1994 Take That: Everything Changes

After the blotchy bore of 'Babe', 'Everything Changes' finds more of a purpose by adopting a Philly soul structure and glide that leads directly to the dancefloor. Retro, but not blatantly so, 'Everything Changes' has the feel of a lesser O'Jays B side dusted down and given a new lease of life via a gritty lead vocal from Robbie Williams. By borrowing from a tried and tested formula, this should have been something of an open goal, but as is its wont, the music and tune come part of a package and it's the whole that makes my hairs rise.

I tend to think that Take That missed a trick by not releasing this as a prologue to 'Babe' and as part of a trilogy of casual misogyny that would find it's natural conclusion in 'Back For Good'. Williams and his "Now don't you cry, just one more kiss before I have to go" somewhere where " We're a thousand miles apart" is the narrator of 'Babe'' when he gets back from his trip ("I'm here again, I tell you I'm here again. Where have you been?"). Which in itself is harmless enough, but rather than part with ae fond kiss, Williams gives this girl a blunt "Girl, come on over here, let me hold you for a little while" before nailing her to the floor with "The rumours true, you know that there've been others. What can I do, I tell you baby they don't mean a thing. Now girl don't go and throw our love away, I'll be home soon back in your arms to hear you say that everything changes but you". In other words, "you're a doormat I can take for granted whenever I'm in town and can stop screwing around long enough to need a bed to sleep in".

The lyric's complete lack of self awareness at what a self centred bastard this man is being just ramps up the nastiness, and with such a unpleasant and spiteful standpoint underlying it any soul the music had takes on a dark and rank hue in its sweetening of such callous mean-spiritness. In fairness, I put this down to a hamfisted cluelessness on the part of the writers more than any genuine intent, but by the same token the "Everything changes but you. You know every single day I'll be thinking about you" chorus might seem an agreeable pop sentiment wrapped in a catchy tune, but that's sheer fluke too. Because nothing I've heard so far gives any confidence that Gary Barlow knows the first thing about what a woman thinks or feels in any given situation ever; far from a position of equality, females in the Take That world are there purely to provide whatever degree of stability or gratification the guys might be needing at any given point. And it's this ignorance makes stuff like 'Everything Changes' nigh on unlistenable for anyone who actually takes the time to listen.