I’m I haven’t seen any of my favourites out yet, so I’m happy about that.

14 Pray

 

 

With Why Can't I Wake Up With You bridging the gap between the first two Take That albums, it's interesting to see there was no real break between the two eras! Pray was the first proper single to be taken from Everything Changes, and sonically, it's a pretty significant moment for the band. It's a step away from the dance sound that had defined much of their debut album, and into a more mature midtempo pop vibe, much more indicative of the remainder of their original stint together. It's one of their most known tracks and it's easy to hear why, the chorus is irresistible and Gary really excels on vocals. It's such a Take That classic that the 2018 Odyssey arrangement was sent to radio as a single too - a nice version, but not a patch on the original! Pray finishes as my favourite single from Everything Changes, leaving just two songs from Take That's original era...

 

Pray is iconic: song, video and dance routine. It was also their first worldwide hit, on every continent. I remember the song Pray vividly, though had never seen the music video at the time. The songwriting, aside from A Million Love Songs prior, was also very strong here winning Gary a Ivor Novello for song and songwriter of the year.

 

The bridge in particular is a real standout, ''surely we must be in sight of the dream we long to live...'' etc. Gary creating stronger visuals, messages, backed by better production, and memorable vocal harmonies. Which all still sound great today.

 

Howard ranked it within their top 5 songs from the '90s and it is definitely a classic. For me it is the joy and euphoria, it defined the summer of 1993, and started their international superstars phase. I also loved their performance of this on 'Take That: Live in Berlin'.

 

I also love the behind the scenes video they put out today of the music video.

 

 

Pray is my joint favourite alongside two other songs yet to feature.

Edited September 20, 2024Sep 20 by nirvanamusic

I do like Pray, its a good songs and i so remember it going number 1 which felt big with it been the first of many.

13 Love Love

 

 

Despite Progress losing one of its singles early on, with When We Were Young falling out at #41, its other four singles have held strong in this countdown - a testament to the high quality of the era! 28 positions later, the next Progress era single drops out, and this time it's Love Love, the lead single from the Progressed re-issue. Love Love sees Gary and Mark take on lead vocals for a stomping, high energy track with a huge chorus. I didn't know the song until recently, despite it having a respectable chart run (though it deserved a top 10 peak), but it's become a favourite very quickly for how unique it sounds among their hits. I particularly appreciate a different vocal approach from Gary to match the punchy production, and any Mark contribution is top notch in my books.

 

Love, Love Love, it is fantastic sonically --grimy and edgier-- and the vocals also. The Progress(ed) album was a great change in sound and style for them. The song really stands out in their canon of work, memorable chorus, interesting lyrics and the song overall hits its marks.

 

I agree, shame it missed out on a Top 10 placing. Very futuristic.

Edited September 21, 2024Sep 21 by nirvanamusic

Love, Love. Yes, I like it ..

Love love is brilliant and should have been a top 10 for them.

Love, Love Love. One of my favourites from them . I can remember this time so clearly so it holds a place with me for that as well.

Didn't they perform this one on Om on tour?

Didn't they perform this one on Om on tour?

Yes, it was on the Progress Live setlist!

12 The Flood

 

 

From the lead single of Progressed to the lead single of Progress! The triumphant return of Robbie to Take That was news that you couldn't ignore. Being born after Take That split up (!), I only knew Robbie as a soloist really, particularly without having any real interest in the band at the time. Nevertheless, The Flood was unavoidable, and I remember watching the live performance of it on The X Factor too. It feels surprising that it wasn't a #1 single! It's a really great song for them anyway, a worthy Take That classic and both Robbie and Gary sound great together on lead vocals. It's mature and confident, and a really nice contrast to some of the electropop that accompanies The Flood on the album too.

 

 

I adore the flood, easily in their top 10 for me or higher, I was so disappointed it didn't go number 1.

The main success of The Flood is that it delivers. Normally due to the high expectations of an audience and other factors around reunion records, nine times out of ten, they become under-whelming and a disappointment. The Flood on the other hand is a modern day pop classic.

 

Arguably their last true pop standard classic.

 

It was their delivery here which helped sustain the reunion excitement and propel them to --at the time-- the second highest first week sales of an album ever in the UK.

 

I'm just glad they didn't go with the name ''The English'' as was muted at one point before this release to seperate Take That's history from the Progress era.

 

In my Top 10 for sure.

Edited September 22, 2024Sep 22 by nirvanamusic

I agree with you about them delivering on the anticipation - it feels like quite a rare thing, especially when big names collaborate, or a situation like this arises. Take That aren't strangers to delivering on expectations though, Patience is another great example of delivering on the hype (and then some)!

11 Up All Night

 

 

Just missing out on the top 10 is the second UK single from The Circus. Up All Night sees Mark take the lead, much like the second single of the previous era, for a breezy bop. The song peaked at #14 in the UK, though it had better longevity than I'd Wait for Life saw when it missed the top 10 during the Beautiful World era. I really like Up All Night and it's been a song that's continued to grow on me, even though the cynic in me feels like it was picked as a single to recreate the success of Shine, which it obviously didn't manage. Hold Up a Light should've been given the more prominent single slot in my view, and/or a global push of The Garden, with Up All Night perhaps instead being a late-campaign single instead. Nevertheless, I like the song very much, and it cements Mark as a capable frontman of the group when he takes the lead vocal!

 

Before we hit the top 10, I'm going to post my ranking of Mark's solo singles (just in one go)! The songs in the rank will be:

 

Child

Clementine

I Am What I Am

Four Minute Warning

Alone Without You

Makin' Out

Believe in the Boogie

Hail Mary

Stars

Carnival (not sure if this got a single push in the end but it was seemingly announced as a single and got a music video so it can count for now)

You Only Want Me

Magic

Rio

 

Any predictions/hopes? :o

Before we hit the top 10, I'm going to post my ranking of Mark's solo singles (just in one go)! The songs in the rank will be:

 

Child

Clementine

I Am What I Am

Four Minute Warning

Alone Without You

Makin' Out

Believe in the Boogie

Hail Mary

Stars

Carnival (not sure if this got a single push in the end but it was seemingly announced as a single and got a music video so it can count for now)

You Only Want Me

Magic

Rio

 

Any predictions/hopes? :o

 

I have liked (in release order):

 

Child, Four Minute Warning, Alone Without You, Stars and Magic.

Edited September 22, 2024Sep 22 by nirvanamusic

Up All Night isn't a favourite for me and haven't thought about it since it was released. This one falls into the category of songs with another style and sound I'm pleased they created, in contrast to other boybands who stick to a style, sound and formula, but don't become personal favourites for me.

 

Said It All, the full length version of The Garden, Here, and Greatest Day were preferred from The Circus album.

 

Whilst I like The Circus, front to back, it isn't an album I return to. Beautiful World and Progress, however, I still think are fantastic. Everything Changes and Nobody Else are my return albums from the '90s period.

Edited September 22, 2024Sep 22 by nirvanamusic

 

1 Four Minute Warning

2 Stars

3 Alone Without You

4 Magic

5 Child

6 Clementine

7 You Only Want Me

8 Believe in the Boogie

9 Hail Mary

10 Carnival

11 Rio

12 Makin' Out

13 I Am What I Am

 

As I mentioned at the start of the thread, Mark is definitely my favourite member of Take That, so while I've been familiarising myself with their group material, I've also been spending time with his solo music. I've not yet heard all of his studio albums - just Green Man and How the Mighty Fall left to complete the set - but I'm familiar enough with his singles at this point to provide a rank of them!

 

Four Minute Warning is a clear winner. It's got a great energy to it, the harmonica adding a unique sound, but it also nostalgically reminds me of the early 00s despite me not knowing it at the time. It's a vibe I felt from the entirety of the In Your Own Time album, which is my favourite of those I've heard so far - it's very 00s in the best way, and it has a bunch of tracks that would've made great singles, so it's a shame songs like Gravity or Close to the Edge never got their moment. Nevertheless, I love the urgency of the countdown lyrics in Four Minute Warning, which elevate it further alongside its very catchy chorus!

 

In Your Own Time's other single, Alone Without You, lands in a very respectable third, despite an undeserved poor chart performance. It's one of Mark's best vocal performances, in my opinion, particularly in its chorus! Sandwiched between the two is Stars, the lead single from Mark's fourth album The Art of Doing Nothing. It's a really epic track production-wise, stadium ready if the opportunity ever arose (I mean, stranger things have happened x), and the clear highlight off its parent album. Its second single, Carnival, lands at #10 - a nice track with some cool production. Whether it got a single push in the end, I'm not sure, but it was a solid choice for follow-up anyway I think.

 

Mark's most recent album, Land of Dreams, fares well with its middle single Magic, which places fourth. It has the catchiest chorus of the whole album, clear to hear why it was chosen for radio playlists, and I think it could've been even better placed as the album's lead. No shade to You Only Want Me, though, I really enjoy that one too, and Rio's a decent closing single, albeit it lands lower down my ranking as it's less memorable on the whole. Debut album Green Man has a similar showing, with Child and Clementine side-by-side at #5 and #6, whilst third single I Am What I Am lands lower down. The latter's a bit less to my taste, but it fits in well with what I've heard from the album - a more left-field approach than what would be expected from Mark, and that was obvious from the subtle beauty of Child, a risky lead single I'm sure.

 

Third album How the Mighty Fall doesn't have the standout singles the other albums do, with all three of its releases landing in the bottom half, but that's not to say I don't enjoy them. Believe in the Boogie is really fun, particularly in its chorus, while Hail Mary is an underrated gem, unfortunately having the "honour" of being Mark's first single to miss the top 100. Its lead single, Makin' Out, was his final UK top 40 hit as a soloist, and it just about avoids the bottom spot - it's a little cheap-sounding compared to the other two singles this era, but I always enjoy it more as it goes on.