This Life (Take That album)

This Life
The three band members looking out of a window with the text 'TAKE THAT' above them and 'THIS LIFE' beneath
Studio album by
Take That
Released24 November 2023
Studio
GenrePop rock
Length46:27
LabelEMI
Producer
Take That chronology
Odyssey: Greatest Hits Live
(2019) 		This Life
(2023)
Singles from This Life
  1. "Windows"
    Released: 22 September 2023
  2. "Brand New Sun"
    Released: 17 October 2023
  3. "This Life"
    Released: 3 November 2023

This Life is the ninth studio album by English pop band Take That, released on 24 November 2023 as their label debut on EMI. It marks their first studio album in six years since 2017's Wonderland.[1]

The album debuted atop the UK Albums Chart and earned the biggest first-week sales for a British act in 2023.[2]

Background

This Life was announced on 22 September 2023, along with the release of its lead single "Windows" and an announcement of an ensuing tour. The announcement was made on The Radio 2 Breakfast Show with the debut of "Windows". Gary Barlow said of the album, "We made most of the album in Savannah in Georgia, so it had that [American] South sort of influence to it, and it's strange how an environment actually comes out in the music as well."[3] Other portions of the album were recorded in Nashville and New York City.[4]

An accompanying UK tour, called This Life on Tour, was announced on 22 September, with tickets going on sale on 29 September. English singer Olly Murs is the supporting act.[1] The single "You and Me" was released on 28 March 2024 in promotion of the tour.[5]

Singles

  • "Windows" was released with the announcement of the album on 22 September 2023.
  • "Brand New Sun" was released as the second single from the album on 17 October 2023.
  • "This Life" was the final single released before the album on 3 November 2023.
  • "You and Me" was the first single released from the deluxe edition of This Life on 28 March 2024.
  • "All Wrapped Up" was released alongside the announcement of the deluxe edition on 26 April 2024.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and earned the biggest first-week sales for a British act in 2023, with 116,000 chart sales, 97% of which were on physical formats.[6] This Life sold the highest number of physical CD's in 2023, having sold more than 100,000 units.[7]

Deluxe edition

On 26 April 2024, a deluxe edition of This Life was announced, containing five studio tracks and five live tracks. The edition was released on 24 May 2024. The first single from the edition, "You and Me", had been released prior on 28 March 2024. Alongside the announcement, the single "All Wrapped Up", also from the deluxe edition, was released. "Serenity", while originally a HMV exclusive, is also included on the deluxe edition.[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald; additional songwriters are noted below.

This Life track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Keep Your Head Up" (lead vocals: Barlow) Ryan Carline3:14
2."Windows" (lead vocals: Barlow) 
3:58
3."This Life" (lead vocals: Barlow)
  • Barlow
  • Platts
3:48
4."Brand New Sun" (lead vocals: Owen)
Jennifer Decilveo4:28
5."March of the Hopeful" (lead vocals: Donald)
  • Norton
  • Mark
3:49
6."Days I Hate Myself" (lead vocals: Barlow) 
4:01
7."The Champion" (lead vocals: Owen)
  • Norton
  • Mark
Decilveo3:37
8."We Got All Day" (lead vocals: Barlow) Carline3:05
9."Mind Full of Madness" (lead vocals: Barlow) 
4:04
10."Time and Time Again" (lead vocals: Owen)
  • Norton
  • Mark
Decilveo4:03
11."One More Word" (lead vocals: Donald)
  • Norton
  • Mark
3:50
12."Where We Are" (lead vocals: Barlow)
  • Tim Woodcock
4:30
Total length:46:27
HMV bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Serenity" (lead vocals: Barlow)WoodcockCarline3:50
Total length:50:17
Deluxe edition second disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."You and Me" (lead vocals: Barlow) Stuart Price3:31
2."All Wrapped Up" (lead vocals: Owen)
  • Norton
  • Mark
Carline4:00
3."The Man I Am" (lead vocals: Donald)
  • Norton
  • Mark
Cobb3:03
4."Serenity" (lead vocals: Barlow)WoodcockCarline3:50
5."You and Me" (Acoustic) Carline3:34
6."This Life" (BBC Live Version)
  • Lee
  • Platts
Dan Roberts3:40
7."Brand New Sun" (BBC Live Version)
  • Norton
  • Mark
Roberts4:39
8."Windows" (BBC Live Version) Roberts4:09
9."Patience" (Live at KOKO)
Carline3:37
10."Shine" (Live at KOKO)
Carline3:48
Total length:37:51

Notes

  • ^a signifies a vocal producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes.[9]

Take That

  • Gary Barlow – vocals (all tracks), keyboards (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 11, 12), synthesizer (1, 8, 12), programming (1, 8), piano (2, 6, 8, 11), MIDI strings (5), percussion (5), synth bass (11), drum and percussion programming (12)
  • Mark Owen – vocals (all tracks), electric guitar (track 6)
  • Howard Donald – vocals

Musicians

  • Ryan Carline – keyboards (tracks 1, 3, 5, 12), synthesizer (1, 8, 12), programming (1, 8)
  • Andy Platts – electric guitar, bass, drums, percussion, piano, synthesizer, backing vocals (track 3)
  • Lee Pomeroy – bass (track 8)
  • Donavan Hepburn – drums (track 8)
  • Dave Cobb – electric guitar (tracks 2, 5, 6, 12), acoustic guitar (2, 11), bass (6)
  • Aaron Hoey – slide guitar (track 2), acoustic guitar (9, 12), electric guitar (9)
  • Brian Allen – bass (tracks 2, 5, 6, 9, 12)
  • Nate Smith – drums (tracks 2, 5, 6, 9, 12), percussion (2, 5, 9, 12), synth bass (9)
  • Philip Towns – keyboards (tracks 2, 5, 6, 9), piano (12)
  • Jennifer Decilveo – piano, synthesizer, Mellotron, drum programming (tracks 4, 7, 10)
  • David Levitt – guitar (tracks 4, 7, 10)
  • Patrick Kelly – bass (tracks 4, 7, 10)
  • Sam KS – drums (tracks 4, 7, 10)
  • Dan Grech-Marguerat – programming (4, 7, 10)
  • Ben Mark – electric guitar (track 5), acoustic guitar (11)
  • Jamie Norton – keyboards (track 5), piano (7)
  • Northern Film Orchestra[a] – strings (tracks 1, 2, 5, 8, 11, 12)

Technical

  • John Greenham – mastering
  • Ryan Carline – mixing (tracks 1, 8), engineering (1, 8), vocal engineering (3), engineering assistance (4, 7, 10)
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (tracks 2, 3)
  • Dan Grech-Marguerat – mixing (tracks 4, 7, 10)
  • Ben Baptie – mixing (tracks 5, 9, 12)
  • Darrell Thorp – mixing (tracks 6, 11), engineering (tracks 2, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12)
  • Dave Cobb – mixing (tracks 6, 11)
  • Andy Platts – engineering (track 3)
  • Cian Riordan – engineering (tracks 4, 7, 10)
  • Nick Squillante – engineering (tracks 4, 7, 10)
  • Tess Greenham – mastering assistance
  • Sim Ogden – additional engineering (tracks 1, 2, 5, 8, 11, 12)
  • Ethan Barrette – additional engineering (tracks 2, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12)
  • Philip Smith – additional engineering (tracks 2, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12)
  • Kieran Beardmore – mixing assistance (tracks 2, 3)
  • Matt Wolach – mixing assistance (tracks 2, 3)

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for This Life
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Gold 100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. ^ The Northern Film Orchestra consists of string arranger Dan Keen; cellists Jacob Barns, James Heathcote, and Rachel Newbold; violists Nadia Eskandari, Paula Bowes, and Tom Rowan-Young; and violinists Dylan Edge, Elena Orsi, Jody Smith, Kath Ord, Mabon Jones, Matthew Chadbond, Rebecca Howell, and Shuwei Zuo.

References

  1. ^ a b "This Life on Tour – Take That". takethat.com. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Take That's This Life already claims biggest first-week sales for British act in 2023". Official Charts Company. 27 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  3. ^ "The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show - It's Friends Round Friday... with Take That! – BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Take That announce new album and tour as they share comeback single Windows". Official Charts Company. 22 September 2023.
  5. ^ Roszko, Charlotte (28 March 2024). "Take That's new single 'You And Me' is out now". Magic Radio. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  6. ^ Smith, Carl (1 December 2023). "Take That's This Life secures biggest opening week for British act in 2023 as it hits Number 1". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Vinyl sales increase again with growth accelerating in 2023". www.musicweek.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  8. ^ Gotto, Connor (26 April 2024). "Take That announce new album, release single All Wrapped Up". RETROPOP. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  9. ^ This Life (liner notes). Take That. EMI. 2023.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Take That – This Life" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Ultratop.be – Take That – This Life" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Take That – This Life" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Take That – This Life" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Take That – This Life" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 48 (dal 24.11.2023 al 30.11.2023)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Albums Weekly". El portal de Música. Promusicae. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Take That – This Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Western Weekly Top 20, Week 49, 2023" (in Chinese). G-Music.com. Retrieved 18 December 2024. Click Western Music and scroll to 2023, Week 49.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  22. ^ "End of Year Albums Chart – 2023". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  23. ^ "British album certifications – Take That – This Life". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 December 2023.