It’s an understatement to say Take That are one of the most successful pop groups of the past 30 years. They are a bona fide hit machine (internationally, they have had 56 number one hit singles), but as the decades have passed and as the band membership has depleted (from five to the now steady membership of Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald), they have taken the decision to gaze into the mirror and reflect upon what they see looking back at them: three 50-something men that, despite their ‘boy band’ past and still busy pop star lifestyle, need to address certain issues that are important to them. In less accomplished hands, such contemplation could be a banana skin career change, but This Life proves, unquestionably, that the group’s songwriting skills are as strong and (within the confines of pop music) adventurous as ever.
The title track is a typical case in point. As the lyrics pinpoint changing fortunes (‘this life ain’t no bed of roses, this life will take everything that you’ve got, in this life there’s no second chances, make this life yours…’), the music rolls around your head like a classy outtake from a Steely Dan album (we’re guessing Aja). Brand New Sun starts with a summery acoustic strum followed by Owen singing about grass (and not weeds) growing through the cracks; Days I Hate Myself (‘just another night feeling lost, pieces hard to find, never forgot’), One More Time (‘I tried to hold your hand to stop you being scared, all the while in the waiting room, I wish I could be everywhere, be present when you need me there, but sometimes I’m not at home’), Windows (‘I’ve been through a year of madness, replaced my hope with sadness’), and Where We Are (‘just look at where we are, the years behind us, we have come so far’) provide enough evidence that This Life, Take That’s ninth studio album, showcases a group of songwriters perhaps ill at ease with advancing maturity but confident enough to at least engage with it.
The strengths of the songs lay in the pooling of resources. The group’s once principal songwriter, Barlow, has latterly relinquished total control in that area and while he will always get a Fast Track pass for pop songs as perfect as Back for Good, Rule the World and Greatest Day (to name but three), the emergence of Owen and Donald as highly proficient co-writers add real value to the music. Some might prefer to describe Take That as so-what, but the depth of thought aligned with effortless, sturdy melodies – throws such notions to the wind.
