Since I Saw You Last

For the song, see Since I Saw You Last (song).
Since I Saw You Last
Studio album by Gary Barlow
Released 22 November 2013 (2013-11-22)
Recorded 2013
Genre
Length 58:39
Label Polydor
Producer Steve Power
Gary Barlow chronology
Sing
(2012)		 Since I Saw You Last
(2013)
Singles from Since I Saw You Last
  1. "Let Me Go"
    Released: 15 November 2013
  2. "Face to Face"
    Released: 20 January 2014
  3. "Since I Saw You Last"
    Released: 14 April 2014

Since I Saw You Last is the fourth solo studio album released by British singer-songwriter Gary Barlow. The album was released by Polydor Records on 22 November 2013 in Ireland, and on 25 November in the United Kingdom. It is Barlow's first full-length solo album in fourteen years, following 1999's Twelve Months, Eleven Days. It features a range of genres, described by Barlow as a mixture of pop, folk pop and alternative. The album's lead single, "Let Me Go", was released a week before the album, and became Barlow's 21st UK top 3 single.[1] The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart.[2]

Background

Following the success of a series of solo concerts over the previous two years, Barlow announced plans to release his first solo studio album in fourteen years. The album was released on 25 November 2013, to be followed by a live tour in 2014.[3] The album was confirmed to feature a duet with Elton John on the track Face to Face on 24 September 2013.[4] Regarding "Let Me Go", Barlow said, "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."[5]

Barlow cites that after the release of Twelve Months, Eleven Days, he stopped singing as he walked away from the limelight. He said, "I never even sang in my own studio; I was telling myself [that] I don't need to be an artist anymore; I started as a songwriter." However, after the success of the Take That reunion, he felt that he had to face his demons and right the wrongs he felt took hold of his last full studio album. He said, "The one thing I was dreading was that the last album would be on my shoulder the whole time I made this one, but it wasn't—it was flushed out really quickly. I’m not haunted by that time. My experience 14 years ago was completely different from now.[6] The last album I made was so laden with people telling me who I should sound like that I listen back now and think 'Who's that?', but Since I Saw You Last was easy to make; there's a lot of my life on this record."[7]

Singles

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, behind One Direction's third album Midnight Memories, selling 116,000 copies. It became the fastest selling album of 2013 to miss out on the top spot, while also selling more copies in its first week than Barlow's Take That bandmate Robbie Williams' album Swings Both Ways, which sold 109,000 copies the previous week to claim the top spot.[2] The following week, the album sold a further 77,358 copies in the UK.[13] In its third week of release, it once again broke the 100,000 sales mark, with 105,344 sales.[14] In its fourth week of sales, the album sold a further 116,730 copies, up 10.81% from the previous week,[15] and passed sales of 500,000 in the UK with a further 79,000 sold the week after.[16] The album was certified 2× Platinum in the UK at the beginning of 2014 with sales of 652,342 in the UK alone.[17] The album also became Barlow's second top 10 album in Germany, achieving similar chart success to his debut record, Open Road.[18]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[19]
Daily Express[20]
The Independent[21]
The Guardian[22]
Daily Mail(favourable)[23]
Metro[24]
Daily Star(favourable)[25]
The Daily Telegraph(favourable)[26]
The Times[27]
Evening Standard[28]

Upon its release, Since I Saw You Last received a mixed to positive response from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 54, based on six reviews, which indicates "Mixed or average reviews."[29] The Daily Express praised the album and awarded it 5 stars by stating: "Since I Saw You Last is 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. The review goes on to comment on "the searching, enigmatic feel worked out over sublime piano playing and sung with a passion rarely heard in any of his previous work.[20]

The Metro awarded the album 4 stars, calling "Barlow’s first solo LP proper since 1999 [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."[24] The Metro concluded by stating "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.[7]

Track listing

Since I Saw You Last – Standard edition
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Requiem"  Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams 4:42
2. "Let Me Go"  Barlow 3:44
3. "Jump"  Barlow, Tim Rice-Oxley 4:08
4. "Face to Face" (with Elton John)Barlow, John Shanks 3:33
5. "God"  Barlow 5:04
6. "Small Town Girls"  Barlow 3:19
7. "6th Avenue"  Barlow, Shanks 5:00
8. "We Like to Love"  Barlow 5:26
9. "Since I Saw You Last"  Barlow 3:32
10. "This House"  Barlow, Shanks 3:58
11. "Dying Inside"  Barlow 4:33
12. "More Than Life"  Barlow 3:48

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[30] 27
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31] 179
Croatian Albums (Croatian Albums Chart)[32] 11
Europe (Euro Digital Albums)[33] 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 10
Irish Albums (IRMA)[34] 2
Scottish Albums (OCC)[35] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 91
UK Albums (OCC)[37] 2
UK Download (OCC)[38] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2013) Position
UK Albums Chart[39] 9
Chart (2014) Position
UK Albums Chart[40] 28

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Ireland (IRMA)[41] Gold 7,500x
United Kingdom (BPI)[42] 2× Platinum 702,587[17]^

Release history

Country Date Edition(s) Format Label
Ireland[43] 22 November 2013 Standard, deluxe CD, digital download Polydor Records
United Kingdom[44]
Germany[45] 24 February 2014

References

  1. ↑ Rigby, Sam (24 November 2013). "Lily Allen scores UK number one single with 'Somewhere Only We Know'". Digital Spy (Hearst Magazines UK). Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  2. 1 2 Lane, Dan (1 December 2013). "One Direction score fastest selling album of their career with Midnight Memories". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  3. ↑ Eames, Tom (2013-09-17). "Gary Barlow announces first full solo album in 14 years". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  4. ↑ Eames, Tom (2013-09-24). "Gary Barlow 'records duet with Elton John for new album'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  5. ↑ Eames, Tom (2013-10-08). "Gary Barlow: 'Johnny Cash inspired my new single'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  6. ↑ McNulty, Bernadette (24 November 2013). "Gary Barlow interview: 'Nobody wanted to know me'". The Daily Telegraph.
  7. 1 2 Haider, Arwa (10 November 2013). "Gary Barlow: Take That come first – it's my job". Metro (DMG Media). Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Let Me Go - Single". iTunes.
  9. ↑ Lane, Daniel (2 December 2013). "Calvin Harris, Alesso and Hurts knock Lily Allen off Number 1". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  10. ↑ British Phonographic Industry (20 December 2013). "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. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  11. ↑ Hope, Hannah (20 November 2013). "It's official: Gary Barlow and Elton John duet Face to Face will be released as single". Daily Mirror (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "Gary Barlow announces new single ‘Since I Saw You Last’. - Gary Barlow". garybarlow.com.
  13. ↑ Jones, Alan (9 December 2013). "Official Charts Analysis: One Direction sell another 124k of new album". Music Week. (subscription required (help)).
  14. ↑ Jones, Alan (16 December 2013). "Official Charts Analysis: Lily Allen track returns to No.1 on 47k sales". Music Week. Retrieved 16 December 2013. (subscription required (help)).
  15. ↑ Jones, Alan (22 December 2013). "Sam Bailey scores Xmas No.1 with 148k sales: Official Charts Analysis". (subscription required (help)).
  16. ↑ Jones, Alan (29 December 2013). "Official Charts Analysis: Pharrell Williams hits No.1 with 106k sales". Music Week. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  17. 1 2 "Gary Barlow goes double platinum with first solo album in 14 years". Metro. 8 January 2014.
  18. 1 2 "Officialcharts.de – Top 100 Longplay". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  19. ↑ "Since I Saw You Last - Gary Barlow". AllMusic.
  20. 1 2 "Review: Gary Barlow - 'Since I Saw You Last'". Daily Express. 24 November 2013.
  21. ↑ Gill, Andy (22 November 2013). "Gary Barlow, Since I Saw You Last: Album review". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  22. ↑ "Gary Barlow: Since I Saw You Last – review". The Guardian. 22 November 2013.
  23. ↑ Thrills, Adrian (22 November 2013). "Harry v Gary, X Factor stars One Direction serve up another winner... but does judge Gary Barlow still have what it takes". Daily Mail. DMG Media.
  24. 1 2 "Gary Barlow – Since I Saw You Last: The Take That man is really very good at songwriting indeed". Metro (DMG Media). 22 November 2013.
  25. ↑ Carr, Kim (28 November 2013). "Pop's Mr Nice Gary Barlow still one to watch". Daily Star.
  26. ↑ McNulty, Bernadette (24 November 2013). "Gary Barlow interview: 'Nobody wanted to know me'". The Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  27. ↑ The Times UK review of SISYL, 22 November 2013
  28. ↑ Smyth, David (22 November 2013). "Album reviews: November 2013". Evening Standard.
  29. ↑ "Reviews for Since I Saw You Last by Gary Barlow - Metacritic". Metacritic.
  30. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Gary Barlow – Since I Saw You Last" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  31. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Gary Barlow – Since I Saw You Last" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  32. ↑ Ideoskop doo. "Top of the Shops - službena tjedna lista prodanih albuma u Hrvatskoj". hdu-toplista.com.
  33. ↑ "Chart Search Results – Euro Digital Albume 2013-11-25". Billboard. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  34. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 51, 2013". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  35. ↑ "2014-01-04 Top 40 Scottish Albums Archive". Official Charts Company.
  36. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Gary Barlow – Since I Saw You Last". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  37. ↑ "2013-11-30 Top 40 UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company.
  38. ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". officialcharts.com.
  39. ↑ "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Artist Albums Of 2013". officialcharts.com.
  40. ↑ "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Artist Albums Of 2014". officialcharts.com.
  41. ↑ "Irish album certifications – Gary Barlow – Since I Saw You Last". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  42. ↑ "British album certifications – Gary Barlow – Since I Saw You Last". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 December 2013. Enter Since I Saw You Last in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  43. ↑ "Since I Saw You Last (Deluxe Edition)". iTunes.
  44. ↑ "Since I Saw You Last (Deluxe Edition)". iTunes.
  45. ↑ "„Since I Saw You Last (Deluxe Edition)“ von Gary Barlow in iTunes". iTunes.
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