Product Description

2008 album from the mega-selling British boy band. After successfully effecting one of the greatest Pop comebacks in history, Take That release their fifth studio album, the second after their return. Led, as ever, by the songwriting talents of svengali Gary Barlow, this release is similarly epic and romantic to its predecessor (2006's Beautiful World), with songs such as 'What Is Love', 'How Did It Come To This' and the single 'Greatest Day' standing out most. Producer John Shanks returns for a second collaboration with the boys, repeating the success of his work with them on Beautiful World. Universal.

Track Listing

1. The Garden
2. Greatest Day
3. Hello
4. Said It All
5. Julie
6. The Circus
7. How Did It Come To This
8. Up All Night
9. What Is Love
10. You
11. Hold Up A Light

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23405 in Music
• Released on: 2008-12-30
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

Enjoyable pop music for grown-ups.
Their latest album shows how the 90's heart-throbs, after hitting on a winning formula for their 2006 comeback "Beautiful World", are able to memage the transition from "boy band" to man band with music-hall razzamatazz and soft-rock balladry.
Their follow up is more of the same, in spades.
Like its predecessor, "The Circus" boasts one killer track.
The hit single "Greatest Day" is as pop-perfect now as "Patience" was back in 2006. With its passionate vocals and sense of tension and release, it's easily one of the best songs here.
Musically, there is not that great a difference between Take That and Coldplay, despite the differing gender balance of their fanbase.
Gary Barlow is more old-fashioned than Chris Martin in his songwriting approach but, like Martin, he knows exactly what buttons to push for maximum mainstream appeal.
A professional songwriter for hire, Barlow knows how to follow a trend. Where once he emulated George Michael's smooth soul, he has switched allegiances to Chris Martin's epic indie, rubbing off any abrasive edges.
"The Garden" might pass for pastiche, with its abrupt shifts between intimate and overblown, delicate piano-led verses followed by swollen choruses with fragile falsetto vocals. It even throws in apocalyptic intimations of mortality, which are unconvincing from such eager-to-please showbusiness troupers. Perhaps the truth is that, stripped to their essence, Coldplay and Take That follow the same McCartney-esque template, crafting superior singalongs with twee philosophising.
On the other side of the coin, Mark Owen contributes more cheerful good-time tunes and adorable upbeat pop songs, offering the vaudevillian "Hello", a sort of 60's take on ELO's "Mr Blue Sky". It may be a little irritating, but annoyingly likeable after a while.
Elsewhere, "Up All Night", which has a bass-line parped by a tuba, recalls Simon & Garfunkel's sell-out era, while "Hold Up A Light" has the makings of a stadium singalong amid its sawing strings.
"Here", an unlikely songwriting collaboration with Turin Brakes, with with folksy verse, subtle harmonies, soaring chorus, cascading strings and a rocking guitar break shipped in for the climax, provides the requisite big end in a Beatley crescendo of sound.
"With its giddy highs and orchestral flourishes, musical glitter balls and assorted baubles, "The Circus" is skillfully stage-managed theatrical pop which succeeds in emphasising both individual personalities and their newly-established group democracy"- Mirror
Highlights: "Rule The World", "The Garden", "Hold Up The Light", "Greatest Hits" and "Here".

Beautiful World
Out Of The Blue

Where's Barlow...?
Barlow lends his voice to only a few songs, which is the first thing wrong with this album.
Also, it doesn't seem that John Shanks has written a single song on this. I follow Shanks' music endeavors because the songs he writes are so good, such as "Patience" by Take That a few years ago. There doesn't seem to be any of that here.
While the album is still good, my favourite track being "Where Is The Love", it doesn't seem to hold the same style of song as "Beautiful World", which is disappointing. There's no real stand-out songs on this.

But still, it's an enjoyable album.

The Age of the "Man Band" has arrived
The term "boy band" has unfortunately gotten a bad rap in today's fast changing world. It's an abusive label that has been placed on music groups who all sing but typically don't play instruments. Because the most popular outfits were young male teens or twentyish guys singing popish, bubblegum, R&B tracks then that's the image people forced on these groups. Sadly, these groups are often criticized for being flavor of the month acts who just crank out these syrupy songs aimed at teenage girls and are not serious musicians with longevity in the industry. That may be true for some groups but there are some artists who do take their music seriously and are each talented in their own right and also have the ability to stay on top.

Take That are one those rare bands that started out as a 90's pop sensation in the UK and then disbanded in 1996 only to make a successful comeback 10 years later. With their new album going #1 in the UK, it's almost like they never left except their music has evolved to a more Beatle-esque meets Coldplay sound. I guess if you had to put a label on them, it would be "Man Band." The lads from Manchester have found a winning formula that keeps all members involved in the singing and songwriting process. The downside is that it has divided some loyal fans into 2 camps. One camp wants the band to keep their old pop formula and have Gary Barlow sing all the songs. The other camp are the ones embracing the new direction and were probably fans who favored more songs with Mark Owen and Robbie Williams back in the day. Fans of the former camp will likely be disappointed in how little Barlow is on this album and how many songs Owen gets this time round. Thus the problem with bands like this. Everyone has their favorite band member and everyone on in the band is capable of taking the lead. In my opinion, for the most part TT pulls off the balancing act quite well for the most part. I personally wouldn't given Mark the amount of songs they did but the ones he does are memorable and catchy. What makes this situation more interesting is the giant elephant in the room/studio for Take That. What happens to them if Robbie Williams decides to rejoin the band? That's something that might never happen but for now the band is enjoying their success with a solid follow up album.