Music Played by Humans
Music Played by Humans is the fifth solo studio album by British singer-songwriter Gary Barlow. The album was released by Polydor Records on 27 November 2020 and is Barlow's first solo album in seven years, following Since I Saw You Last in 2013. The album's lead single, "Elita" features both Michael Bublé and Sebastián Yatra, and was released on 30 September 2020.
| Music Played by Humans | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 27 November 2020 | |||
| Length | 50:26 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer |
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| Gary Barlow chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Music Played by Humans | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Arts Desk |   [1] |
| Belfast Telegraph | 8/10[2] |
| The Telegraph | [3] |
The album debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart dated 4 December 2020,[4] becoming Barlow's third solo number-one album in the UK.[5]
Background
Music Played by Humans is Barlow's first solo album since 2013's Since I Saw You Last, and "sees [him] add a contemporary take to the orchestral and big band music he fell in love with as a child". The album includes songs recorded with an 80-piece orchestra, and was preceded by the Latin-inspired lead single "Elita" featuring singers Michael Bublé and Sebastián Yatra. Music Played by Humans also includes collaborations with Beverley Knight, Alesha Dixon, Chilly Gonzales, Barry Manilow, Ibrahim Maalouf, Avishai Cohen and James Corden.
Barlow was nearing completion on Take That's Greatest Hits Live tour in support of 2018's Odyssey when he envisioned the concept for the record, including "full orchestras, swing bands and string quartets", and more than 100 musicians in total. He told BBC News: "I went to Universal, the record company, and I said, 'Listen, I have got this idea but can I just record three songs? I don't mean demos, I want to put the orchestra on, I want to mix it, I want to get right down the road with three songs'. And so I did: Big string sections, brass sections, the whole thing. I really wanted to know that it was right. Then I played it to them and they just said, 'Listen, just go and finish the bloody thing. It's fantastic.'"[6]
Singles
- "Elita," featuring Michael Bublé and Sebastián Yatra, was released as the album's lead single on 30 September 2020.
- "Incredible" was released as the album's second single on 30 October 2020.
- "This Is My Time" was released as the album's third single on 13 November 2020.
- "Enough is Enough," featuring Beverley Knight, was released as the album's fourth single on 29 January 2021.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, with sales of 46,406 units, earning Barlow his third number-one solo album.[7]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Gary Barlow, additional songwriters are noted below.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Who's Driving This Thing" | Tim Firth |
| 4:12 |
| 2. | "Incredible" |
| 2:45 | |
| 3. | "Elita" (featuring Michael Bublé and Sebastián Yatra) |
|
| 3:30 |
| 4. | "The Big Bass Drum" |
| 3:35 | |
| 5. | "This Is My Time" |
| 3:27 | |
| 6. | "Enough Is Enough" (featuring Beverley Knight) |
| 3:26 | |
| 7. | "Bad Libran" | Firth |
| 4:21 |
| 8. | "Eleven" (featuring Ibrahim Maalouf) |
| 3:54 | |
| 9. | "Before We Get Too Old" (featuring Avishai Cohen) | Firth |
| 4:07 |
| 10. | "Supernatural" |
| 3:32 | |
| 11. | "Oh What a Day" (featuring Chilly Gonzales) |
| 3:45 | |
| 12. | "What Leaving's All About" (featuring Alesha Dixon) |
| 3:02 | |
| 13. | "The Kind of Friend I Need" (featuring James Corden) | Firth |
| 4:03 |
| 14. | "I Didn't See That Coming" |
| 2:47 | |
| Total length: | 50:26 | |||
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Let's Get Drunk" |
| 4:31 |
| 16. | "The Day the World Stopped Turning" |
| 3:52 |
| 17. | "You Make the Sun Shine" (featuring Barry Manilow) |
| 3:08 |
| 18. | "Incredible" (acoustic version) |
| 3:46 |
| 19. | "Incredible" (F9 Charleston remix) |
| 3:20 |
| Total length: | 69:03 | ||
Charts
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[13] | Silver | 60,000 |
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References
- Harsent, Barney (26 November 2020). "Album: Gary Barlow – Music Played By Humans". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- Farrow, Rachel (27 November 2020). "Albums of the week: From Steps to Smashing Pumpkins". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- McCormick, Neil (25 November 2020). "Gary Barlow, Music Played by Humans, review: enough showstoppers to make Frank Sinatra turn green". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- Griffiths, George (4 December 2020). "Gary Barlow scores third Number 1 on Official Albums Chart with Music Played By Humans". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- "Gary Barlow: 'I'm not as confident as I was at 21'". BBC News. 29 November 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- "Charts analysis: Gary Barlow bests Steps in albums battle". Music Week. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Gary Barlow – Music Played by Humans" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- "Swisscharts.com – Gary Barlow – Music Played by Humans". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
- "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- "British album certifications – Gary Barlow – Music Played By Humans". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 December 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Music Played By Humans in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.