Since I Saw You Last

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 debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart,[1] and met with a mixed critical reaction.

For the song, see Since I Saw You Last (song).

Since I Saw You Last
Studio album by
Gary Barlow
Released22 November 2013 (2013-11-22)
Recorded2013
Genre
Length58:39
LabelPolydor
ProducerSteve 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

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.[2]

Background

With Take That on hiatus and 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]

Several of the album's songs were co-written in 2011, for a planned duo-album with Robbie Williams titled Cain & Abel, a nod to Barlow's autobiography, where he refers to himself and Williams as the Cain and Abel of Take That. Williams called the Cain & Abel album 'middle-of-the-road' – believing its sound was too mature to garner mass appeal with his desired youthful, mainstream audience, and decided to cancel the Cain & Abel project. Williams poached Candy and Different for his Take the Crown album, whilst Barlow acquired the remaining numbers for Since I Saw You Last.

Singles
  • "Let Me Go" was released as the album's lead single on 15 November 2013, debuting at number three in the UK Singles Chart becoming Barlow's 21st UK top 3 single.[8] The following week, it rose to number two[9] and was certified Silver by the BPI two weeks later for UK sales of over 200,000 copies.[10]
  • "Face to Face", featuring Elton John, was released as the second single from the album on 20 January 2014.[11]
  • "Since I Saw You Last" was released as the album's third and final single on 14 April 2014[12]

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.[1] 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]
The Arts Desk[20]
Digital Spy(unfavourable)[21]
Drowned in Sound[22]
The Guardian[23]
The Independent[24]
London Evening Standard[25]
The Observer[26]
The Times[27]
Time Out(unfavourable)[28]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Since I Saw You Last received an average score of 54, based on six reviews, which indicates "Mixed or average reviews".[29]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic awarded the record four stars, calling it a "handsome album" that "captures what was good about post-McCartney pop singer/songwriters in the mid-'70s, when the best songsmiths never let their ambitions get in the way of a good tune".[19] Conversely, Observer writer Hermione Hoby gave a one-star review in which she said that the album serves to provide "sonic reference points" for "how unassailably uncool" Barlow is.[26]

Track listing
Since I Saw You Last – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Requiem"Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams4:42
2."Let Me Go"Barlow3:44
3."Jump"Barlow, Tim Rice-Oxley4:08
4."Face to Face" (featuring Elton John)Barlow, John Shanks3:33
5."God"Barlow5:04
6."Small Town Girls"Barlow3:19
7."6th Avenue"Barlow, Shanks5:00
8."We Like to Love"Barlow5:26
9."Since I Saw You Last"Barlow3:32
10."This House"Barlow, Shanks3:58
11."Dying Inside"Barlow4:33
12."More Than Life"Barlow3:48
Since I Saw You Last – Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Mr Everything"Barlow, Robbie Williams4:45
14."Actress"Barlow, James Maddock3:31
15."The Song I'll Never Write"Barlow, Andrew Frampton, Steve Kipner3:05
  • The album is available in three different formats: standard 12-track CD/digital download, 15-track deluxe CD/digital download, and collector's box set available exclusively from Gary Barlow's official webstore, with a 24-page collector's booklet and an art print all collected together in a presentation box.

Personnel
  • Gary Barlow – vocals, piano, additional keyboards, backing vocals
  • Gary Nuttall – guitar
  • Pete Davis – additional keyboards
  • Jeremy Stacey – drums, percussion
  • Sam Dixon – bass guitar
  • John Parricelli – guitar
  • Dave Arch – piano
  • Mark Feltham – harmonica
  • Tim van der Kuil – guitar, banjo, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, lap steel guitar
  • Owen Slade – tuba
  • Karl Brazil – drums
  • Dave Catlin-Birch – guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Ryan Carline – additional keyboards, programming
  • Dave Bronze – bass guitar
  • Andy Duncan – percussion
  • Massimo Restaino – accordion
  • Tom Richards – clarinet
  • Ben Mark – guitar
  • Rohan Onraet – percussion, programming
  • Steve Power – ukulele
  • Neil Taylor – guitar
  • John Shanks – 12-string guitar, backing vocals
  • Andy Caine – backing vocals
  • Ami Richardson – backing vocals

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Ireland (IRMA)[41] Gold 7,500^
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
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References
  1. Lane, Dan (1 December 2013). "One Direction score fastest selling album of their career with Midnight Memories". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  2. 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.
  3. Eames, Tom (17 September 2013). "Gary Barlow announces first full solo album in 14 years". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  4. Eames, Tom (24 September 2013). "Gary Barlow 'records duet with Elton John for new album'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  5. Eames, Tom (8 October 2013). "Gary Barlow: 'Johnny Cash inspired my new single'". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  6. McNulty, Bernadette (24 November 2013). "Gary Barlow interview: 'Nobody wanted to know me'". The Daily Telegraph.
  7. 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.
  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.
  15. Jones, Alan (22 December 2013). "Sam Bailey scores Xmas No.1 with 148k sales: Official Charts Analysis".
  16. Jones, Alan (29 December 2013). "Official Charts Analysis: Pharrell Williams hits No.1 with 106k sales". Music Week. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  17. "Gary Barlow goes double platinum with first solo album in 14 years". Metro. 8 January 2014.
  18. "Officialcharts.de – Top 100 Longplay". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  19. "Since I Saw You Last - Gary Barlow". AllMusic.
  20. Green, Thomas H (24 November 2013). "CD: Gary Barlow - Since I Saw You Last". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  21. Copsey, Robert (19 November 2013). "Gary Barlow 'Since I Saw You Last' review: 'Dreary, MOR pop'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  22. "Gary Barlow: Since I Saw You Last". Drowned in Sound. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  23. "Gary Barlow: Since I Saw You Last – review". The Guardian. 22 November 2013.
  24. Gill, Andy (22 November 2013). "Gary Barlow, Since I Saw You Last: Album review". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  25. Smyth, David (22 November 2013). "Album reviews: November 2013". London Evening Standard.
  26. "Gary Barlow: Since I Saw You Last – review". The Observer. 24 November 2013.
  27. The Times UK review of SISYL, 22 November 2013
  28. Considine, Clare (18 November 2013). "Gary Barlow – 'Since I Saw You Last' album review". Time Out. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  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. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  36. "Swisscharts.com – Gary Barlow – Since I Saw You Last". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
  37. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  38. "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Artist Albums Of 2013". officialcharts.com.
  39. "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Artist Albums Of 2014". officialcharts.com.
  40. Copsey, Rob (11 December 2019). "The UK's Official Top 100 biggest albums of the decade". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  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. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Since I Saw You Last in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  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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