release date: Sep. 23, 1996
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,98]
producer: Kasper Winding
label: RCA Records / BMG Ariola - nationalit: Denmark
Track highlights: 1. "Come Back as a Dog" - 6. "You Will Say" - 9. "She Keeps Telling Jokes" - 12. "That's Life"
7th and final studio album by Gangway following 2½ years after Optimism© (Apr. '94). Newest member, Caj Boisen-Møller left the band reduced to a trio Dec. '94, and here main songwriter Henrik Balling, vocalist Allan Jensen and keyboardist Torben Johansen has handed the producer role to Danish pop-artist Kasper Winding, who apparently had approached the band with a wish to produce their next album. To great success, Winding had recently produced Cinemataztic (1995) by Caroline Henderson and the acclaimed Sjælland (1994) by C V. Jørgensen.
The style is still in the Pet Shop Boys' corner with a slightly warmer touch and now with more focus on the vocal side and less emphasis on the arrangements - making it a more stripped down album compared to the predecessor. The only negative aspect is the absense of great songs, which seems crucial in this case, because what's left then? They have turned to harmony and made an album of sugary-leaded arrangements but without a distinct quality or direction. Since their peak with The Quiet Boy Ate the Whole Cake (1991) they appear to have taken a wrong turn and ended up in a oneway-street with two stops on the way. They just kept pursuing down that road from one lesser release to another, finally to find themselves facing a wall and a long way out.
Some critics were extremely positive - the band had throughout their entire career always been fancied by the national music press, but the consumers and fans didn't exactly embrace the new album, which turned out as the band's commercially least successful release with round about only 10.000 sold copies. Subsequently, Gangway embarked on a short live-tour with the new songs, but already as of the following Spring '97 they initiated a tour with older material, which already came to an end in May '97, where they performed what was to be their final concert. After a short hiatus rethinking their mission, Gangway announced its disbandment in Sep. '97.
Allan Jensen released his only solo album One Fine Day in 2001. Henrik Balling continued in various music projects, most notably in the duo-project The Quiet Boy with Lester Noel, and Torben Johansen revived his old project-band Escape Artists.
That's Life may be better produced than both Optimism© and Happy Ever After but it just doesn't provide us with anything substantial or a new take. They always sought to make their most recent album something new - with a new stylistic blend, but they haven't been able to fulfill that part of their plan on their recent two albums. It's like they have no answer to how to get out of the overly positive pop-sound they have turned to. Listening to the album is like facing elevator or restaurant muzak that you just end up not listening to after all, and imho, That's Life is unfortunately one of their least favourable studio albums (not counting the '88 British re-release Sitting in the Park) and a sad way to end what always appeared as a promising career that was just about to sparkle. 1½ years following this they released the 18-track compilation album Compendium Greatest Hits (Jan. 1998) with 4 songs from the '91 album, 3 from Happy Ever After (1992) - where two songs are in new remixes - 3 from Optimism© (1994) - again with two new remixes - 3 from Sitting in the Park (1986), 2 songs from That's Life, and only 1 song from The Twist (1984), and then with two previously unreleased tracks.
That's Life is not really recommended and only betters the '94 low-point by a margin.
