I must admit, I wasn't a huge fan of Take-That in the 90s. I think this had most to do with my age (I'm 19 now, and was only 7 or 8 when they broke up).
Saying that, I was quite pleased when I heard they were reforming. I had pleasant nostalgic memories of listening to "Back For Good" and "Never Forget" in the car after they'd split up.
So, I liked the first single "Patience". They were everywhere, their comeback tour was being replayed on TV everyday it seemed, and so I gradually began to see what all the fuss was about. Must admit, I don't like much modern music, not compared to the oldies. However, Take-That were and are different. Number one, they write their own songs- Gary Barlow is such an amazing talent, to write songs like "Back For Good", and "Pray". Number two- they dance! They are great dancers, I love especially watching Jason Break-dance, I've always wanted to be able to do that! Plus, it makes the band seem a lot more cool and current, not just a boyband who sit on their stools throughout every song-You know who I'm referring to! Number three- they worked really hard to make it, they didn't just go on some talent show and end up being in a band a few weeks later. They worked for it all, doing gay-clubs, school halls, everywhere they could to get their music across. Other boybands just don't compare, they are widely accepted as "the best boyband" and it shows because I don't know anyone who isn't ecstatic that Take-That are back, and to be able to bring out a great single, great album and top all
5 music charts is just phenomenal and shows that they are still very much in the publics hearts.
So I decided to get their new CD. I already knew three tracks- "Patience" of course that had been released in November, "Shine" (that they had performed on "An Audience With Take-That") and "I'd Wait For Life" which had also been performed on An Audience With Take-That. I loved Patience and Shine, but wasn't sure about "I'd Wait For Life". Anyway, as soon as I've finished listening to a CD, I usually think "don't like it". I always need to listen to a CD a few times before I get the songs stuck in my head and appreciate them (unless of course I previously knew all or most of the songs on the CD).
So I made myself listen to the album the whole way through at least five times (I don't mean to sound like it was a chore to listen to it five times, but the first couple of times, I didn't really enjoy it so much). After this, I had a lot more of an idea what all of the songs were about, and they began to stick in my head.
Overall I think this is a fantastic album. Gary's vocals are as strong as ever and it's really nice to hear the other band members sing the main vocals- Mark sings 3 songs, Howard 2 and Jason 1, while Gary sings the remaining 6. I like Howard's vocals, although they are not as strong as the others I don't think. Mark does a good job on "Shine" and the others he sings, and I was pleasantly surprised by Jason's voice on "Wooden Boat", I think he has a very nice voice that we don't get to hear often enough!
The track listings are-
1. Reach Out 2. Patience 3. Beautiful World 4. Hold On 5. Like I Never Loved You At All 6. Shine 7. I'd Wait For Life 8. What You Believe In 9. Ain't No Sense In Love 10. Mancunian Way 11. Wooden Boat 12. Butterfly (Bonus Track)
The Album cover has a picture of the band walking along the sand, inside it has more pictures of the boys and lyrics to all of the songs.
The CD is black with just the Take-That logo on.
Here is my opinion of each song-
1. REACH OUT- A good catchy tune, lead vocals by Gary, very enjoyable to listen to. 2. PATIENCE- Just about everyone knows this song, it's been played to death on the radio. A great pop song, the best choice on the album to be their comeback single. Lead vocals by Gary. 3. BEAUTIFUL WORLD- Lead vocals by Howard, it grew on me, I think this is a decent song. 4. HOLD ON- I don't like this one so much, but it's ok, lead vocals by Mark Owen. 5. LIKE I NEVER LOVED YOU AT ALL- A really nice, upbeat catchy song, one of my favourites on the album. Lead vocals-Gary. 6. SHINE- I loved this song since the first time I saw them perform it on "An Audience With Take-That". I think it has been played a bit too much on the radio, but still a great song, and a brilliant follow-up single to Patience. 7. I'D WAIT FOR LIFE- The most ballad-like of all the songs. Lead vocals by Gary Barlow. This song is to be the third song released from the album. This is probably my least favourite. It's really slow, it's got nice lyrics and is sang wonderfully by Gary of course, but for me it's too slow. Time will tell, if I keep hearing it on the radio, I may grow to like it more than I do at present. It's still a good song. 8. WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN- Lead vocals by Mark. Not much to say about this song, but I like it! 9. AIN'T NO SENSE IN LOVE- Lead vocals by Gary. This one seems similar to "Reach Out" to me. A decent tune. 10. MANCUNIAN WAY- One of my favourites on the album. Sang by Howard about his home-Manchester. It's got some good lyrics and I really enjoy listening to it. At the end, Howard's daughter Grace sings a little bit- "I'm driving home again, back down Mancunian Way". This is a really sweet addition to the song, I read in a magazine somewhere that it was unplanned to have Grace sing, but I think it works really well. 11. WOODEN BOAT- Lead vocals by Jason. I really enjoy listening to this because I like Jason's voice, it's also quite a sad nostalgic song, another of my favourites on the album, it's a bit folky, and it's good to relax to. 12. BUTTERFLY- Bonus Track. Lead vocals by Gary. It's quite a good catchy tune, but not one of my favourites.
There are a couple of songs that I don't like so much on the album, and it takes a while to get some of the songs stuck in your head, but overall I think it's a great effort from them.
Take-That's latest album shows how much they have matured. All being in their 30s now, and 3 out of 4 of them fathers, it's to be expected. Some people might not have thought that it would work, but they have replaced jumping around all over the place, insane dance-routines and ridiculous costumes, with a laid-back more mature pop album. Another question people asked is "can they do it without Robbie?" Well for me, only getting into them first time around after Robbie had left, I associate Take-That without Robbie anyway, but now they have proved that they can definitely cut it without Mr. Williams.
Can we still call them a Boyband? I don't know, maybe not, but it's finally not embarassing to admit you like them, they've even got some credibility this time around.
Definitely recommended to just about everyone! Don't expect really fast songs like "Could It be Magic" though. They have proved that they have what it takes to stick around, and I'm sure they've picked up thousands more fans this time around. It's great that people can enjoy the Take-That experience all over again, or first time around for some young people.
I don't know how long they'll be around for this time, but they definitely have the talent and staying power to be around for a long time...again!
9/10
Thanks for reading!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
It's been a long ten years since Take That disbanded. Their recent reformation and world ... more
tour offered overwhelming evidence that, far from being forgotten, the post-Robbie quartet can still command hysterical amounts of goodwill and adoration. Beautifu...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: a few really great songs on here, more mature than older material Disadvantages: songs sound similar to other songs but i cant quite put my finger on it
Advantages: Great vocals, great lyrics and its so amazing to have them back! Disadvantages: There are quite a few ballads, which might not be your thing
Advantages: All of the tracks present shine through as excellent with a brilliant chorus always present. Disadvantages: Gary Barlow is given the lead vocals far too often.
RazzaLazza 14.02.2008 (14.02.2008)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of BeautifulWorld - TakeThat
Are you the manufacturer / provider of Take That - Beautiful World? Click here
May 21st, 2007
very helpful by (88%):
helpful by (13%):
![River Is Wide, The [Remastered] - Forum (The)](http://imagesb.ciao.com/iuk/images/products/small/251/prod_small-6006251.jpg)
