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Album review
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Take That - Beautiful World
- Rating:
- Format: Album
- Label: Polydor
- Reviewed by John Lewis
- Posted: Mon Nov 20 2006
For 50 years, British pop has classically been about gay impresarios manipulating young, straight, working class lads for the benefit of teenage girls. What made Take That fascinating was how they amped up this gay fantasy element. Their founding manager Nigel Martin-Smith had his buffed-up, bleached-blond quintet performing hardcore gay clubs in bondage gear, cycling shorts and leather codpieces, as if to lay bare the homoerotic mechanics of the boyband.
So it’s a huge disappointment that this reunion album is such a drearily heterosexual affair: bog-standard dadrock that exchanges the whiff of amyl nitrate for Horlicks and Radox. Tracks like ‘Mancunian Way’ sound like hymns to their compromised heterosexuality: ‘We used to walk the Mancunian way/we used to swagger, we used to sway/until the lights took us away’, sings Howard Donald, even getting his seven-year-old daughter Grace to sing the outro, as if to prove that he’s NOT A POOF. And the ‘Dear Prudence’-style guitar flourishes suggest that these thirtysomething dads wanted to be Oasis all along.
Of the 12 tracks, Gary sings six, Mark sings three, Howard two and poor little Jason Orange gets his one Ringo-style token folky track tagged on at the end. They’ve apparently agreed to share the songwriting duties, which could mean that squillionaire Gary Barlow is generously sharing his royalties. But Mark Owen, always the indie kid at heart, sings the two best tracks here: a stompy Scissor Sisters-style guilty pleasure called ‘Shine’, all Beatles chord changes and ELO harmonies, and ‘What You Believe In’, which kicks off with a Beach Boys choir and ends up sounding a bit like a mid-’70s John Lennon track.
The rest of the album comprises anonymous, plodding power pop numbers and indentikit ballads. The string-laden ‘Wait For Life’ has one nice chord change; ‘Like I Never Loved You’ is a serviceable 6/8 ballad; and ‘Beautiful World’ should keep U2’s lawyers busy. But anyone wanting their fix of queer decadence will be disappointed.- More reviews
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11 comments
Gary barlow is the only married member of Take That. Jason Orange is still single (well until I get hold of him, that is!)
by the way - all of the other commenters,
LOVIN the nasty comments at the seemingly gay Mr Lewis...
lolz!
what a load of rubbish this reviewer is saying!
i LOVE take that, they are amazing, they are hot, i am choosing to ignore the fact that the love of my life Jason Orange is married... sigh...
anyway. all of their song are incredible, and mancunian way is sweet you big know-it-all.
all of the songs (including hidden track butterfly after wooden boat, which the love of my life did his first ever solo on - YAY!) are top class, incredible, incredible, incredible songs.
XXXXXX LOVE U JASON XXXXXXX <3 ( ;
Everyone is entitled to their view on this album..and indeed TT's comeback..in this case John Lewis is WRONG..I had to put up with my wifes obsession with Take that the first time around..but secretly thought the boyz had talent..this time around I am not hiding away from the fact that they not only are a telented bunch but put on one hell of a show of pure entertainemnt value both concerts and recent TV performances which left a mark (no pun intended) on my emotions for their songs! I went to see Robbie recently at Milton Keynes.whilst I enjoyed this overall, he really has not got the entertainment factor that TT have got and I pray (Again No Pun..) that i can get to see them in concert before they split again!! Shine is superb..and yes I does remind me of ELO..but then they were fantastic also..I also like Woodden Boat and I'd Wait for Life..their old stuff is great too..Never Forget...Get a Life Mr Lewis..and succomb to popular opinion and i'm 42 and Not Gay! are you??
A very patronising review. Why? I fail to see why this album should be seen in context of their apreances at gay clubs 15 or 16 years ago. They've moved on and in a gracious and melodic fashion. "Patience" is, in my view, a heart-stopping track and Jason has a sweet and tuneful voice, unlike Ringo. No- I'm not one of their original, now 30 something fans. But they have won me over to their talent with this album.
What on Earth is wrong with John Lewis? I don't buy albums or listen to music because of someone's sexuality as I don't think that has anything to do with the quality of the songs. I love this album; they're older, their sound shows that, but that is in no way a bad thing.
This album sounds much better that Robbie's last work, Robbie stinks for leaving his super music behind, New Robbies sound is S**t, but all this disapointment was covered by great TT album
WELCOME BACK TT
I bought this cd as a xmas present for someone; a friend pursuaded me to play it and as a result I decided it was too good to part with. No doubt the only instrument John Lewis can play is his own organ, probably every night when he goes to bed.
To expect Take That 10 years on to pump out another album full of teeny boppy "gay" tunes just goes and shows how completely out of touch with reality John Lewis is. If anything I would've thought if TT had put out another record full of 'Could It Be Magic's' would've been a much bigger disappointment for fans. 'Beautiful World' displays the right amount of pop sensibility and maturity that proves exactly why they have always been (and will always be) a different league from the likes of Boyzone and Westlife. Welcome back TT!
Is it really that bad being straight? Is John Lewis by any chance gay?
Please sack John Lewis... (isn't he a shop?). Take That album works !! Think of how risky it was... to come up with the same old gay pop tunes... They are men.. and this suits them.. so what if it's not gay ... they aren't gay ... although not sure about JO. But it's fab and I am sure it will appeal to a gay audience.. I say it's fab !! Well done and thanks for the nostalgia...