Track Listing

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. Ain't No Sense in Love
9. What You Believe In
10. Mancunian Way
11. Wooden Boat

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20841 in Music
• Released on: 2006-12-04
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Album Description
2006 'reunion' album from one of the UK's best selling boybands. Their first album in over 10 years, Beautiful World reunites four of the five original members including leader/songwriter Gary Barlow (the fifth member, international solo superstar Robbie Williams was invited but graciously declined). 11 tracks including the single 'Patience'. Polydor.

From Amazon.co.uk
It's been a long ten years since Take That disbanded. Their recent reformation and world tour offered overwhelming evidence that, far from being forgotten, the post-Robbie quartet can still command hysterical amounts of goodwill and adoration. Beautiful World illustrates why this is so. Written in conjunction with songwriter/producer John Shanks (Ashlee Simpson, Anastacia, Alanis Morissette), the album is crammed full with the songwriting magic that made their rise to fame so meteoric in the first place. Far from being an exercise in nostalgia, the project moves the band in a slightly new direction. The four come across as more mature, more democratic (all members share songwriting credits on the album, rather than just Barlow), and even more adept at making epic pop that somehow avoids the cheese factor. Lead single "Patience" is a perfect example of how powerful and accessible their songs can be. It'd be a good contender for the album's peak moment if the rest of the tracks weren't so damn good too. With traditional Take That style songs (the immediately likeable "Reach Out", the brimming "Like I Never Loved You At All"), nicely punctuated up by incongruous outings like Jason Orange's folkish "Wooden Boat" and Mark's upbeat, Beatles-esque "Shine", Beautiful World sets a whole new standard for a band previously known more for their singles than their long-players.--Danny McKenna

Customer Reviews

Take That, welcome back...for good!
Move aside Westlife, Justin Timberlake, and Backstreet Boys.

The greatest boy band of our time Take That have returned with a big bang.

Beautiful World is That's 4th studio recorded album, not counting the compilations. It's a nice collection of mellowed-down ballads along with some foot-stompers and crowd-pleasers.

The Manchester boys have grown up. It's been 10 years since the time Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald, and Jason Orange announced that they were parting ways -Robbie Williams ditched the band months earlier and ended up being the most successful of them all, he does not return to the lineup this time around (it's his loss really). The overall feel and sound of World reflects the boys' maturity and self assurance. It also symbolizes the first time the boys share songwriting duties: Gary Barlow isn't the sole writer, Mark, Howard, and Jason all are credited; Jason debuts as a lead singer on the fantastic album closer Wooden Boat.

The album opens up with the breathtaking Reach Out, a beautiful ballad and future single, that reminds us why we loved Take That in the first place. The UK Number 1 singles Patience and Shine are simply awesome, the latter written and sung with conviction by Mark is probably one of the best pop songs I've heard in a long time, while the former is sung by Gary with such an infectious passion; Patience is technically Gary's first hit single in about a decade. Mark's Shine is the most upbeat song on the album with a beat that is similar to ELO's Mr. Blue Sky, with Beatlesque harmonies and an incredible chorus; the music video to Shine includes references to The Beatles' Your Mother Should Know video. Howard's radio friendly self-reflective Mancunian Way, a potential single, is a cool song that will eventually grow on you after a couple of listens, while the feel-good title track, Beautiful World, features one of the best harmonies the boys have ever produced. Gary's lovely ballads Ain't No Sense In Love, another potential single, Like I Never Loved You At All, and the first group effort I'd Wait For Life produce a nostalgic sense of how great it was being a fan of Take That in the 90's. Mark's What You Believe In is an elusive bluesy pop-rock number. Finally, Jason Orange's breakthrough Wooden Boat is a country influenced acoustic number (Jason actually has learned to play guitar and write songs over the 10 years that passed), and turns out to be one of the highlights on World. There's also a bonus track that appears shorty after Boat fades out titled Butterfly, a sweet catchy ballad written by Gary.

Beautiful World might not be as great as Everything Changes or Nobody Else, and Take That might not be as young and exciting as they were once. The album does lack the typical Take That dance and upbeat tracks along with the piano-driven ballads that made past efforts much more balanced. However, their return with this album deserves a very warm welcome. I'm sure the fans will agree!

So I will end by saying: Take That, welcome back...and hopefully, for good this time!

Track Picks:

Reach Out
Patience
Beautiful World
Shine
Mancunian Way
Ain't No Sense In Love
Wooden Boat/Butterfly

Recommended

B+

Take That, welcome back...for good!
Move aside Westlife, Justin Timberlake, and Backstreet Boys.

The greatest boy band of our time Take That have returned with a big bang.

Beautiful World is That's 4th studio recorded album, not counting the compilations. It's a nice collection of mellowed-down ballads along with some foot-stompers and crowd-pleasers.

The Manchester boys have grown up. It's been 10 years since the time Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald, and Jason Orange announced that they were parting ways -Robbie Williams ditched the band months earlier and ended up being the most successful of them all, he does not return to the lineup this time around (it's his loss really). The overall feel and sound of World reflects the boys' maturity and self assurance. It also symbolizes the first time the boys share songwriting duties: Gary Barlow isn't the sole writer, Mark, Howard, and Jason all are credited; Jason debuts as a lead singer on the fantastic album closer Wooden Boat.

The album opens up with the breathtaking Reach Out, a beautiful ballad and future single, that reminds us why we loved Take That in the first place. The UK Number 1 singles Patience and Shine are simply awesome, the latter written and sung with conviction by Mark is probably one of the best pop songs I've heard in a long time, while the former is sung by Gary with such an infectious passion; Patience is technically Gary's first hit single in about a decade. Mark's Shine is the most upbeat song on the album with a beat that is similar to ELO's Mr. Blue Sky, with Beatlesque harmonies and an incredible chorus; the music video to Shine includes references to The Beatles' Your Mother Should Know video. Howard's radio friendly self-reflective Mancunian Way, a potential single, is a cool song that will eventually grow on you after a couple of listens. Gary's lovely ballad Ain't No Sense In Love, another potential single, and the first group effort I'd Wait For Life produce a nostalgic sense of how great it was being a fan of Take That in the 90's. Mark's What You Believe In is an elusive bluesy pop-rock number. Finally, Jason Orange's breakthrough Wooden Boat is a country influenced acoustic number (Jason actually has learned to play guitar and write songs over the 10 years that passed), and turns out to be one of the highlights on World. There's also a bonus track that appears shorty after Boat fades out titled Butterfly, a sweet catchy ballad written by Gary.

Beautiful World might not be as great as Everything Changes or Nobody Else, and Take That might not be as young and exciting as they were once. The album does lack the typical Take That dance and upbeat tracks along with the piano-driven ballads that made past efforts much more balanced. However, their return with this album deserves a very warm welcome. I'm sure the fans will agree!

So I will end by saying: Take That, welcome back...and hopefully, for good this time!

Track Picks:

Reach Out
Patience
Shine
Ain't No Sense In Love
Mancunian Way
Wooden Boat/Butterfly

Recommended

B+

The Boys Are Back In Town
Incredible. After ten long years the boys with the golden voices and beautiful souls have returned to fill the world with beautiful music once more. I would be lying if I said I wouldn't think it better to have all five of them together again but that is the way it goes sometimes. No ill will towards either camp. I adore them both. It makes a warm feeling in my heart to see my boys back in action, to know that there are new sounds to listen to. For those not familiar with thier music know that it is a combination of blended harmonies, romantic love songs, and smooth adult contemporary sounds. They have grown from the teenaged boyband and evolved. Now if I can just get them to release in America and to tour here. Le sigh.