Добавлено (31.10.2010, 17:29)
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А это нормально что у меня аватар слетел? или меня наказали?

Talking of the moment when Gary showed up with the new backing tracks, Robbie says, "Hearing that stuff for the first time, I was like, What the fuck have you been listening to?! Then he tells you about the history of electronic pop in England and you're like, Oh you know about that too - brilliant!"

Well, the result was worth the wait – from thumping techno-pop track SOS with Mark on the leads, the harmoniously addictive Pretty Things (with Gaz and Rob on lead), to the fabulously strong hidden track, Flower Bed with Jason on vocals, we were actually blown away - and think you might just be too!

Then there's the heartfelt Mark Owen-lead What Do You Want From Me? It sounds a bit close to the bone lyrically (it’s all about saving a relationship) but it was written by all the lads and before all the stuff with Mark kicked off in March this year... But by goodness, it’s good and we reckon it has to be a single! Just when you thought they couldn’t better The Circus eh...
http://www.heatworld.com/Enterta....t-album

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Take That Official Website) - Take That - now back to their original line-up and fresh from announcing a blockbuster 14-date Summer stadium tour, are also set to dominate the Christmas charts this year according to music retailer HMV and bookmakers William Hill, who are offering just 2/5-on that their new album Progress will top the charts come Christmas Day when the Official UK Album Chart is announced on Sunday, 19th December. These represent the shortest odds ever issued by Hills for a Christmas no.1 album prediction.

Progress, which is out on November 15 - the day after Take That are rumoured to be performing on the X Factor, is likely to face its closest challenge from JLS, whose follow-up album Outta This World has been issued odds of 5/1 by Hills.

Kings of Leon's Come Around Sundown, which came out this week and is already setting the pace as the fastest-selling record of 2010, is likely to push for a top-3 spot, attracting odds of 9/1, whilst new recordings from Susan Boyle (The Gift - 10/1) and Duffy (Endlessly - 16/1) also look set to vie for a top 5 spot.

The rest of the predicted top 10 continues to have a distinctly X-Factor inspired feel to it, with the likes of Black Eyed Peas, Olly Murs, Cheryl Cole, Michael Bubl�, Rihanna and Westlife all likely to do really well following recent or planned appearances on the prime-time family show. A good outside bet, however, could prove The Soldiers, whose album Letters Home, which is donating proceeds to Help For Heroes amongst other charities, may well tap into the strong sentiment that so evidently exists among the British public for our service men and women.

HMV's Gennaro Castaldo comments: "Usually it's the winner of the X Factor landing the Xmas no.1 single that's the easy prediction to make, but, after last year's upset with Rage Against the Machine, people are not so sure now - though you'd still have to make them favourites.

"More certain, I'd say, is the likelihood of Take That massively outselling everyone else on the albums front this Christmas. They're the biggest act in the country by far and clearly much-loved by all, so Progress will appeal as much to your gran as it will to your five-year old. It has to be the ultimate family album, and with Robbie back, a great lead single to come and the band due to appear on the X Factor as well as in their own TV documentary, you have to say there are all the makings of a perfect storm that will see Take That dominate the charts this Christmas."

Rupert Adams of William Hills, adds: "We think it's a one horse race - Take That with Robbie back on board are going to be almost impossible to beat."
http://top40-charts.com/news....58.html

Don't let the positive sounding title and sunshiney bright cover lull you in to a false sense of pop gaiety though, Progress is a deceptively dark offering from the usually quite cheerful man band. Okay, we don't mean dark as in emo wrist slashingly dark, just dark compared to Barry Manilow covers and Lulu duets.

The main thought that Progress leaves you to ponder is - where's Gary? It's pretty much a full on Robbie-fest. So all hardy Take That fans better be prepared to welcome everyone's favourite spotlight hogger back to nestle in their collective bosom.

Let's go track by track:

1) The Flood. Yeah yeah you already know this one. But think therefore that you know the album? Think again clever clogs. You can see why they released this single first. It's cosy familiar territory - all suitably epic with swathes of sweeping violins and a big rousing chorus with pretty harmonies... just with Robbie on lead vocals - ooo the novelty. But in context of the rest of Progress you realise that thematically, the metaphor of The Flood offers a taster of how our cardigan-wearing heroes have come over all apocalyptic on our asses. Blimey - didn't see that one coming...

2) SOS. This is as near as Take That should ever get to The Clash's London Calling. Singing of storms breaking and satellites failing, poor wee Mark Owen cries out to have his soul saved amid the foreboding morse code. And if this isn't enough to shatter our previously safe and comfy preconceptions of what a night in with a Take That LP should offer, Robbie Williams interjects with a chorus call 'like a bullet to the head'. Steady on - what would Marks & Spencer say? This track is where producer du jour, Stuart Price, really stamps his presence and it's all hi-NRG beats and bleeps a la Confessions era Madonna. You half expect the video to feature Take That rollerskating around in pink leotards.

3) Wait. More Robbie centre stage in this stripped down, melancholy electro offering that is part Lady Gaga, part Pet Shop Boys. This could have been off of Robbie's last solo effort - albeit with the safety net of a familiar feeling traditional Take That chorus.

4) Kidz. The military look is in right now so this one has us all marching and chanting in unison to the ‘la la la’s. Kidz has a touch of Richard X style Girls Aloud and is only let down by some distinctly A-level sounding anti-establishment political poetry (‘Not sure where the fall out blows… there’ll be trouble when the kids come out…’) or maybe it’s meant to be in keeping with the 80s feel? A token bit of Cold War paranoia adds to the retro military cool after all.

5) Pretty Things. Just when we were getting to use the electro vibe it’s suddenly back to The Circus and it’s all nursery rhyme style harpsichord and violins. Oh and listen – Robbie’s finally let Gary chirp in! Hurrah! Shame it’s on the first track really failing to prick our ears up. Perhaps this is an indication that this new Price-flavoured Take That really is a better idea than retreading old ground…

6) Happy Now. And it’s back to the dark paranoia with Gary belatedly claiming lead vocals back. Again, don’t be fooled by the title – this is the new serious Gary who’s sounding very world weary and cynical (‘Give me half as much but twice as fast – today…’). While this could easily have been traditional Take That fare, Stuart Price touches it up with a trendy electro fringe…

7) Underground Machine. Whoa - step aside Gary, don’t get comfy… Robbie’s back sneaking us on to some David Lynch film noir soundtrack where repetitive robotic rhythms are over laid with industrial sound effects (‘The lighting’s cheap and the room is cold…’) This old school dystopia is only lightened by some irrepressible Robbie theatrics. Singing about himself again: ‘You might be good looking but you can’t sleep with yourself tonight. What a beast, what man…’

8) What Do You Want From Me? A few years ago, a repenting Mark Owen would have been singing ‘Baby, please forgive me – I love you so very much… ooo yeah’ (Okay maybe a bit better than that - we’re no lyricists) but this new bullshit-free Mark now sings: ‘I still want to have sex with you’ and as excuses go – ‘We’re not wise at all, it’s getting harder to recover’ is the best he’s going to offer. Fair enough. Mark Owen has grown some balls. Brilliant.

9) Affirmation. Surely now an uncomplicated, upbeat little ditty that rings true to its title? Nah don’t be silly… more melancholy. Our boys are still reeling in end-of-the-world turmoil (‘I can feel the pressure on our minds – on the whole universe… we’re just incomplete…’) Howard finally gets a crack of the whip but you can’t help feeling that Gary’s stronger vocals would have fulfilled the promise here and enabled this song to burst through to the out and out euphoria that’s been tentatively threatening the whole dark album. But Stuart Price persuades the lads to keep their cool and err on the side of restraint (a new lesson for Robbie we reckon).

10) Eight Letters. Gary Barlow does Ultravox’s Vienna. Genius. It might even feel a bit – dare we say – ABBA? Is this a bit of the old Take That coming back? Tempered with a bit of reflectively melancholy of course… before we all get too carried away.

11) Flower Bed. So they still let Jason have a go – albeit on the hidden track. The Vocoder voice effects seals that 80s futurism feel and it’s all very ethereal and Goldfrapp. A lovely light fresh finish to an unexpected but great album. Just as touching and fitting as his little Wooden Boat.

It might not be the Take That we’re used to but it’s a Take That we could get used to. Maybe even dance a bit to? This direction would never have worked without Robbie on board to give it the confidence needed to pull this off. So it’s away with the M&S cardies and on with the day-glo vests… come back Gary – don’t be shy, you can pull that look off.
http://www.virgin.com/music/reviews/take-that-progress-album-review

Taking in bombastic stadium rock, sleazy funk, up-tempo RnB, operatic techno, Bowie-esque whimsy and demented disco, Progress is most definitely not the sound of two wildly popular acts playing it safe and raking the millions in. Even the relatively conventional comeback single, The Flood, is unexpected: with its huge, widescreen production, booming drum rolls and faux-profound lyrics, it instantly makes the next U2 album redundant.

The Flood's enjoyable hokum is immediately bettered by SOS, a savage-of-bass, furiously paced disco romp with Mark Owen on gleeful lead vocals and Williams providing adrenaline-flecked back-ups. The latter sounds like he’s having a ball throughout, particularly on another Owen/Williams duet, Kidz, which exhilaratingly combines martial beats, glam guitars, Atari techno and the kind of absurd dystopian pomp ("Daggers of science evolving into violence / We're not sure where the fallout blows") usually found on Muse albums. On the space-funk of Underground Machine – the closest thing to a Williams’ solo track – he sounds more ruttingly, struttingly confident than he has in years.

Elsewhere, Progress is slightly more conventional. Pretty Things sees Williams' falsetto and Gary Barlow's hushed croon sonically merged into something uncannily like David Bowie, while its chiming keyboards, gorgeous harmonies and fluttering melodies make it an obvious single. Only one song falls flat on its face: even super-producer Stuart Price can't salvage much from Owen’s wobbly vocals and watery sentimentality on What Do You Want From Me.

What will happen next is predictable, for once: monster hit singles, eye-watering sales and a tour that will keep St John's Ambulances busier than they’ve been in years. After that? With this collection of erratic egos, who knows; but the ebullient, daring Progress sounds more like a fresh start than a final destination.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/qvwx

Fifteen years, seven UK number one albums and sales of 57m records later, he has achieved his goal.

The Flood, the opening track from Progress - the man band's first album as a reunited five-piece - begins with lush strings as Williams belts out: "Standing on the edge of forever, at the start of whatever."

It's a beginning that would sit well on any Williams solo album from 2000's Sing When You're Winning onwards.

Not to be outdone, Gary Barlow stamps his mark with a trademark rising middle eight heralding a chorus that owes much to four-piece 2005-2009 Take That.

It offers a tantalising glimpse of the best of both worlds.

But The Flood as first single is not typical of the album. While Robbie's input feels like an extension of his solo material, contributions from Gary, Mark and the other two are distinctly different from their last two releases, Beautiful World and the Circus.

Don't expect a Patience, Rule The World or Greatest Day. Take That mark three - as the album title suggests - is all about reinvention.

Thanks to the album's producer, Madonna collaborator Stuart Price, it's an electro-tinged reinvention.

Electrofied Take That sounds hideous on paper. But Price's fusion of chugging synth lines, a mixture of synthesized and real drums, and subtle Take That harmonies pushes things forward.

Williams wordplay brings another dimension throughout - Barlow would never have written "we'll be practising our politics, defending all our policies, preparing for apocalypse" from possible single SOS.

This is the album Rudebox - Williams' disappointing 2006 album of electro experimentation - could have been.

But while Progress is likely to be lauded by critics, Take That are steering a brave, new course given Rudebox's alienation of the core Williams audience.

Female pop fans in their late 30s/early 40s are not necessarily the biggest fans of electro-rock.

Those same fans will be wondering why they can't find a Barlow ballad.

Wait, with its opening piano and high, cinematic strings, threatens to be just that before an electronic breakbeat unexpectedly kicks in.

The closest we get to a Barlow epic is Eight Letters - "when I went away, what I forgot to say, was all I had to say, eight words, three words, one meaning". But even here, the usual opening piano chords are replaced with a distorted synth line.

Kidz, featuring Mark Owen in the verse and a heavily-processed Williams in the chorus, is a definite contender for second single sounding, as it does, like a cross between Sam Sparro's Black and Gold, and Feel Good Inc by Damon Albarn's Gorillaz. (Presumably it's spelt with a "z" to differentiate it from Kids, Williams' 2000 duet with Kylie Minogue.)

But it faces strong competition from Happy Now which, along with The Flood and delicate duet Pretty Things, features Barlow and Williams on lead vocals.

The harmony-drenched chorus of "I feel myself falling, I'm feeling happy now, I'm feeling happy now" is the only moment on the album reminiscent of five-piece 1990s Take That - think Everything Changes 2010.

It's also the most uplifting moment. Williams' return to the fold has brought a moodier edge to Take That's usually breezy sound.

Mark Owen, meanwhile - making a pitch to become Take That's George Harrison - performs lead vocal and songwriting duties admirably on SOS and What Do You Want From Me?
Take That 2010 Feeling happy now: But Williams' return has brought a moodier edge to the music

Both sound like The Killers, as muted guitars and solo synthesizers abound, and Owen nods his beloved hat to their classic Mr Brightside in What Do You Want From Me? (It's no coincidence that Stuart Price produced The Killers' last album, Day & Age.)

Howard Donald gets his moment on the super-fast Affirmation while Jason Orange's hidden track Flower Bed again showcases Price's production skills as he creates a shimmering wall of sound.

Williams' vocals are the most prominent on Progress and, on the surface, it appears to be the first Take That album not dominated by Barlow.

But don't be fooled. Williams has revealed that he calls him "the captain" while Barlow himself has confirmed he "still leads the trail".

His musical input into this album, as with all Take That releases, is immeasurable.

For all the progress made in the latest gear change of the Take That rollercoaster, Barlow is still the leader of the band that was formed around him.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11733276

One of the world’s biggest bands, they ended their final concert with a backstage fist fight.

And yet, 14 years later, they were back together again. They even called their comeback tour Hell Freezes Over.

The weather conditions in Hades on the day this July that Take That announced the return of Robbie ­Williams are unknown.

But, going by the Eagles ­principle, they must have been ­decidedly chilly.

The boy band’s separation, sparked by Robbie’s decision to go solo in 1995, was a bitter affair. And, as his solo career soared, Williams never wasted an opportunity to have a vicious pop at his old pals.

He wrote No Regrets about them and finished gigs by murdering the Take That standard Back For Good, while whizzing around the stage on a motorised toilet.

Now all is forgiven, if not entirely ­forgotten. The Take That and Robbie reunion is officially the hottest show in town.

With more than a million tickets sold, next year’s UK tour is the biggest ever, and the band are the subject of a ­prime-time documentary on ITV tomorrow. This comeback album is the autumn’s most eagerly ­anticipated release.

The popular theory is that ­Williams, whose solo career has flagged, needs this more than his four bandmates, whose star has soared spectacularly since they returned in 2006 with Beautiful World. Recent sales figures bear this out.

Robbie’s last album, Reality Killed The Video Star, sold a million copies in the UK. But Take That’s The Circus, released in 2008, chalked up more than twice as many sales here to go eight times platinum.

However, while a Robbie-less Take That may have silenced their critics, there were signs of fatigue on their last album.

In sticking to the styles that made their comeback such a success — lavish strings, mature ballads — the quartet played it safe. For all its fan-friendly moments, The Circus cried out for the sort of mayhem that only ­Robbie could add.

There is all that and more on Progress. The notion of sticking to ­polished ­balladry is thrown out of the window and the newly reunited ­­five-piece are ­unconventional and ambitious.

Forsaking strings for ­synthesisers, they have suddenly become ­exciting again.

Some credit must go to producer ­Stuart Price. Best known for ­making modern, ­electronic dance records with Madonna, Kylie and the Scissor Sisters, he does an ­excellent job here, pushing Take That towards new ­horizons without ­compromising their melodic power or ability to pen a ­sing-along chorus.

But it is hard to believe such a ­transformation would have been possible without a reinvigorated ­Robbie.

The ­returning singer straight away makes his presence felt on ­opening track The Flood — a ­pounding, ­widescreen duet with Gary Barlow to please traditionalists.

However, his most telling contributions arrive later on, as the band take some unexpected detours.

Summoning up the spirit of two of his biggest solo hits — Millennium and Rock DJ — Williams sounds ­gloriously unhinged on Wait, ­singing nonsensical lyrics over bouncy, ­electronic beats.

But he fares less well on Underground Machine, a ­bass-heavy number that recalls his ­disappointing Rudebox album. Not one for the Take That housewives.

Things improve on back-to-back songs that find Robbie sharing lead vocals with another band member.

The glam-rock stomp of Kidz is the kind of track the ­Kaiser Chiefs might have sung around the time of I Predict A Riot.

Mark Owen ­handles the verses with aplomb, but Robbie shows his ability to really lift a song when he storms in on a soaring chorus.

The following track, Pretty Things, is different. With its chinking ­keyboards and breezy hook, the Barlow-Williams duet sounds like a tribute to Hunky Dory-era Bowie.

There are moments when Take That get ideas above their station.

SOS is a disco-influenced rocker that features Owen singing in a sharp falsetto above booming drums and punky guitars.

But its apocalyptic ­lyrics — with lines about Manhattan sinking and ­poisoned water — are inspired by ­Robbie’s ­reported interest in c­onspiracy theories.
Enlarge Take That.jpg

The song ends, pretentiously, with a 1961 speech about press freedom by John F Kennedy.

Coming from a former boy band, it is heavy going. What next? Boyzone channelling Churchill? JLS rocking Martin Luther King?

Happily, there is nothing quite so pompous when the band’s two ­‘forgotten’ members take centre stage. Howard Donald’s Affirmation is a rolling pop number that adds ­guitars to the album’s ­throbbing synthesisers.

Flower Bed, with Jason Orange on lead, deserves better than its bonus track status, tucked away at the end of the album.

And while Robbie often seems ­dominant, one of the album’s best songs, Eight Letters, is a classic Gary Barlow ballad built around a simple keyboard riff.

Despite trying too hard in places, Take That deserve credit for taking risks. Rather than pander to their fans with another album of well-crafted but unremarkable pop music, they have moved on.

Progress, indeed.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowb....2iP5lef