I was thinking of opening this post by saying "Anybody who says they don't like Robbie Williams is either a liar or has cloth ears" but I decided that that is far too confrontational, so instead I would welcome comments from people who don't like him saying why.
He was one of the real highlights of Live8. "Let me entertain you" he said, and boy, he entertained us. One of the three best performers I saw live in 2005 (and he's half the age of the other two...). After I had seen Neil Diamond, I thought ''there aren't many pop stars around now who will be doing in thirty years what Neil did that night, but Robbie might". It's up to me whether or not you believe me, because I didn't include it in my review, and you'll just think I pinched the thought from Mike T-D.
I wasn't a Take That fan - I was way too old for Boy Bands, although I do have their Greatest Hits. But Robbie is in an elite group with George Michael and not very many more people.
To be honest, this album is better than the sum of its parts. It contains no turkeys but there are a good few tracks that I'm indifferent to. I'm not in any hurry to wipe them off my mp3 player but if and when space becomes critical, they may be on a long list.
But at least one song on this album - Heaven From Here is a dead cert for my Top 100 pop songs of all time, and She's the One is a contender.
Heaven From Here is everything a good pop song should be. (I try to distinguish between 'pop' and 'rock' but don't really get bogged on genre beyond that). A tuneful tune, intelligently written. I don't know what key it's in, but listen to the music, and it's a sunny bright key. Nice poppy acoustic guitar. The words are nice too, surely words we can all identify with: saying that relationships aren't perfect, but that love conquers all.
And I've been caught with nothing but Love on my mind
We are love don't let it fall on deaf ears
Now it's clear we have seen heaven from here
I can play it over and again.
She's the One has similar characteristics. Perhaps not as tuneful, that piano is heavily influenced by John Lennon's Imagine. The key is more melancholy, or wistful. I think the middle passage lets it down a bit, but it's nevertheless a fine song.
And all of them feature Robbie's voice. Which I like. The boy can sing, he can vary the colours in what he's singing. Any hesitations I have about him are not really to do with his music, but about the whole PR/tabloid stuff, which is tedious and I would not be surprised if it poses a barrier to his music for more people than just me.
And then I play Life thru A Lens, and to be honest, there are an awful lot of fillers on this album and it must qualify as a waste of money on my part - which I'm sorely tempted to say is a cynical rip-off by the record company.
And then I play Life thru A Lens, and to be honest, there are an awful lot of fillers on this album and it must qualify as a waste of money on my part - which I'm sorely tempted to say is a cynical rip-off by the record company. Old Before I Die is okay; an attempt to reply to The Who - but you know, The Who's opening salvo was much better - and I'm not a Who fan.
Let Me Entertain You actually has little going for it objectively. Crappy song, indifferent lyrics, but it works because of the energy in it. And Angels, well, it's one of those songs. It will not be played at my wedding or funeral or any other occasion because it's a soppy sentimental superficial pop song. However, I do find it quite pleasant to listen to. All together now, light your cigarette lighters. Or in these post-Puritan times, wave your mobile phone around, making sure the screen is illuminated. It's not quite the same...!
The rest is rubbish and not fit to go on my mp3 player.
