January 2015 - Music
Album of the Month - Take That
It’s been a rocky 12 months for the enduring mid-40s man-band Take That. Not only have they lost two members – part-time recruit Robbie Williams decided not to return after touring 2010’s excellent Progress album and then, in September, Jason Orange left because he couldn’t commit to another album and tour cycle – but the remaining three members were also embroiled in a controversy over potential tax avoidance. There was also Barlow’s two-year stint on The X Factor to try to overcome, as well as Mark Owen’s recent solo album. However, questions over accountancy, fun-absorbing talent judging and the loss of personnel doesn’t appear to have dampened people’s appetites for Take That – III is the most pre-ordered album in Amazon UK’s history – and for their part they’ve created a record that continues to experiment with the euphoric pop formula. Featuring production from the likes of gold-plated pop maestro Greg Kurstin, Progress collaborator Stuart Price and ballad favourite John Shanks, III feels like a compendium of the albums they’ve made since reforming in 2006, flitting as it does between electro-tinged paranoia, arena-sized sing-alongs and midlife crisis-tinged confessionals. III is, as Gary Barlow said recently, most definitely not a retirement record.
Produced by Kurstin, the first single and current UK No 1 These Days is so good it manages to overcome Gary Barlow’s weird American accent, which crops up in the first verse. Brilliantly cheesy and shamelessly aiming for the heart of the disco revival, it’s the perfect example of pop absorbing a trend that already feels like it’s on the way out. Sure to become a wedding disco staple – not least so people can replicate the dad dancing displayed on their recent X Factor performance – it’s a euphoric opener that seems to encapsulate the album’s themes of grabbing life by the lapels and giving it a good shake. My rating 8/10.
It’s been a rocky 12 months for the enduring mid-40s man-band Take That. Not only have they lost two members – part-time recruit Robbie Williams decided not to return after touring 2010’s excellent Progress album and then, in September, Jason Orange left because he couldn’t commit to another album and tour cycle – but the remaining three members were also embroiled in a controversy over potential tax avoidance. There was also Barlow’s two-year stint on The X Factor to try to overcome, as well as Mark Owen’s recent solo album. However, questions over accountancy, fun-absorbing talent judging and the loss of personnel doesn’t appear to have dampened people’s appetites for Take That – III is the most pre-ordered album in Amazon UK’s history – and for their part they’ve created a record that continues to experiment with the euphoric pop formula. Featuring production from the likes of gold-plated pop maestro Greg Kurstin, Progress collaborator Stuart Price and ballad favourite John Shanks, III feels like a compendium of the albums they’ve made since reforming in 2006, flitting as it does between electro-tinged paranoia, arena-sized sing-alongs and midlife crisis-tinged confessionals. III is, as Gary Barlow said recently, most definitely not a retirement record.
Produced by Kurstin, the first single and current UK No 1 These Days is so good it manages to overcome Gary Barlow’s weird American accent, which crops up in the first verse. Brilliantly cheesy and shamelessly aiming for the heart of the disco revival, it’s the perfect example of pop absorbing a trend that already feels like it’s on the way out. Sure to become a wedding disco staple – not least so people can replicate the dad dancing displayed on their recent X Factor performance – it’s a euphoric opener that seems to encapsulate the album’s themes of grabbing life by the lapels and giving it a good shake. My rating 8/10.
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