Since I Saw You Last

Since I Saw You Last
Gary Barlow's studio album
Publication (s)	22nd of November 2013
admission	2013
Label (s)	Polydor
Format (s)	CD / Download (Standard Edition / Deluxe Edition / collection box)
Genre (s)	Pop , folk-pop , alternative rock
Title (number)	12 or 15
running time	50:48 and 62:10 respectively
production	Steve Power, Universal
chronology Sing (2012) Since I Saw You Last -
Single releases 15th November 2013 Let me go 20th January 2014 Face to face April 14, 2014 Since I Saw You Last

Since I Saw You Last is the fourth solo studio album by British singer-songwriter and Take-That member Gary Barlow . It was released in the UK on November 25, 2013 and in Germany on February 21, 2014 and includes a wide range of genres that Barlow describes as a mix of pop , folk- pop and alternative .

background

After Barlow secured a permanent place in the British music industry again with the phenomenal return of Take That (2006) and various successful solo projects (as a songwriter, music producer, organizer of the Diamond Jubilee Concerts for the Queen , various benefit projects and numerous sold-out concerts) and had reached another high point of his career, he finally announced his third "pure" solo album after a 14-year hiatus (in 2012 he released the throne jubilee album Sing with the participation of various other musicians ). In an interview with Digital Spy , he described the long hiatus and retreat from the limelight after the release of Twelve Months, Eleven Days (1999): “I didn't even sing in my own studio anymore. I told myself I didn't need to be an artist anymore; I started focusing on writing songs . ”About the production phase, he told the Daily Telegraph ,“ The one thing I dreaded was that the last album could be on my shoulders all the time while I was working on this one work here; but it didn't turn out that way - I got out of it pretty quickly. This time doesn't haunt me. The experience I made 14 years ago is completely different from the situation today. "In an interview with Metro, he described that with the new album he wanted to eliminate the mistakes of the last studio album:" My last album was so overlaid by people who told me who to sound like that when I listen to it today, I ask myself, 'Who is that?' But Since I Saw You Last was easy to make. Much of my life can be found on this album. "

The album was released by Polydor Records on November 22, 2013 in Ireland and on November 25, 2013 in the United Kingdom, where Barlow won a pre-Christmas head-to-head race against Take That colleague Robbie Williams , whose album Swings Both Ways only a week previously published and reached the top of the charts with 109,000 sales. Since I Saw You Last rose to number two on the UK album charts with 116,000 sales in its first week, pushing Williams to number three. At the same time, Barlow's album hit the top of the UK iTunes charts. At the beginning of January 2014 it had already reached double platinum in Great Britain.

In Germany, the release of the album was postponed to February 21, 2014 due to the greater popularity of Williams in this country. A month-long tour of Great Britain followed in spring 2014.

Singles

• Let Me Go was released on November 15, 2013 as the album's lead single , and, like the album a week later, immediately entered the charts. It is already Barlow's 21st single, which made it into the top 3 of the UK singles chart. The following week, the single rose to number 2 and topped the UK radio charts. Another two weeks later she was awarded silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for 200,000 records sold. Barlow himself said of Let Me Go :

“I've always liked folky, acoustic music, but I've never fully explored it. I turned back time and was listening to Johnny Cash and early Elton John before I wrote 'Let Me Go'. I'm 42; I don't want to do urban or dance music. I love Mumford & Sons  - it's good, English music, but let's be honest, they got it off Johnny Cash too. "

“I've always had a soft spot for folky acoustic music, but I've never fully explored it. So I turned the clock back and heard Johnny Cash and Elton John again before I wrote 'Let Me Go'. I'm 42 now and don't want to make urban music or even dance music. I love Mumford & Sons - it's good English music, but let's be honest: you also copied from Johnny Cash. "

- Gary Barlow : Digital Spy

• In Face to Face choosing the second single from the album was, it was published on January 20, 2014. The song is a duet with Barlow's well-known British colleague and songwriter Elton John . The video (Gary's 45th music video) shows him and Elton playing the song together.
• The title song Since I Saw You Last was released on April 14, 2014 as the third and final single from the album. The music video is shot in the style of the album cover in clear, calm black and white images, every gray hair, every frown, every wrinkle is clearly visible, the viewer is very close, takes part in this journey through the past. Simple cinematic and scenic means such as mirrors and slow-motion effects contribute to this, preserving the simplicity and simplicity, the video manages without any spectacle. Instead, it shows a pensive, life-scarred man, alone in a shabby, vacant building in London's East End . He ponders his life for himself, tells and processes his story.

Track list

#	title	Composers & lyricists	length
1.	requiem	Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams	4:42
2.	Let me go	Gary Barlow	3:38
3.	Jump	Gary Barlow, Tim Rice-Oxley	4:08
4th	Face to face	Gary Barlow, John Shanks	3:33
5.	God	Gary Barlow	5:04
6th	Small town girls	Gary Barlow	3:19
7th	6th avenue	Gary Barlow, John Shanks	5:00
8th.	We like to love	Gary Barlow	5:26
9.	Since I Saw You Last	Gary Barlow	3:32
10.	This house	Gary Barlow, John Shanks	3:58
11.	Dying inside	Gary Barlow	4:33
12.	More Than Life	Gary Barlow	3:48

Deluxe Edition Bonus Title

#	title	Composers & lyricists	length
13.	Mr Everything	Gary Barlow	4:45
14th	Actress	Gary Barlow, James Maddock	3:31
15th	The song I'll Never Write	Gary Barlow, Andrew Frampton, Steve Kipner	3:05

The album is available in three different versions:

1. Standard Edition: CD or download with 12 tracks
2. Deluxe Edition: CD or download with 15 tracks
3. Collection box set (marketed exclusively through Barlow's official webstore): CD with 15 titles (Deluxe Edition) + 24-page photo book + art print (22 × 22 cm)

reception

Reviews

Already in the run-up to the release a lot was reported about Barlow's career and speculation about the new album and its expressiveness. After its release, Since I Saw You Last received mostly very positive reviews from the music industry.

For example, Die Zeit wrote on its website:

“For all its sensitivity, the lyrics were never Barlow's forte. He admits that himself. Earlier solo albums such as Open Road (1997) and Twelve Months, 7 Days (1999) were overflowing with absurd love affairs. Now it seems that Barlow has finally got himself a manual for literary means and discovered the magic of metaphor. Self-reflection also gives his music a new depth. Sometimes he encourages new risks ( Jump ), sometimes he ponders public and private beliefs ( God ), sometimes he ponders the character qualities of women from the provinces ( Small Town Girls ), sometimes about his crash and rise in the music business ( Since I Saw You Last ). Barlow's world has become larger and more complex, he elicits unheard facets from his voice, the album appears homogeneous and yet varied, with pop melodies that avoid the former formulaic nature and yet are immediately absorbed like a wine stain on the best blouse. "

- Williams and Barlow: Duel of the PopRitter

The British newspaper The Metro awarded the album with four stars and wrote:

“Barlow's first solo LP proper since 1999 [is a] showcase [of] a very, very good songwriter indeed, someone who knows how to knock up a sturdy verse, bridge, chorus and middle-eight as readily as any lauded 1970s troubadour. Some lyrics touch on the subject of Barlow's clinical depression after leaving Take That, like the rather ponderous, drumless ballad Dying Inside . But generally, these songs tend to work as self-medication, as exhortations to transform your life - the best example being Jump , a rather lovely ballad co-written with Keane's Tim Rice-Oxley. Since I Saw You Last resounds with exuberant pop rock songwriting, including latest single Let Me Go , Requiem (co-written with reconciled Take That buddy Robbie Williams) and Face To Face (a glammy stomper with Elton John). It's catchy and unabashedly mainstream, and it also feels like a moment he's been waiting for. "

“Barlow's first solo LP since 1999 is really the showcase project of a very, very good composer and man. Texters; someone who knows how to cobble together verses, bridge, chorus and middle-eight firmly and powerfully - as easily as one of the celebrated troubadours of the 1970s. Some text passages are reminiscent of Barlow's depression after the break of Take That, such as B. the rather cumbersome and drums-free ballad Dying Inside ; But basically these songs act as a kind of self-medication, as a reminder to turn your own life upside down - the best example of this is Jump , a ballad that is very worth listening to, co-written by Keanes Tim Rice-Oxley. In Since I Saw You Last of the echo sounds rock compositions pop of exuberant, the latest single Let Me Go , Requiem (co-authored by his reconciled Take That pal Robbie Williams) and Face to Face (with Elton John) included. It's captivating and at the same time unabashed mainstream and it seems like a moment he's been waiting a long time for. "

- Gary Barlow: Since I Saw You Last. The Take That star is obviously a very good singer-songwriter

The Daily Express named Since I Saw You Last "Album of the Week" and awarded all five stars on the grounds:

“A curiously complex, occasionally courageous record [that] is almost impossible to absorb in one listen. Two tracks in particular, 'God' and 'Dying Inside', […] are easily the finest pieces he's ever written. There's a searching, enigmatic feel even to the breezier tracks […], most of them worked out over sublime piano playing and sung with a passion rarely heard in any of his previous work. "

“A strangely multi-layered, occasionally courageous album [...] which you can hardly fully grasp when you listen to it once. Two tracks in particular, 'God' and 'Dying Inside', […] are certainly the most beautiful pieces he has ever written. There is something searching, puzzling, even in the brisker pieces like Small Town Girls and 6th Avenue; conveys mostly through sublime piano playing and sung with a passion that rarely appeared in his earlier works. "

- Review: Gary Barlow. Since I Saw You Last

Commercial win

Since I Saw You Last debuted at number 2 in the UK album charts with 116,000 copies sold in the first week and stayed in the top 3 for seven weeks. It became the fastest-selling album of 2013. Sold in the second week Barlow's album in the UK a further 77,358 times. In the third week it cracked again the 100,000 mark with 105,344 sales. The fourth week after its release, Barlow had 116,730 albums sold (10.81% more than the week before) and in the fifth week it finally hit the 500,000 mark in the UK with 79,000 more. On February 22nd, one day after the album was released in Germany, the album was not yet in the German charts , but still in the top ten in the official British charts three months (13 weeks) after its release it stayed in the album charts for over 38 weeks. In Germany, the album also reached the top ten and stayed in the charts for a total of ten weeks.

Awards

• Platinum (GB) for over 300,000 albums sold
• Double platinum (GB) for over 600,000 (652,342) albums sold
• Silver (GB) for over 200,000 singles sold ( Let Me Go )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Tom Eames: Gary Barlow announces first full solo album in 14 years . In: Digital Spy . Hearst Magazines UK. September 17, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
2. ↑ Bernadette McNulty: Gary Barlow interview: 'Nobody wanted to know me' . In: The Telegraph , 2013-24-11. Retrieved May 26, 2016. 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Arwa Haider: Gary Barlow: Take That Come First - It's My Job . In: Metro , DMG Media, November 10, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2014. 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Duel of the Pop Knights (1): Who will be England's next Santa Claus? . In: Zeit Online . November 14, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Daniel Lane: One Direction score fastest selling album of their career with Midnight Memories , Official Charts Company. Accessed February 21, 2014. 
6. ↑ Gary Barlow's new album “Since I Saw You Last”: release date has been set . In: Universal Music . January 24, 2014. Accessed February 21, 2014.
7. ↑ Tour dates on Barlow's official homepage. Retrieved February 18, 2014
8. ↑ Let Me Go - Single by Gary Barlow . iTunes
9. ↑ Sam Rigby: Lily Allen scores UK number one single with 'Somewhere Only We Know' . In: Digital Spy , Hearst Magazines UK, November 24, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2014. 
10. ^ Daniel Lane: Calvin Harris, Alesso and Hurts knock Lily Allen off Number 1 , Official Charts Company. December 2, 2013. Accessed February 19, 2014. 
11. ↑ ^{a b c} British Phonographic Industry: A great week for @GaryBarlow, not only has his album gone Platinum, but his single 'Let Me Go' has also gone Silver in the UK. #BPIawards . Twitter . December 20, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
12. ↑ Tom Eames: Gary Barlow: 'Johnny Cash inspired my new single' . In: Digital Spy . Hearst Magazines UK. October 8, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
13. ↑ Hannah Hope: It's official: Gary Barlow and Elton John duet Face to Face will be released as single . In: Daily Mirror , Trinity Mirror , November 20, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2014. 
14. ↑ Tom Eames: Gary Barlow 'records duet with Elton John for new album' . In: Digital Spy . Hearst Magazines UK. September 24, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
15. ↑ Since I Saw You Last: Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set. . In: Gary Barlow's official webstore . Retrieved February 20, 2014.
16. ↑ Duel of the Pop Knights (2): The sabers are rattled. . In: Zeit Online . November 14, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
17. ^ Gary Barlow - Since I Saw You Last: The Take That man is really very good at songwriting indeed . In: Metro (British newspaper) , DMG Media, November 22, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2014. 
18. ↑ Review: Gary Barlow - 'Since I Saw You Last' . In: Daily Express , November 24, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2016. 
19. ^ Alan Jones: Official Charts Analysis: One Direction sell another 124k of new album . In: Music Week . December 9, 2013. Accessed February 21, 2014.
20. ↑ Alan Jones: Official Charts Analysis: Lily Allen track returns to No.1 on 47k sales . In: Music Week . December 16, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
21. ^ Alan Jones: Sam Bailey scores Xmas No.1 with 148k sales: Official Charts Analysis . In: Music Week . December 22, 2013. Accessed February 21, 2014.
22. ^ Alan Jones: Official Charts Analysis: Pharrell Williams hits No.1 with 106k sales . In: Music Week . December 29, 2013. Accessed February 21, 2014.
23. ↑ Chart success of the album in Germany . Retrieved from Chartsurfer.de on April 23, 2016.
24. ^ Gary Barlow goes double platinum with first solo album in 14 years . In: Metro , January 8, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2014.