewhat plodding pace that still manages to stand out and be somewhat memorable. I think songs like this can get buried sometimes if their surroundings all have pretty much the same tempo - variance tends to help each song stick out a bit more.

Nothing Without You (Alternate Version)
I'll insert my obvious complaint here, because I know a lot of people will probably agree with me - Did we really need two versions of this song? Bebo actually goes to great lengths to explain in the liner notes (actually, in the inner tray hiding behind the CD) that both versions were important to him - one being more "intimate" and one being more "grand". That's nice and all, but given that even the "intimate" version was overproduced, and this one is amazingly so (substituting the folk base of the other version with more of an unobtrusive Nashville soft rock ballad vibe, and of course keeping those blasted strings!), and it just does nothing for me to have the song repeated here. A purely acoustic version - just Bebo and maybe one or two other players, no drums, no strings, no overdubs, would probably have made more sense as the "intimate" version, and then the so-called "intimate" version could have been posed as the "grand" version instead, and that would actually make some sense, but do they ever listen to me? No! The end result here is that I basically get tired of the song twice as fast. And that's not exactly the kind of mood you want to leave a listener in at the end of your album.

I guess I don't mind if Bebo wants to experiment. If anything, he's probably come up with the record that I'm most compelled to listen to again and again out of his entire discography (Myself When I Am Real and Ten Thousand Days were real chores for me to get through despite containing a few great songs, and Big Blue Sky also suffered from overproduction issues), or at least the front half compels me to do so. If he could sustain that level of variance and willingness to try new things throughout an album, I'd probably be able to look lyrical missteps (be they Bebo's fault or other writers') more easily and just enjoy the music and vocals. Bebo's vocals are a strong point, his guitar playing is a strong point (when he's willing to think outside of his usual favorite progressions, anyway), and the circle of friends he's gathered to play with him on this record is definitely a strong point. If he started from those points next time around, and remembered not to equate experimenting with AC pop, then I think he'd have a career high point on his hands.

(More songs about his wife couldn't hurt either. I mean, just 'cause you won her over doesn't mean you shouldn't stop trying to, eh?)

ALBUM WORTH:
Finding You $1.50
Nothing Without You $.50
Disappear $1.50
Try $1.50
Standing in Your Silence $1.50
The Other Side of Day $1.50
Soldier $0
Drifting $1
How You Love Me $0
Yes I Will $.50
Borrow Mine $1
Nothing Without You (Alternate Version) $0
TOTAL: $10.50

CONCLUSION: Shoot, if only the first 6 songs had been released as an EP or something, that's be a worthwhile buy. As it is, I recommend it only for existing fans and those who find it in the bargain bin.

Website: http://www.bebonorman.com

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Going to Sleep