‘Cool kids’, prepare to judge the hell out of us
Messrs. Barlow, Owen and Donald have done a lot for the world over the last few years. They’ve released numerous up-tempo pop bangers (in the form of, amongst others, These Days and Let In The Sun): which is, of course, a Good Thing. They set off on a UK tour, during which they played all of The Hits, wore some sparkling jackets, and got bleedin’ All Saints to support them: so, we’re also classing that as a Good Thing.
This, however, might just be The Best Thing they’ve done for a while. It’s a re-work of their debut single, Pray, and it’s taken from their upcoming 30th anniversary Greatest Hits album, Odyssey. Yes, we know what you’re thinking: you’re thinking that Greatest Hits albums are pointless in a digital age, and generally serve little purpose other than to conveniently free an artist from that dodgy five-album contract they signed with one of the majors when they were 21-or-so.
This one, however, is set to be a little different. Not only have the trio kindly gathered together all of the best tracks from across their career for your listening convenience, but they’ve also ‘reworked’ a few of the tracks to make them ‘a bit different’: which, in the case of Pray, means taking a 9/10 pop behemoth and turning it into a 10/10 sad-pop power-ballad, complete with harmonies to die for and the kind of vocal that makes you wonder if it’s possible to hear a man’s heart break. Sit back, relax, and enjoy this, because we think that you’re going to love it: