NEW MUSIC: TAKE THAT - THE FLOOD

Take That

Before Robbie Williams was Robbie Williams, there was Take That - a five-piece Boy Band who were inescapable in the late '80s if you lived outside North America.  Although they did come over to promote themselves here in Toronto, their popularity never reached that of America's beloved New Kids on the Block, who were in their prime and unstoppable.  I recall seeing Take That on staple Dance Music program Electric Circus which aired on CityTV Friday nights.  A young Williams told host Monika Deol, "We'd be happy if we made even just a bit of the money they (New Kids on the Block) have".  By the late '90s Williams became a worldwide superstar as a solo act.

Take That have reunited with Williams, if you haven't heard.  Their album Progress from Polydor (Universal Music) will be released overseas November 22, 2010. Their comeback single The Flood is produced by Stuart Price who really needs no introduction, but I will do so anyway in case you need a reminder of the greats he has produced: Kylie, Madonna, Scissor Sisters, The Killers.... anyone noteworthy.

SCISSOR SISTERS NIGHT WORK REVIEW

A lot is riding on the success of the Scissor Sisters’ third album Night Work. After failing to follow-up on the promise of their self-titled debut on 2006’s Ta-Dah (more fittingly titled Nuh-Uh), even they were aware of the unforgiving reality of the music industry, having scrapped a full album they felt simply didn’t meet the mark. This hotly-tipped third album is safe to say, a return to the glittery, body hugging form of their Brit Award-winning debut self titled effort.

Producer extraordinaire Stuart Price lends his talents to this effort, careful not to over-exert influence which may have marred The Killers’ last album Day & Age. Does Night Work break any new ground? Not particularly. First single Fire With Fire admittedly sounds a little out of place in its modernity when listened to in the context of the whole album. The majority of this effort is fixated on an era where album edits of The Bee Gees and Giorgio Moroder ruled the Dance Floors and Airwaves, not Remixes. We get this in full force on fun romps like Whole New World, Harder You Get and Any Which Way (one of a few apperances by Sir Ian McKellen channeling his best Vincent Price circa Thriller).

NEW MUSIC: MR. WILL-W. - NORTHERN LOVERS (KYLIE MINOGUE ALL THE LOVERS VS. THE DREAM ACADEMY LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN MASH-UP)

Somewhere between obsessing about Celebrities all day and having an 8 to 4 career, lies the fledgling Pop Star within me. I got together with my long-time collaborator and had some fun in the studio the other day and we re-worked Kylie Minogue's phenomenal new single All The Lovers, with one of my favourite songs of all time, Life in a Northern Town, by The Dream Academy.

Now here's an interesting Kylie connection. Robin Eccleston who recorded and mixed these additional vocals, is the elder brother of Adrian Eccleston, Kylie's touring guitarist for her last World Tour.