Download of the Day UK: Take That's "Love Love"

British pop group Take That are pretty good at recording movie themes.

At least that's what you can infer, with "Rule The World" from the film Stardust being one of the best UK pop singles released in the past ten years and all.

Riding high on the success of their multi-platinum behemoth Progress, the five guys are back in the cinemas with their single "Love Love", which will be the British theme for the upcoming film X-Men: First Class.

Unlike their aforementioned smash, "Love Love" is not a ballad at all. It's a driving, military pop stormer, with heavy beats, industrial-lite synths, and dramatic vocals. The song takes a lot from "Kidz", which was an excellent experiment of their grittier pop sound. It stands as one of my favorite songs of theirs.

Unfortunately, "Love Love" suffers from being a bit overwrought with the vocals and the production. Gary's vocals in particular are just too dramatic and the production itself is just a bit too busy. On the other hand, Mark's voice works just as well as did on "Kidz", which is a nice surprise. Considering what the movie is, the song itself seems like a very good fit.

It's not as good as "Kidz", and it doesn't even begin to touch "Rule The World", but Take That should be commended for continuing to try new sounds and prove that they are more than just a boyband.

What do you think of Take That's "Love Love"?

Take That Have Year's Best Selling UK Album

Fully reformed Take That are the
biggest UK seller of the year with Progress

Fans just can't get enough of Take That!

The British boyband has sold 433,000 copies of their latest album Progress,the first to feature Robbie Williams since 1995's Nobody Else. This puts their overall sales at over 1.8 million copies since it's November 15th release, making it the best-selling UK album of the year.

If Take That can keep up the momentum for the next few weeks, they are poised to outsell their previous two albums, 2008's The Circus and 2005's Beautiful World. The Circus sold 2.2 million copies, while the group's comeback record (with Williams) Beautiful World sold 2.6 million copies.

I haven't found the time to listen to the whole album, but I really liked "The Flood", and I think the reported second single "SOS" is pretty much a guaranteed hit. I'll probably get around to listening to the whole thing sometime before the new year.

If you've heard the album, what do you think? Is it worthy of all of the success it's gotten? Or are you over the Take That craze? Let me know!

Robbie Williams Rejoins Take That!

UK pop star Robbie Williams is rejoining his bandmates Take That for a huge reunion album and tour, the group's website confirmed yesterday.

The news should really come to no surprise to anyone reading the British tabloids (or this blog) for the last two years. In fact, speculation of the group's reunion began way back in 2005, when Take That reformed without Robbie for a TV special. A year later, they released Beautiful World, which sold over 3 million copies worldwide and spawned two #1 hits. That same year, Robbie released Rudebox, which was declared a flop.

Robbie, who released the successful Reality Killed The Video Star album last year, called the reunion "like coming home".

The album is due for release later this year. The album is to be produced by Stuart Price, the dial-knobbler behind Kylie's Aphrodite. On top of that, Robbie is doing a duet with Gary Barlow titled "Shame" for his greatest hits record In and Out of Consciousness.

Honestly, the timing of this is a bit curious, and I can't even really tell you why I feel that way. I guess if it was going to ever happen, it would be now. That all said, "Rule The World" and "Back For Good" are absolute brilliance, and I really liked Reality Killed The Video Star. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

Below is their official reunion photoshoot video:

Nick Lachey Covers Take That Classic "Patience"

A while back, I raged over the travesty that was Nickelodeon "singer" Miranda Cosgrove desecrating the brilliant Sugababes track "About You Now".

Well, here we go again.

Sort of.

Former 98 Degrees frontman (and Jessica Simspon's ex-husband) Nick Lachey has done something that might get him tarred and feathered across the pond; he covered a Take That song.

Not just any Take That song; he covered their MASSIVE comeback single "Patience".

It sounds terrible on paper, right? Well, here it is:



And here is the 2006 original by the British pop group:



Obviously, I think Take That's version is better, but I won't completely slate Lachey's cover. In fact, considering my expectations, it's actually good. The arrangement's a little too pop-rock for me, and it kind of takes away from the song's meaning, but it's a decent effort. Lachey is quite emotive singing this, which is another surprise. It's definitely leaps and bounds above weepy "What's Left of Me" and that whole album.

Expect Lachey to be assualting airwaves next month. Expect Gary Barlow to be receiving massive royalty checks for next six months.

Complete Take That Reunion In The Future?

First Gary suggested it, and now it seems like even Robbie is looking forward to a possible reforming.

On his website, Robbie Williams said that he is "over the moon" for the boy's success since their unprecedented comeback success beginning in 2006.  According to him, there are no hard feelings since his leaving the group in the mid-90s and that they have been meeting many times over the last year.

But here's the line that will send fans into a complete frenzy:

"I'd love to be in the band again but I've got some unfinished business of my own."

The "unfinished business" he is speaking of may be his upcoming album. After that is done, the sky may be the limit for the British boyband.

Another sign of his commitment? According to the Daily Telegraph, he has bought a $14 million home in Wiltshire in Southwest England. Oh, that and a new tattoo of the old Take That symbol.

Since splitting from Take That, Robbie Williams has gone on to nearly unparalleled success, becoming one of the biggest pop stars in the world. He has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and has scored 6 UK #1 singles.

DOTD Album Tracks 12-06: "The Garden" by Take That

On this week's BWU Hot 40, Take That became the first male act to go to #1. The chart-topping song was "The Garden", a song off of their soon-to-be #1 album The Circus.

"The Garden" topped the chart because it is a truly brilliant song that demanded my attention every time looked through iTunes. It is a grand, cinematic pop ballad that continually grows at an absorbing pace. The men from Manchester pulled out every "epic pop" trick out of their bag for this song, somehow pulling in the best elements from their previous mega ballads and improving on them. Trying to outdo musical opus "Rule The World", they throw in a string section, a marching band, and even a false ending that leads to an even more massive climatic chorus. Mark Owen and Gary Barlow share lead vocals on this song, and while Mark's voice takes awhile to get used to (I'm finally beginning to like "Shine"), it somehow perfectly contrasts the bombast of the song. Gary's voice compliments it. All together, Take That strive and reach majestic with this song. Any and every major event of your life should have this song as its soundtrack.

Take That continually to prove that they can take a musical genre often decried as tired and make it bigger than any of us can comprehend. Hence, their #1 debut on he BWU Hot 4o.

Rating: 9/10

Take That's Gary Barlow: "Britney Spears is Pointless"

  V.S.

British Britney fans, prepare your weapons!

Gary Barlow of British pop group Take That has called out against Britney Spears in an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper.

In an interview, he said, "I don't see the point of Britney anymore. She was rubbish on [The X Factor]. I think she's more famous than she deserves to be now".

Fellow member Howard Donald also chimed in, calling her lipsynching on the show "stupid".

Take That does have reason to be a little cocky; their album The Circus sold over 132,000 copies in its first day, compared to Britney's 24,000 copies.

In America, Britney's on track to sell 425,000 to top the album chart next week.

Now, I like Take That, but kicking someone while they are trying to stand up is REALLY tacky and pretty rude. 

Take That On The X Factor

UK pop gods Take That took to the stage of The X Factor tonight, before the release of their new album The Circus coming on December 2nd.

The foursome performed lead single/guaranteed UK #1/BWU Hot 40 #5 "Greatest Day", which will be released this upcoming week.

Is it only me, or is Mark Owen's little hat bugging anyone else? Other than it, a great performance as usual.

Check it out below:

Music Video Premiere: "Greatest Day" by Take That

Call me crazy, but how do you come off of a multi-platinum album and deliver such a cheap, boring video. With a title like "Greatest Day", it should have been epic, not just four guys standing on top of a building moving awkwardly and making "king of the world" poses.

This is going to be a very curious album era for Take That, huh?

Take That Unveil "The Circus" Album Cover

The "walking in the desert" theme of Beautiful World was pretty cool, and I get the album is titled The Circus but there is something about this album cover that reeks of bad.

The album will be released on December 2nd in the UK, with the single "Greatest Day" coming out the week before.

Song Review: "Greatest Day" by Take That

UK boyband Take That are a pop enigma.

Basic music fact says that any pop group should expire after a few years of mega-success, then reunite for a greatest hits album and tour, before breaking up again and going on with whatever careers the members choose.

Not Take That.

A decade after their last major hit, the group (minus Robbie Williams) reunited for the blockbuster Beautiful World record. The album's success cemented their status as pop legends, still incredibly relevant after their supposed prime.

Now, the four-piece are coming back with their new album Circus, which will be released on December 1st. Before that though, they will release the single "Greatest Day" a few weeks before. The song debuted on the Chris Moyles Show on Radio 1 yesterday to much anticipation. What would it sound like? Would it be a guaranteed smash?

"Greatest Day" follows in the vein of many of their latest hits, including my favorite "Rule The World". The song is a slow-burning, rousing ballad that is perfect for a ride home from work (my favorite kind of song). Lyrics, although not very complex, still match the tone of the song perfectly. It's a song meant to lift spirits, although the more appreciated in these times of economic strife. The warm lyrics are lifted up further by the powerful vocals from Gary Barlow. There is something about his voice that is both dramatic and soothing at the same time. It must be why he sings the lead on most of the songs.

"Greatest Day" is a great pop song; there is no question about that. It would've been nice if they tried something a bit different, since they've done songs like this one better ("Rule The World" is near-genius level). That definitely shouldn't deter anyone from the song. Take That have proven once again that they know pop music better than most, and that they deserve a nice, cushy spot in the pop canon.

Rating: 7.5/10

Take That Launch UK Chart Battle With Britney Spears

V.S.

The pop chart battle of the year has been launched across the pond.

Earlier this year, Mariah Carey, Madonna, and Leona Lewis dueled it out on the US charts with their new singles, with Leona ultimately winning. Now, the ever-important holiday market is the stage for another chart battle, this time between a recovering pop princess and the elder statesmen of UK pop.

Take That, arguably the biggest boyband in recent UK history, premiered their new single on the Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 yesterday called "Greatest Day". Group member Gary Barlow revealed that the single would be released on November 24th, the same day Britney's potential US chart-topper "Womanizer" drops in the UK.

It gets even better. The name of Take That's new album is The Circus. Britney's album title is Circus. Coincidence? Both albums will be released on the same date; December 2nd.

It's a tough chart battle to predict. Take That made a huge comeback in 2006 with their album Beautiful World. It is their best-selling album to date, with 2.1 million copies shifted in Britain alone. They also garnered two UK #1s from the album. Britney's chart fortunes are less inspiring. Her album Breakout only sold 10% of Take That's, despite the top three placings of "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me". Still, her comeback is more than impressive.


We'll see in a month, but my money is on Take That. Their fanbase is too great to ignore, no matter huge Britney's return is slated to be.