Entertainment Ireland

Take That
The Greatest Day: The Circus (Live)

Everyone's favourite manband release a Christmas stocking-filler for those who may have missed their acclaimed live stadium show this summer - and a nice memento for those who were lucky enough to have caught a date on the record-breaking tour.

Live albums are often a pointless endeavour, and when they're soundtracking a production as grandiose as Take That's 'Circus' stadium tour, it seems even more fruitless than usual. What's the point in listening to live versions of songs if you can't witness the spectacle, the dancers, the animatronic elephant?

Nevertheless, the Mancunians give it welly for the last night of their tour at Wembley Stadium earlier this year. The fact that the setlist here draws mainly from their two most recent albums 'Beautiful World' and 'The Circus' speaks volumes, as does the fact that there's hand-clapping and singalongs from the adoring crowd for virtually every song.

The most satisfying songs here are the ones sung by Gary Barlow. His rich timbre is as smooth and textured as a bar of nutty chocolate, and when he takes the lead on big ballads 'Greatest Day', 'Back for Good' and 'Patience', it's like the foursome never abandoned their thrones in the Land of Pop.

Howard Donald, Jason Orange and Mark Owen also make fair fists of their respective efforts, even if the nasal quality of Owen's voice seems exacerbated in the live forum and much of the new material is sung in a lower key. Oldies 'Pray' and 'Relight My Fire' are also smile-inducing, the latter sounding as fresh and vibrant with a live band as when it was originally released in 1993 (or 1979, if you want to be technical about it).

Having said all that, it still makes little sense to invest in the live CD, when the (also available) live DVD of such an entertaining visual show makes much more sense. Not even a bonus disc of material from an Abbey Road session makes much of a difference. Overall, an enjoyable album, but one for fans only.

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