Review: Gary Barlow

**

Original Take That fans. New Take That fans. Recent converts to Gary Barlow's grounded charms via his X Factor stint. Semi-reluctant husbands and boyfriends. All these and more besides took their place at the feet of the smartly dressed English man, who, by the end of the evening, looked like a Cheshire cat who had more cream than was good for him.

What is Barlow to do, though? How does it pan out for him as an occasional solo performer to get his slick shtick out there without the benefit of stadium trappings and the commercial advantage of a gladiatorial television show? The answer, we soon discover, is to raid the sweet shop, wave, smile, salute and wink – sometimes all at once. Which means that before even 10 minutes pass, we get a Take That song ( The Greatest Day ), a cover of Robbie Williams's hit single Candy , and enough confetti in the air to act as radar deflection for hours. So far, so average.

While ostensibly plugging his latest solo album, Since I Saw You Last (his first such studio record since 1999), Barlow sensibly peppers the set with some of Take That's best songs (including A Million Love Songs , Pray , Back for Good and Shine ), and it is via these that the concert cruises along smoothly. Solo efforts such as Requiem , which comes across like a sub-Rufus Wainwright tune, staggers the flow. Then comes an "acoustic" section, with a why-bother cover of the Bee Gees' How Deep Is Your Love . Worse still is a knuckle-biting "swing" section that reconfigures the likes of Take That's Everything Changes into what you might expect – a type of professional mediocrity that does no one any favours.

Which is a pity, as the highly likeable Barlow – a six-time recipient of the Ivor Novello Award – clearly isn't a chump when it comes to writing memorable pop songs. The fatal flaw, it seems, is presiding over a show that wants to be everything to everybody. Perhaps an X Factor judge should have a word with him?