More than Robbie’s ego has landed; he’s found that life after his previous band, Take That, isn’t all that bad, and neither is his latest release. Some of the songs were previously released, but this is no matter. Just sit back and enjoy.
The album opens with “Lazy Days”. It is immediately apparent that Williams has a phenomenal voice. Track two is the much-touted “Millennium”. The song has a cool energy. The whole millennium thing is generally overdone, but as bored as I am with the entire idea, I found myself singing along with the lush chorus.
“No Regrets” reminds me of some adult contemporary tune that George Michael would do and “Angels” sounds like Elton John, but both fit Williams. And he’s got more to offer that that. “Strong” is so much better. I love this song. I don’t know what it is. It’s so simple, so generic. It’s perfect.
With a passionate piano riff and high-octane tempo, “Let Me Entertain You” is a road I didn’t expect Williams to travel, but he goes without a guide and never gets lost. My vote for the most bizarre title I’ve heard in a while is “Jesus In A Camper Van”. Too bad the song isn’t as great as the title. Well, okay, it’s a good song, but it just happens to come right after some truly fabulous songs.
“Killing Me” has a John Lennon personality to it. This track is really good, but I found the uppity “Man Machine” with its Stray Cat riff and its Oasis swagger to be much more infectious. The ego is in full effect on this track. Its roar is loud, and cocky as hell. But Williams quickly takes that bad-ass attitude and throws it out the window on his cover of the World Party’s “She’s The One”. This track is it. I get goosebumps just listening to it. When you get that feeling, that indescribable shiver up your spine, you know how truly powerful a song is.
Let all bands make note of “Karma Killer”. It’s an epic without try to be one. So many bands today set out to intentionally write an ‘epic’ song and always come up short. The song is so Queen, yet not at all. It’s built for epic proportions, but never tries to gather that kind of esteem. It’s so carefree that it escapes that bombastic feel. The last track, “One Of God’s Better People”, is just Williams and an acoustic guitar, firing along as the strings are strum with the same emotion that his voice puts forth.
The highs and lows of this album are like a scale of emotions. Fourteen gorgeous songs are usually the stuff of fiction, but Robbie Williams makes it a reality. Every song has it’s own feel, it’s own life. Some run, some walk, all are Robbie Williams at his best. The ego has landed and hopefully it stays.
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