"Ultimate Take That Tribute" (bit of a misnomer, this!)
This is real curio that I debated including here. But as it might of interest to serious fans (who prolly don't even know of its existence), I decided to include it. It is credited to The A List Tribute Band (one of those generic manufactured groups used to release music in a territory where the originals are unavailable). I found it on the US iTunes store and have not found any evidence of its existence outside of that. There is no further information available. If anyone knows anything, please contact me!
This is an odd but nonetheless worthwhile collection of Take That covers. No, they're not the originals and no one would buy these *instead* of the originals. But for serious fans it's a nice addition to the collection. The vocals are good (but not as distinctive, obviously; it sounds like maybe two or three guys, not five) and the production and instrumentation adequate. And to be honest, these singers are bit easier to understand at times. Thankfully, they're English so there's no mangled pronunciations (although these boys sound a bit southern compared to our friends from the north!).
One odd moment is in 'SOS' when the original uses a genuine sound clip of the real President Kennedy, this one has some geezer just reading the line, sounding like he's trying to do a New England accent! Can't imagine why they wouldn't just use the real clip here, like TT did.
There's also a small lyrical misstep that only the most obsessive-compulsive anal-retentive Thatter would notice (I'm talking bout myself here). In 'SOS', this singer makes the same mistake Robbie made when they performed the song at the Royal Variety Show (did I mention I'm OCD/AR?): in the second chorus (which should be "YOU'll get a five SECOND warning"), both guilty parties simply reiterate the first chorus ("WE'll get a five MINUTE warning"). A quibble, but no error is too small to ignore for a language-obsessed Virgo.
Another notable item is the inclusion of inter-song sound effects; sometimes matching the original, sometimes not. The most curious ones are on 'Pretty Things', which opens with the sound of crickets and closes with birds (I'm guessing to represent the transition of night to morning -- but why???)
The most interesting thing to me is the song selection. Exclusively from their 21st-century output, it includes a couple singles from 'Beautiful World', a few songs from 'The Circus', and the single 'Rule the World'. But the best part for me (and the strangest) is that it includes the entire 'Progress' album, even the bonus track 'Flowerbed' (Jason's number). Additionally, it also features the entire 'Progressed' EP with the exception of 'When We Were Young' (which, unlike the rest of the material here, was officially released stateside anyway). So if you're particularly fascinated by 'Progress/ed' (as am I) you'll get some pleasure from these alternate versions that stay close to the originals.
One odd moment is in 'SOS' when the original uses a genuine sound clip of the real President Kennedy, this one has some geezer just reading the line, sounding like he's trying to do a New England accent! Can't imagine why they wouldn't just use the real clip here, like TT did.
There's also a small lyrical misstep that only the most obsessive-compulsive anal-retentive Thatter would notice (I'm talking bout myself here). In 'SOS', this singer makes the same mistake Robbie made when they performed the song at the Royal Variety Show (did I mention I'm OCD/AR?): in the second chorus (which should be "YOU'll get a five SECOND warning"), both guilty parties simply reiterate the first chorus ("WE'll get a five MINUTE warning"). A quibble, but no error is too small to ignore for a language-obsessed Virgo.
Another notable item is the inclusion of inter-song sound effects; sometimes matching the original, sometimes not. The most curious ones are on 'Pretty Things', which opens with the sound of crickets and closes with birds (I'm guessing to represent the transition of night to morning -- but why???)
The most interesting thing to me is the song selection. Exclusively from their 21st-century output, it includes a couple singles from 'Beautiful World', a few songs from 'The Circus', and the single 'Rule the World'. But the best part for me (and the strangest) is that it includes the entire 'Progress' album, even the bonus track 'Flowerbed' (Jason's number). Additionally, it also features the entire 'Progressed' EP with the exception of 'When We Were Young' (which, unlike the rest of the material here, was officially released stateside anyway). So if you're particularly fascinated by 'Progress/ed' (as am I) you'll get some pleasure from these alternate versions that stay close to the originals.