Robbie Williams: Reality Killed the Video Star
Robbie Williams: Reality Killed the Video Star
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By James Christie
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Friday, 06, Nov 2009 02:23
Virgin Records/EMI, out November 9th.
What's it all about?
Thirteen tracks (14 if you count the bonus download track Arizona) that mark Robbie Williams' return to the UK pop scene. This release comes a full three years after his last album, Rudebox, met a mixed reception from critics and fans alike and failed to perform commercially.
Reality... is a slightly different offering. It shows off a more rounded musician - with a range of influences, from the Beatles to the Beastie Boys - but with greater poise.
Williams has clearly matured since he's been away, and although the juvenile charm and stubborn insistence on experimentation still remains to an extent, this is a much more enjoyable listen than his sometimes cringeworthy 2006 LP.
Who's it by?
Anyone not already familiar with the career of Robbie Williams either doesn't read the papers, or has as much knowledge of the British music scene, and celebrity as a whole, as the damp underside of a rock garden.
Williams has been a staple of the pop musicscape since he released his first solo album in the late 1990s, Life Thru a Lens. Even before that, he was a name - if not quite the household one he has since become - as one of the original five members of Take That.
Since Life Thru a Lens, the pop star extraordinaire has released six more studio albums (Reality... being his eighth); broken long-standing records for tour ticket sales; moved to LA; gone in and out of rehab for prescription medicine addiction; and been involved in more tabloid tales of celeb trysts than any other British male musician.
As an example...
"Don't call it a comeback/Look what I invented here/I thought it was easy/They can't take it away from us." - Last Days of Disco
"What's so great about the Great Depression?/"Is it a blast for you?/Because it's blasphemy." - Blasphemy
What the others say
"The signs are that the now-married singer has regained his waning zest. Though less experimental than Rudebox, it's more accomplished and generous-spirited." - Andy Reid, Independent
"The ego has landed, again, but he's a lot more endearing this time around." - Mike Diver, BBC
"Robbie Williams has returned to what he knows best. delivering a glorious pop album that wears its influences on its sleeves." - Paul Williams, Music Week
So is it any good?
It's difficult to know if this is enjoyable because Rudebox was so inconsistent and so poorly received, or if Williams is genuinely back to his best.
Where I've Been Expecting You and Sing When You're Winning saw knowing nods and self-effacing but self-confident winks, Rudebox was a hopeful nod and something that looked like Williams had grit in his eye.
Don't get me wrong, Rudebox had some great, great tracks on it - Lovelight was superb and The Actor, I think, remains one of Williams' most accomplished album fillers. But it was just too inconsistent, a jumble weaving from appealing to appalling with alarming pace.
That's where Reality Killed the Video Star is so much better. It's a clearer idea and a return to the pop songs and ballads that have served Williams well - providing a platform that shows off his own talents as well as the music itself.
His misguided homage to the electropop 80s, which too frequently failed to deliver, is gone and replaced with a more fulsome sound - something that can be attributed in many ways to new producer Trevor Horn.
Some tracks still hark back to the sort of material Rudebox aimed to deliver, but they do it with more skill and conviction. Last Days of Disco is an instant gem on an album that needs more than one listen to get to grips with, and shows off the better side of Williams' lyricism with the line "Don't call it a comeback... " (delivered with a grin, you imagine).
The darker side of Williams is still in evidence, with self-pitying tracks like Somewhere and Won't Do That and some embarrassing lines of attempted parody (particularly on Blasphemy). But while there are pitfalls here, there's much more good than bad.
The first single, Bodies, has an infectious driving bassline and the production is superb, while the album's opening track Morning Sun is the perfect gentle album intro.
The strong opening of these two tracks isn't quite maintained throughout, although You Know Me - the second single to be released next month - is decent and the sort of poppy ballad where RW can excel.
Despite tailing off a little in the second half, Reality... still excites at times, with Difficult For Weirdos and Deceptacon both shining through. And although some lyrics are more obnoxious than clever, there's still plenty to like.
I won't call this a comeback - even though many critics might be tempted - but it's certainly the most engaging album Williams has produced in years.
7/10
Alistair Potter