Take That

Yet another Take That single is winging its way into the charts. In celebration of Said It All, here's is my six-point review of the single:

1. Gary Barlow's yelping falsetto is fast becoming one of the most overused devices in pop music today. Yes, more than autotune. It seems that every song Take That do these days is riddled with his bleating falsetto, which does not make up for the lack of emotion in his voice.
2. Mark Owen's voice sounds increasingly feeble - not just on this track, but when they performed on Jonathan Ross the other week. His little piece at the end of the song sounds like a drunk Mancunian pensioner at a karaoke night.
3. The song itself is a solid pop/rock ballad and evokes U2 and Coldplay in its shimmering guitar work and build-up to an epic crescendo.
4. Unfortunately, it's horribly derivitive as a direct result of this. Sure, it might appeal to the more mature pop fans, but after Patience, Rule The World and Greatest Day, this type of TT tune is becoming bland and boring. Rule The World (my personal favourite) worked so well because it was unique, but Barlow has repeated the trick so many times it's becoming like a production line of adult-oriented ballads.
5. I still can't escape the fact that the song itself is actually very good. Yes, it could have been constructed from Gary's "How To Write A Hit Single" instruction manual, but Said It All is a superbly constructed pop song albeit highly likely to be forgotten as soon as the airplay stops.
6. You really can have too much of a good thing.

It’s clearly a slow news day in Celeb-land, as The Sun and The Mirror both regurgitate Robbie Williams quotes from his visit to We Will Rock You the other night.

The Mirror reckon Robbie said he was definitely going to rejoin Take That (a dull rumour that’s been doing the rounds every month since 2005). However, while The Sun’s report agrees with this, it also says that he was dashing back to the studio to record with Mark Ronson.

Now, let’s imagine that you’ve been asked the same question for four years: “Any chance of you rejoining Take That, Rob?” Why not just nod your head and go along with it? “Yeah, yeah. Even though I’m clearly recording a solo album, I’d love nothing more than to hook up with Take That again.”

Take That’s latest offering “Up All Night,” is a bop along, street fair type song, harnessing everything that is Britain: Brass bands, happy-go-lucky singing and four long haired lads trying to make their way in the world.

Cynics will probably say that this fun loving tune is just like the rest of their repertoire. “Up All Night” has a spark that hasn’t been seen since Shine in 2007. Frankly, this song can make anyone smile, and will most likely make 2009 a happy year for the boys, as it deserves a high place in the charts.