Try - Just A Try (Reissue) (1980/1998)

The group Try was basically a duo of Berliners, Amadeus Reineck (known for folksy acoustic music) and Michael Lapp (an electronics master who had constructed his own studio). In 1980, they collaborated on a single 40-minute LP entitled "Just a Try" (CD 027), which pretty much summed up their modest intentions. Almost exclusively an instrumental album, they did succeed in producing an interesting collection of ideas that are melodic and cheerful, but not trite (the Tolkien songtitle references notwithstanding). Comparisons to Synergy and Kitaro could easily be made, and while I find that this pristine 'new agey' approach pales greatly in the shadow of the unbridled spirit of earlier krautrock masters, I still really enjoy the uplifting spirit in Try's music. It's no 'Sowiesoso' (Cluster's gem of an electronic album in a 'pretty krautrock' style), but it's still a worthwhile trip to take... a summer holiday soundtrack perhaps? Reineck later went on to release an album of similar style in 1984 under the name 'Suedama,' his first name spelled backwards.