Reviews (page 2 of 8)
Favorite Track: Life Thru A Lens
Used to own. Decent pop just something I grew out of.
Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: None A derivative, britpop offshoot of more britpop. How do the British say it? Shite? Yea, shite. This is as bad as I was expecting. Thanks for nothing.
This is one of the ones where I think the Anglo influence/bias shows up in this list, although I admit I wasn’t aware that Robbie Williams was the one to bump the Beatles off of the top of the all-time UK top-played artists. Musically, I found this pretty blase. Catchy at times and cloyingly corny at others.
This guy is actually really fun when he’s not doing his best impression of being an oasis style douche bag…unfortunately that’s most of the middle section of the album.
Best Track - "Angels"
I gave this about 10 minutes across 4-5 tracks. UK press can really wind itself up over nothing. Why be a critic if you’re going to rubber stamp fad-chasing trash like this? OTOH! With a k of records, you better have a lot of diversity. Genre, culture, era, men/women, pretty/noisy, popular/obscure, there’s a lot of parameters to represent. Who’s to say that toxic ear-gouging shit like this, or the Bee Gees, or (uck) Muse, or (dear lord) Travis, or The sad stupid Cult, shouldn’t have a place at the table? Hey, well-listened know-it-all, trash is part of the world and we’re here to make sure you remember. Props to the Curator for his keen taste in shit!
Not as awful as I thought it was going to be. Still bad though.
36 year career and he has 3 good songs. Baffling how famous this knobhead is. Angels is a belter though isn’t it.
Life Thru A Lens was far better than i was expecting it to be. I know Robbie Williams from a few songs, mainly stuff like Something Stupid (the one he did with Nicole Kidman) and Candy. I was expecting this album to be your typical pop album, with all the synthy sounds like Mariah Carey or something but this turned out to be far more rock oriented than i expected. The guitars are actually really strong here and the melodies are all really good too. Williams' vocals are very strong as well and the voice hidden song was especially beautiful. I don't really have too much to complain about so all i'll say is that it is a really good album. Best Song: Ego Agogo Worst Song: Killing Me
It’s fine but as an American, I resent this list forcing me to finally learn who Robbie Williams is.
Load of rubbish
Britpop and pop rock built from bright guitars, polished arrangements, straightforward rhythms, and theatrical vocals feels like being taken on a guided tour by someone determined to entertain you, but without ever showing you anything particularly interesting. The showmanship is there, yet for me the tunes rarely have enough character or melodic pull to make an impression. Rather than infectious hooks, I mostly heard conventional pop-rock songwriting dressed up with Robbie Williams' larger-than-life personality.
Really cool electric guitar sounds mixed with excellent vocals. In love with this almost New York style music. Loved this album had great highs. 5 stars will listen again.
3/5
I saw Williams live about 20+ years ago. He's a great entertainer, but that was the gig that turned me off big stadium-type concerts for good. Ironically, that tour was called "Close Encounters". Williams definitely has his place on the list - he was huge, and had an impressive string of hits in the early 2000s. This, though, is not the album that should be on the list. It's somebody still trying to find their place as a solo artist.
Eh, it was fine. Nothing objectionable and I didn't dislike it, but I probably don't have any reason to ever seek it out again.
Surprised by this album. Despite it being pop nonsense it was actually pretty good.
It is just quite bad apart from the hits, everything else sounds ripped off. Sorry Robbie
Oh nooooooo! So the first time I got this I gave it a 2. Robbie CAN sing. Angels shows off what obviously got him on stage in the first place. But the song previous? Ego Agogo opens with these lines: Where were you when you stole my pride Did you ever get the feeling that someone died Hide away in your ivory tower And cover me in your golden shower Yeah. This pretty much says it all in terms of the lyrical content here. And listening, I can’t say I have much feeling for the production. I gave Justin Timberlake a 2 solely because of Timberland’s production. Whatever one might want to say about him as a person, as a producer Timberland put his mark on a generation. Maybe if I were British this would get bumped to a 2 today. But where I am now? It’s barely a 1. 1 Boolean: FALSE- no I did not, in any way, under any circumstances, NEED to hear this before I die
Et par bangers kan ikke rigtigt rede det her. Kedeligt.
Throwback
holy ass
1) Let Me Entertain You 2) Angels 3) Old Before I Die Least Favourite: Life Thru A Lens
Haha, the opening drum salvo could be ripped right off a mbv record. But after the first few seconds, Life Thru a Lens evolves in a very different direction (still, a lot of it is firmly rooted in the polished shoegaze sound of late-90s Britpop), of course. But I mean, Robbie's solo debut is… fine? Yeah, yup, it's fine (that is, if you manage to look past the schmock of the two singles, Angels and Let Me Entertain You). Ok, I just said that: The *deep cuts* are absolutely fine. Just take Old Before I Die. Wouldn't be out of place on "Definitely Maybe" or "What's the Story Morning Glory?" Noel, did you have a hand in this record? Decent pop songwriting, the instrumentals are catchy, with some well-cooked-up chord progressions. The lyrics… well. The record has lyrics. Let's leave it at that. Still, despite my initial skepticism, I had a "jolly good time" listening to this.
Did I find a lot of this very silly? Yes. Did I enjoy it anyway? Yes.
I do kinda want to dislike this album more... but unfortunately it is very nostalgic to me
Onpa hankalasti arvioitava albumi. Ihan ensiksi, Robbie Williams on kova laulaja, erinomainen esiintyjä ja aivan jumalattoman karismaattinen show-mies. Tällä albumilla on kolme huippubiisiä (hittiä) eli Angels, Old before I die ja Let me entertain you. Muuten levy on lähinnä hyvin tehtyä brittipoppia, joka menee ihan kivasti taustamusana. Eli on viiden tähden biisejä ja jokseenkin mitäänsanomatonta biisimateriaalia. Jos arvosteluun ottaa mukaan Robbie Williamsin esiintyjänä niin silloin tilanne helpottuu ja albumille lävähtää 3/5. 3/5
Pari Robbie Williamsin isoa hittiä, mutta muuten perus britti pop rokkia. En oikein pidä mitenkään ihmeellisenä. Kyllähän tän kuunteli. Lopussa outo runo. Parhaat: Let Me Entertain You, Angels
Nope.
Typical britpop.
This is a segment of 90s era music that I just don’t get along with. The vocals and music are cheesy and possess no character. I’d rather not have to listen to this again.
Dance-pop, soft rock, pop rock, power pop.
This list is great for me personally because I adore Britain and British music. I loved this from the first 2 seconds. Surprisingly solid Britpop sound. Will absolutely be returning to this.
Niet mijn ding
558/1089 - Monkey movie. It's pretty good britpop.
all i could think about looking at this album cover was him as a monkey in the film
i genuinely cannot tell you how sick i am of this album. this will REALLY date me but my mum was absolutely head over heels for robbie williams when this album came out and as a result i've heard this album approximately 1 million times. i do quite like angels but i really do not care for the rest of this at all
I like how on every song he's trying to be a different singer from a British band that was contemporaneous to him. I know nothing about this man because I am American but seems like a good rabbit hole.
I enjoyed the album a lot. Best song: "Angels". Not sure why one had to wait almost 10 minutes for the hidden track, but eventually it started. Since it was just Robbie talking, not really sure it was worth the wait, but whatever. On the whole, I liked the album.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed this
Nothing wrong with pop music but this is just basic. Another overly inflated British album on this list.
Great, so a British ex-boy band member I've never heard of is essential listening now? Surprisingly, it wasn't mostly boy band-like pop, but rather generic Britpop/jangly rock. It's not bad, but it is very mediocre. The hooks are generic, the guy has a generic voice, the lyrics are generic(when they aren't terrible). It literally sounds almost exactly like the La's album that came out 7 years earlier. Because it is just a straight La's ripoff by a boy band guy probably trying to court a collegiate rock audience, I have to regard it as utterly worthless in terms of artistic merit. Why was this even on the list? This album is ranked #21 of 25 albums for 1997. Other 1997 albums rated by me: Either Or(4/25)-3 In It For The Money(8/25)-2 Let's Get Killed(22/25)-3
5.5/10
Robbie Williams is great! This may not be is best album, it's too indebted to Oasis to have its own identity, even in the way Robbie sings. It's Oasis-lite, and Oasis are already lite enough. Still, there are amazing songs on here, such as "Angels", without a doubt one of the best pop songs of the 90's. The songs were almost all written by Williams and Guy Chambers, a duo I've always viewed as a modern (but reversed) Elton John/Bernie Taupin. It's not easy to leave a boy band go successfully go solo, but Williams did that in a way only rivaled by Justin Timberlake. I'd say that, currently, Take That are a mere footnote in Robbie's carrier, and that is no small feat for someone who wasn't even the stand-out star in his group. Even poor Harry Styles has been struggling with leaving his One Direction past behind. It is baffling Williams never crossed-over to the American market. Well, their loss. Key tracks: Lazy Days Angels Old Before I Die Let Me Entertain You
1. lazy - 0 2. lenz - 1 3. ego - 1 4. angelz - 2 5. border - 0 6. die - 1 7. godz - 2 8. you - 1 9. killing - 1 10. clean - 0 11. baby - 1
this was a mistake, Dimery
The two bangers hard carry this one but I do love those to be honest
i never thought much about williams. all i'd heard was a standard megapop kinda singer. that may still be true, but this album has him in more of a britpop vein, like he could be competing with oasis (yawn!) or blur (not as much yawn).
angels was something, the rest is uhh...... nothing?
This made me cringe so hard, He-Man tried to mount me. Hypothesis: I suspect the ratings of this album have a statistically significant variance across the Atlantic. Outside of 'Millennium' and 'Back for Good' (with Take That), I'm unaware of any material mainstream exposure Robbie has had in the States. Therefore, nostalgia wouldn't be a confounding factor boosting the ratings on that side of the pond like it might be on the other.
This man highly influenced by when I was younger. In that Take that video where him and his bandmates rubbed whipped cream all over each other. And then in that video where he strips naked, but the crowd wants more so he starts ripping off parts of his flesh to feed to them. His music is only so-so, but the man knew who how to get my kinks going at an early age. For that alone I must give Robbie his flowers.
2/10 Didn't care for
Sounds very British and not in a good way.
It's cheesy and very very pop. Let Me Entertain You is a banger tho
Surprisingly good instrumentals and solid vocals but genuinely some of the worst lyrics ive ever heard. Very plain and radio safe, also couldnt stop thinking about the fuck ass monkey movie he made the whole time
This bloke is funny. Made me think of the great Better Man. 4 stars
watched a whole movie where this guy was a monkey and if you gave me 15 guesses I dont think i would have figured out that his solo albums were britpop
I've always been a bit of a secret Robbie Williams fan but until recently never heard this album. It's really good, kind of indie rock pop with some pretty cool, sometimes funny lyrics. Favourite song on the album - One of God's Better People. A brilliant ballad. A very solid 3.5/5.
What a bore
It was okay I guess. Not coming back to it, but I made it through.
Bland and boring, musically it's not too bad in places with it's sub-Britpop sound but Williams is just annoying and makes most things worse. I see he's doing the World Cup half-time show but thankfully everyone can just ignore it because literally no-one outside of the US cares about half-time spectacles. I listened to this all the way through, Lord knows why and there is a hidden track which is even worse than anything on the actual album. It's called Hello Sir and is a spoken word piece where Robbie chastises a former teacher for ridiculing his dreams of stardom. It only goes to show how insecure and graceless he is that he feels the need to do this. To me, this teacher sounds like a hero, I only wish he had been more successful in his attempts to destroy this arrogant cock, he could have saved us from having to listen to any of this drivel and got Bob sent on a 6 month deployment to Kosovo.
Unfortunately this did little for me. Still obviously reeling from being summarily kicked out of Take That, Robbie Williams delivers an album that's slathered in a desperation to be perceived as cool, as relevant, as edgy. Sadly it doesn't really work. There are some definite highlights on here, like Angels, but overall most of this just sounded like a third-rate Oasis to my ear. Maybe there's a reason nobody this side of the pond heard about this guy until the funny monke movie.
Knowing nothing about Robbie Williams nor his British boy band past, I enjoyed this significantly more than I thought I would, especially considering what I’ve thought of other britpop albums on the 1001. To me, most of it didn’t really sound like the other britpop albums on the list. Like it was just a British guy doing pop I guess but not necessarily britpop. I digress. Why did they make him a monkey?
Some fun, carefree late-90s pop. The cover photo is pretty great. To think this guy would go on to become a monkey...... Standouts: Life Thru A Lens • Ego Agogo • Old Before I Die
Giving this a 4 not because I think it is necessarily technically equivalent to many other things I have given a 4, but because I just enjoyed it so much. Was listening while exercising and dancing during my rest breaks. I can see why it was such a force in the UK.
I fucking hate this album.
second song and this feels like Disney but in the worst possible way. Take it from someone that grew up on Disney movies and likes Disney popstars. Why do I have to keep listening to whiny British men on this list but I have yet to listen to 1 album from Latam or anywhere else. I know this was made by critics from US and UK, and so far I haven't had any complaints, not even for my other 1 star albums, this does feel like just praising mediocre albums for the sake of filling the list instead of adding things not so English-centric I could die happily without listening to this Dropped it in the middle. Not losing my time. Maybe it's not all that awful, but not an spot on this list for me
The type of album you find on CD in a charity shop for 50c
Uber-meh.
While listening to his hit song, I got a different song stuck in my head.
cringey af i haven’t finished it yet update - a dnf
2.5/5
My favorite part was when the last song was just recorded silence for 9 minutes straight.
I think the British word is "twat." Almost pulled out of one-star territory with some comparatively decent work on the back half, but I felt like I received the "golden shower" from "Ego a Go Go."
Never heard of him or his former boy band, but from my initial view of the album art I had a feeling this would be a mediocre listening experience. After listening to an hour of this garbage, mediocre feels like putting it nicely.
Moui bon sans grand intérêt
It’s an important album, a charismatic album, and occasionally a brilliant one—but it is also inconsistent, derivative, and desperately eager to prove its credibility.
Not a one of these songs needed to escape the production studio. All of them are the diarrheal dribbling of a staged comeback from a boy-band percentile claiming a relevance via the backing of significant marketing. Robbie is talented and has used that significant talent to no avail. I enjoyed none of this. I tried. Even approaching it with my pop hat on I can only say it was well crafted slop, devoid of heft.
I like Robbie Williams, I think he'd be a fun bloke to have a beer and a laugh with. I love Angels and Let me Entertain You but I'd quite happily use the rest of the album as a drink coaster for said beer. It wasn't bad or offensive, it was just there.
Obviously a couple of really big hits on here that I've heard a lot of times before, abut aside from that I think the album is just a little jumbled, and not all that memorable for me Standouts Angles One Of God's Better People Let Me Entertain You 3/5
I don´t care what they say, this is such a great album, especially because it's a fucking monkey how sings it. And Angels it's a masterpices. Altough it was losing it at the end
I feel like this is your run of the mill britpop. 3/5
Strong album.
Lazy Days - 2.5/5 Life Thru a Lens - 2/5 Ego a Go Go - 1/5 Angels - 3.5/5 South of the Border - 2.5/5 Old Before I Die - 2.5/5 One of God's Better People - 2.5/5 Let Me Entertain You - 3.5/5 Killing Me - 2/5 Clean - 2/5 Baby Girl Window - 2/5 Oh so this is where that one movie with the monkey guy was from. No wonder he didn't break into the States, he's very derivative of other Britpop sounds that came before him. He's trying to attach himself to the more popular bands at the time while shedding his boy band label. To be fair, some artists have been able to shake off the latter, but Williams just comes off as trying to copy what's popular. It's funny that the best songs on here is when he isn't trying to imitate anyone! Angels and Let Me Entertain You aren't bad songs but at least he's trying something that isn't being Oasis! Overall: 2/5 Favorites: Angels, Let Me Entertain You
Uh, no. Maybe if I were a tween girl in 1999 who really liked straight-to-DVD Rom Coms. But I wasn't. Honestly, through Angels was all I could take of this horrid, cynical poptastrophy.
I had to listen in the car as schools out and was too embarrassed to listen to this in front of the family. Would give it a 1 but gets a bonus point for nostalgia as was so prevalent in my formative years.
Life Thru a Lens I actually owned this album, it was one of those Britannia Music Club albums that I didn’t cancel and never took to HMV to swap for an album I actually wanted. I remember at the time thinking it wasn’t terrible, before the massive success of Angels and his supercilious cheeky-chappy persona became overpoweringly irritating to my little teenage mind. Listening now, and without having been in a student disco playing Angels at the end of the night for at least 25 years it's clear Let Me Entertain You and Angels are the standout tracks. Let Me Entertain You, despite it being lazily used as shorthand for ‘you will be excited’ on numerous TV shows and at numerous sporting events is a decent Stonesy pop-rock crossover. Angels, despite all the Robbie shaped baggage that comes with it, is a great, Oasis-adjacent, populist song, with an excellent melody and a brilliantly simple and universal theme. Outside that though, while it's competently made and produced, it is an incontestably mediocre album with an all too apparent Oasis fixation, and a pervasive sense of safe, unthreatening attempts at varying rock styles. Although I’m not really into it, there's no denying he has a sense of charisma that a lot of people really like, but that can’t really elevate the unconvincing and run of the mill nature of it all. And when you factor in his rather thin and nasal voice, particularly when he’s desperately trying to channel Liam on Lazy Days, it all adds up to something not that interesting and distinctly ersatz. Angels and Let Me Entertain You aside, there’s no real reason to listen again, even if I appreciate that the album is representative of the start of the Robbie Williams phenomenon in the UK. Low 2. 📷📷 Playlist submission: Angels
A confused chap trying to escape his boy-band past; but ironically the most commercially successful tracks were the ones in the boy-band cheesy style. 'Angels' is chief amongst them - now distanced from constant airplay, it is clearly a superior ballad. Alongside 'Angels', 'Killing Me' is very pleasant, as is the final track 'Baby Girl Window', albeit precursors to his crowning achievement in my opinion, 'Feel'. The other half of them album is him trying to be Oasis, with variable results, whilst not being awful. The best of these is the commercially underperforming 'South of the Border'. 'Old Before I Die' has aged pretty well, and is a decent, Britpop adjacent, guitar track. Too much of the rest is fashioned to have him ponce about on stage - the title track, 'Ego Agogo' and the insufferable 'Let Me Entertain You' for example, with their attempt at bouyant cheeky chappy rock. But it's mainly forgettable.
Im pretty sure I had could have gone through my life without having to listen to this
honestly i thought this absolutely ripped and ruled. british ppl you may have done one (1) thing right w/ ol' robbie. i DID let him entertain me!!
as an american who is aware of robbie williams but never listened to his music, i enjoyed this overall! solid 90s radio-friendly rock sound reminiscient of the black crowes and similar bands. the brass part on let me entertain you really made this for me. favorites: ego agogo, angels, let me entertain you
Idk what it was but man was it really forgetable. Nothing really stood out this listen.
As someone who was introduced to Robbie Williams through Millennium, this was an odd listen. Oasisu, then pop punk, next was a ballad more like what I expected, then just, I dunno
It's just so generic, like a run of the mill pop album. Which it is, so no surprises there. It's not really bad and 'Angels' is a guaranteed hit in any pub, which is a very big plus. I am giving it medium marks, which is probably more than it deserves, but Robbie's charisma in live performances I've seen drives it up a mark, which is totally unrelated to this album but he's just such a good showman. 3/5
Liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I expect it's because RW was never as popular on this side of the pond, so ... we're not exhausted by him, perhaps? I detect a lot of haters who are UK-based...? Anyway, this was a fun listen. Except for Angels. I can't understand the appeal of that tune.
This sucked. Come on.
Poppy, inoffensive, but forgettable
I knew the crazy Robbie Williams music video where he tears all his skin off from my youth. That one is wild. I don’t even think the song is on this album. But sometimes you need Oasis Lite.
Sans être complètement nul, je sais pas si j'avais besoin d'entendre ça avant de mourir.
Angels
The album opens with a very Britpop sound which tries to balance the growling, lad attitude of Oasis with the musical creativity and flexibility of Blur. I appreciate the rock influence overall and the choice to use rock band instrumentation with lots of guitar. For a lot of modern pop, it feels like it's often a financial choice from labels which pushes for the "bedroom artist" sound, rather than an artistic choice or limitation. I'm sure this record was produced when doing everything on a computer would have still been a bit of a novelty, but it gives it an edge in terms of giving it a more timeless sound. The biggest single, "Angels", was huge when I was younger. Although it's not my style, it's a well-written and performed song. It also has a guitar solo, as such, so it can't be that bad. Chambers, the producer, made a good choice in pairing Robbie's voice with this light, but still deceptively heavy, Britpop sound. It's a great combo, especially on "Old Before I Die" which I had forgotten about until now. Also, "Let Me Entertain You" is full of energy and works well, and as another of his biggest hits, needing no explanation. With several high points and few low ones, this is a pretty solid album. I think both poptimists and rockists can enjoy it together without too much contention. The best of all the boy band lads (or is he a monkey now?) in my opinion. 4/5.
Honestly any album that coins the word "inbreedy" and has an entire diss track directed at Gary Barlow would get at least a 3, even if it is very top loaded
Mhmm
5
pretty solid
- I think I may have been sleeping on Robbie Williams
I've only seen this guy on Graham Norton and knew he was a singer, but didn't realize how long ago he got his start. Is is rock? pop? I dunno. Not bad, but not interesting. 3 stars? Naw, maybe 2. It got more boring as it went on.
Lazy days - 3/5 Life thru a lens - 2/5 Ego agogo - 2/5 Angels - 5/5 South of the border - 3/5 Old before I die - 3/5 One of God's better people - 4/5 Let me entertain you - 5/5 Killing me - 3/5 Clean - 2/5 Baby girl window - 4/5
the big fat shiny debut of pop artist robbie williams. the closest bit of relevancy robbie had lately here in the united states is that biopic movie where he's a monkey for some reason. from what i know though, in the united kingdom at least he's one of the biggest names in popular music. it's definitely generic enough britpop that'll easily find its way to the charts. he's very good at what he does for the genre! especially in a day and age where a lot of pop music makes me want to choke. it's honestly a bit of a balancing act in my head when it comes to figuring out my feelings about it. this is pop music that i know for sure repeated on uk airwaves for almost 30 years; it's still a good listen but it's that kind of uk pop where it sounds like it would be in a commercial for something. or some reality tv show. this album sounds like it could be in "the x factor". both as background tracks for the show itself and songs that mediocre contestants would sing to the judges. especially that LET MEEEEEEEEEEE ENTERTAIN YOUUUUU. the album was a great enough listen. big props to robbie for understanding a formula that works well for both himself and his listeners.
1. Lazy Days (★★★☆☆) 2. Life Thru A Lens (★★⯨☆☆) 3. Ego Agogo (★★⯨☆☆) 4. Angels (★★★★★) -Fav (me duele admitirlo) 5. South Of The Border (★★⯨☆☆) 6. Old Before I Die (★★⯨☆☆) 7. One Of God's Better People (★⯨☆☆☆) 8. Let Me Entertain You (★★★⯨☆) 9. Killing Me (★⯨☆☆☆) 10. Clean (★★★☆☆) 11. Baby Girl Window -+ Hidden Track 'Hello Sir' (★★☆☆☆) -TOTAL = ★★⯨☆☆ (2,7) -Como promedio me dio 3 estrellas por redondeo, pero sinceramente es un 2 y la verdad me sorprende que me haya dado esta impresión... de paso me enteré de dónde salió este tipo y por qué es tan denostado.
Was this guy on Idol? This sounds like the crappy debut album of an American Idol winner (i.e. minor Billboard single and dick else forever). I was riding such a high for so long, I forgot how many gd 2* albums there are on this list.
This is what the 1001 albums project is for- discovery. I’d never heard of Robbie Williams, but now I’m glad I did. The music sounds like a mix of Black Crowes and Oasis, and maybe a dash of the Verve, a very 90s alt pop rock sound that still feels fresh today. The back half of the album drags a bit, but it’s listenable and not overly long. This definitely feels like a pick by a group of British critics though- some virtually unheard of music across the pond or outside the UK being heralded as one of the 1001 greatest albums and only being 9 years old by the writing of the book. It didn’t sell that well or have a greater influence, but it is pretty decent at least. Favorites: “angels” and “south of the border” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
eh foda pq eu achei o álbum uma merda absoluta, totalmente na linha de que se não fosse inglês nem teria passado perto dessa lista AINDA ASSIM toda vez que toca angels na rádio eu aumento o som e canto junto. linda música!! o resto é ruim.
pop rock britânico bem medíocre, né. de fato angels eh uma PEDRADA CLÁSSICA da rádio, mas tirando isso eh meia boca demais meio doideira esse mano ter ganhado uma biopic como MACACO (?) btw
1/5. As a person born in the U.S. after the year 2000, my introduction to Robbie Williams was his 2024 biopic where he is a CGI ape. Robbie has a pretty typical artist story for his time, a former boy-band member who made it big on his own, in this case thanks to this albums biggest hit “Angels.” As for the music, at least on this debut, it is nothing. It feels completely void of anything compelling. kinda Brit-poppy, kinda alt-rocky, kinda poppy, but never good no matter the style being tackled. The big epic tracks feel unearned and the slower emotional cuts feel insincere.
Oasis with a little more Pop sound…?
Quite good.
Sure, this has his biggest hit, but Escapology is the better album and it's not particularly close.
Gross
I see what you're doing here. This is just Oasisbait. This is Morning Glory bait. I see what you're doing and it's just Oasisbait and I'm *eating* it
Vapid zeitgeist surfing from the most annoying try hard in an era of annoying try hards. Yet “Angel” glued itself to memory all weekend. Who doesn’t suffer nostalgia for their youth?
Mediocre at best, sub-late period Oasis at worst ("South Of The Border" is abominable); I am sympathetic to the peanut gallery here. Nevertheless, "Angels" is the shining apotheosis of the late "90s britpop-gone-coke-psychosis sound, and the naff Pinball Wizardry of "Let Me Entertain You" still raises a guilty smile. While I am relieved he can't get arrested in the US, I also admire the number of jobbing indie singer/songwriters Robbie made wealthy throughout his career (Guy Chambers here, Karl Wallinger next for "She's The One" and my man Stephen Duffy for "Intensive Care" later), and respect him for paying his dues.
Overproduced - the rocky numbers in particular sound wrong.
Surprised to see this on the list. It was a decent pop album in its day, but there is nothing particularly groundbreaking going on. 2.5
This is #day673 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… Robbie Williams is one of those pop culture figures from my childhood. As someone whose teenage years fell in the early '00s, I saw a lot of Robbie on TV. So there's a little bit of guilty pleasure involved when it comes to him. This particular record, though? My first-ever time listening to it in full. "Angels" and "Let Me Entertain You" are undeniable hits, and the rest? Robbie Williams doing Robbie Williams things. Some of the lyrics are downright ridiculous. Otherwise, this is a classic late-'90s pop-rock record. I'm giving it a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day674.
As an American, my only knowledge of Robbie Williams prior to this was the song Angels and that they made a biopic where he is a monkey. Maybe I should watch that movie because I enjoyed this. Besides Angels, which is great, much of this sounds like an effort to replicate the sound of Oasis. Favorite songs were Life Thru A Lens, Angels, Old Before I Die, and Let Me Entertain You.
The poppiest of Brit pop.
Another album you can always find in the bargain bins of charity shops for a few pence. Sweet karma for the hidden track Hello Sir where Williams castigates one of his ex teachers. Awful how he belittles someone who I am sure was trying his best. Comparing what he sees as the teacher’s mundane world to the supposedly glittering one he now has is not a good look. How’s it going now Robbie you pompous t**t? Still cannot deny there are one or two good songs on the album the pick of which is Angels which I would like more If Williams was not the singer. All are co-written with Guy Chambers a proven and talented songwriter so leaves you wondering just how much or how little input he had. An album deservingly in the bargain bin rather than being on this list. 2/5 11/6/26
Very standard album. Felt like something you would hear playing in the background of an episode of HIMYM
8.5/10, gran álbum del monito Robbie. Muy buenos temas como Angels y Let Me Entertain You, pero otros medio fru (aunque los escucharía de fondo)
Holy shit! This album is so good! What the freakin hell?? Seriously. This album has no right to be as good as it is....damn. 4 stars....maybe 4.5? I don't think I've ever been this surprised by an album on this list so far. Blown away. Post Review Reading Edit: I'm coming for each and every one of you people that rated this below a 3. You all deserve a slap across the face and a swift kick in the ass. Additional Edit: Is this one of the 1001 greatest albums ever? Surely not. Is it better than at least 250 other albums on the list? Almost surely yes.
Huh, I remember this album when it came out but never gave it a full listen. Lyrics are cheeky as always, but with a healthy dose of star delusion
My exposure to Williams is limited to "Millennium," plus a vague awareness of the CGI monkey movie about him and a memory of him feuding with one or the other of the Gallagher brothers (or maybe both). And a bit of reading reveals that he was accused of aping Oasis here, which is both (a) audibly accurate (Exhibit A: "Old Before I Die") and (b) no worse than what everybody else in Greater Britpop was doing at the time (Exhibit B: Stereophonics' *Word Gets Around*, which for my money is a notch or two better than this in every way). If there's something Williams lacks that the Gallaghers have, it's their sense of self-assurance and commitment; one always gets the sense he's checking with the audience, eager for their approval, the boyband refugee wanting a director to tell him he's doing it right. He begs us to let him entertain us, whereas "real" rockstars don't give a shit. Which is why trying to change lanes from teen pop to allegedly grown-up rock was always going to be a losing proposition for Williams - the rules of the game are rigged against him, and he knows it. Hence the insecurity, which is frequently at least somewhat fascinating (which I assume is the point of that CGI monkey movie) - especially when it leads him to chase other influences; "Angels," for example, is a pretty credible Michael Hutchence impersonation, and on tracks like "Killing Me" he chases *Older*-era George Michael and at least makes a credible contest of it. Underneath the period affectations and other corniness (like the spoken-word kiss-off to his teacher on the hidden track) there's a credible, mature pop album here somewhere. Maybe the CGI monkey movie addresses that too - apparently it's streaming in a couple places if you're interested. (I don't know how interested I am.)
Mediocre
The only thing remarkable about this album is how middle of the road it is. MOR production, MOR songwriting, MOR vocal performance. The drummer is good. Let Me Entertain You is a fun single. Ultimately, I didn't need this in my life and don't think it should on the list. 1.5 stars, bumped up to 2 because my 6 year old liked the first song
I enjoyed South of the Border and Old Before I Die was very catchy. I really enjoyed this album. It had some good songs I could sing to.
I only know this guy as the monkey man prior to this. Glad to have a reason to check him out. This album started great and was really hitting the mark as a comparable to Oasis britpop. Turns out that the album is super front loaded, and the back half just seems like quite a bit of filler songs that are much more generic. I'd give the front half a 4, and the back half a 2.
Didn't this guy canonically turn into a monkey?
I tried very hard to ignore the fact that this was Robbie Williams, who I only know as a corn-ball pop guy. I tried to go into this open-minded. And this album did in fact surprise me, but not because it was better than I thought it would be, but because it is so clearly trying to grab onto those Oasis coattails. I mean - so many blatant rip offs. Robbie is clearly trying to imitate Liam's nasally twang...... it sounds ridiculous. The production sounds as if you hired a bunch of studio mercenaries to recreate that "Morning Glory" sound. The songs are generally meh to totally fine musically. The lyrics are absolute dog shit. "I'm Clean, yeah. I'm friends with Mr. Sheen, yeaah." What. Robbie even seems to be copping from Oasis lyrically as well?? WHY??? Are there no better lyricists than Noel Gallagher you couldn't steal from? Holy moly. Overall: This album isn't the worst thing I've ever heard, but it is bad, and even worse - it breaks my streak of above-average albums! Bahhhhhhh TWO STARS
Britpop light by numbers. Good but Britpop never shook the world.
this was sooooo bad how the F did this make it on. a reviewer put it best "This book of albums sure places British mediocrity on a pedestal." crazy album cover. mr center of attention
Wannabe Oasis album. Not bad, just not captivating. Neutral feelings, hence the 3.
Bad Oasis impression
Better than I expected
Apparently, this album was quite well received in Finland. Not so much by me.
1.91
This album slapped heavy!
This is a really funny inclusion on this list. Funny gossip but my cousin went on a date with him around this time. I shockingly really enjoyed the lyrics?
Está bueno, pero no me partió la cabeza
Was I entertained enough? Not really.
A bit of a guilty pleasure
A great pop album, if you're in the mood for a pop album. Not a lot to be offended by. Not a lot (with the exception of Let Me Entertain You) to get excited about. Music for weddings and dinner with strangers. 3*
Let me entertain you and angels. Kinda high school musical but good
My ex-husband had a crush on Robbie Williams and it always made me uncomfortable. Maybe because I also have a crush on Robbie Williams.
Does not move the needle for me at all. Best Song: Angels Rating: 4.5/10 Stars: 2
Pfft, I love pop he, maar dit is echt te 13-in-een-dozijn. "Let Me Entertain You" is een banger, maar "Old Before I Die" is dan weer echt massief anus. (3-4)
I remember when Robbie's "The Ego Has Landed" came out in the US. We listened to it quite a bit at the record store. I remember liking it, but not being that interested in keeping up with is career. This was a good listen for me, given that about half the songs were also on Ego, so they brought back memories. Still not terribly interested in hearing more from him, but I did like this one.
Is this guy popular? Oh wait didn't he recently play in a movie as himself, but he was an Ape? Yeah never saw that movie either. Just another one to toss into the recycle bin.
No thank you.
This album is kick ass I really don't give a fuck what people think this is genuinely kick ass. Why the fuck did Robbie get so bullied by papparazzi in England?
2026.06.02
3 Pretty standard pop music, few great songs but nothing special for the most part. The hidden track poem at the end is quite something...
Acceptable Brit pop, inoffensive, but not memorable.
Is unfortunately the reality for kids these days.
Don’t know if this is better described as, “Oasis in a good mood,” or, “Jason Mraz with a British accent.” Whichever way you slice it, it’s fairly lightweight, inoffensive pop.
While this sounds fine, it seems to be derivative, as if he knows the sounds (from the Beatles, Bowie, etc.) that sell and leans into that. The hidden track was so obnoxious that he’s losing a point.
3.8
Ted Lasso vibes
Classic Robbie!
This is going to be a difficult one to be objective about. This came out when I was 22, and at University, and the singles were absolutely everywhere (Angels still is, of course) so formed a soundtrack to some of my funnest memories. And, in fairness, the singles are pretty good, if lightweight, pop-rock - South of the Border, which didn’t do particularly well is one of my favourite Robbie Williams tracks (Let Love Be Your Energy is my other favourite, which again failed to do well - suggests I’m not quite the target market, which is fair). The album tracks, though, are noticeably weaker. Life Thru A Lens is poor and the rest aren’t any better. Plus, his voice can verge into quite a whiny nasal tone, which isn’t very nice. Reading that back, I’ve smashed it pretty hard, but those singles have such good feelings and memories tied to them that I can’t really give it less than 3 stars.
This isn't out rightly terrible, but it's the most generic stuff I've maybe heard yet on this website. It has no business being on this list.
*Decent pop/rock album
Eh
Probably the best of the British pop rock I have heard here so far
My exposure to Robbie Williams was quite limited and then I watched Better Man and that exposed me to a few songs that are on this album, but I didn't really go out seeking more of him. I wound up enjoying listening through this. I'd probably give it more time and dig into more of his library and see what else is there.
There are song here where Williams sounds like Elton John, or Freddie Mercury, or George Michael, and then songs where he sounds like no one in particular. These are very tight arrangements, well-performed, and Williams is a talented singer, but the whole thing feels a little bit soulless; overproduced and polished within an inch of its life. There's nothing wrong with it, and I think that's the problem.
Robbie Williams? You mean that fat dancer from Take That? I let out an audible groan when I see this come up as my album for the day. I've been complaining about this faker for years, so to have to sit through 52 minutes of his narcissism is going to be a chore and a half. I remember when this album first came out. There was a lot of publicity of Robbie being very cringe, trying to hang out with Oasis, drinking heavily and trying his damnedest to publicly shed his boy band image. Nothing about the man or this album feels genuine. It was like he looked at what was popular at the time, and thought, “sure, I'll do that, and it'll be a hit”. This isn't rock ’n’ roll, this is a washed-up boy bander cosplaying as Britpop. What's worse is that a lot of people seemed to think there was substance to all of this. Sure, it was probably the best solo Take That outing, but is that how low we're setting the bar? I like how a Melody Maker review put it: “this album feels more like a press release than an album – and that's not what I call music.” As insufferable as I find Robbie to be, let's try to be objective. We'll start with the obvious one, “Angels”. It's hard to argue that it isn't a great song, so I won't try. It's a great song. I especially love the slide guitar solo. It's so good that it saves this from being a 1 star review. I play guitar with a group of my fiancée’s extended family at an annual get-together, the closest I've gotten to being in a band. When we take a break from butchering Dylan and Young classics, we relent to the requests. Playing a song like “Angels” can cause a proper feral reaction, as the entire room gutterally screams “and through it allllll” like a group of football hooligans. So yeah, there's no denying that it's a good song. I have my suspicions that Guy Chambers is largely responsible for the musical side of things here. Well, it turns out that Robbie, or even Chambers, had very little to do with it. Ray Heffernan, a small-time Irish musician wrote the song and signed away all the rights to Robbie for a small fee. Imagine hearing it everywhere, and hearing Robbie going on and on in interviews about how he came up with it and wrote it? The only other positive in the album is the catchy guitar melody of “Old Before I Die”. The Who wrote aggressively punk lyrics like “I hope I die before I get old”, reflecting the energy and arrogance of youth, while highlighting the cultural distance in the generational gap. Whereas Robbie wrote the granny-pleasing prose “I hope I live to relieve the days gone by, I hope I'm old before I die”. Not exactly the same edge. But yeah, the song itself, for all of its banal mundanity, gets stuck in my head a lot. There are plenty of average pop-rock albums out there that can be ignored and forgotten about. What really gets under my skin about Robbie, and this album in particular, is his arrogance in the face of how much of a fake he is. And how people seemed to somehow lap it up like he was one of the greats. Or as Noel Gallagher put it: “Robbie's the biggest fake ever and yet he thinks he's Elvis.” Let me entertain you. No thanks Robbie, I'm grand.
I'm not the hugest Robbie fan, but I'm not a hater either just because it's mainstream pop. He has some great bangers...I can't help but sing along with Angels.
far fewer banana mentions than i'd have expected after the movie / 5
Overall a kind bland album ... Angels saves the 3 star rating.
Life thru a Lens by Robbie Williams is a fun pop album with a handful of genuinely very good songs on it, although a lot of the rest feels fairly forgettable after the listen. The big singles are undeniably strong. “Angels” is a fantastic pop song and still sounds timeless, while “Old Before I Die” and “Let Me Entertain You” are packed with energy and personality. Those tracks really carry the album. Outside of them though, a lot of the material feels overly polished and still a little too close to Robbie’s boyband past, which makes parts of the album harder to take seriously. That said, there are good melodies throughout and Robbie’s voice suits this style of music really well. He has charisma and confidence as a frontman, even if the songwriting is inconsistent across the album. Overall, it’s a fairly average album with some standout pop moments that remind you why Robbie became such a huge star. Favourite tracks: “Angels” is the perfect pop song. “Old Before I Die” and “Let Me Entertain You” are also great fun Least favourite tracks: “One of God’s Better People” is a bit naff Album artwork: An iconic Robbie Williams cover
Favorite Song: Old Before I Die
i think about half of these songs they could've crossfaded directly into oasis' "wonderwall" and i wouldn't have noticed that the song changed. absolutely not a single noteworthy thing about this and in the next edition of this book this should be pruned immediately. legitimately zero artistic direction here or creative decision worth considering; the most britpop-by-committee album i could imagine.
Inessential British pop detritus. Every English Aunts favorite music. It's like if you took Oasis and the rest of the 90s Britpop scene and turned it into a mass produced slurry. You can feel here that Robbie Williams is desperate to set himself apart from Take That, but except for "not being Take That" it feels like Robbie has no idea what he actually wants to be. Let Me Entertain You is definitely my favorite song here, only brought down slightly by overplay, but its also the most disconnected sound from the rest of the album.
I do like Robbie Williams quite a bit and his music is very nostalgic and formative for anyone growing up in the early 2000s. But man, this album is held up by the big hitters. I like Hello Sir quite a bit. A lot of CRINGEWORTHY lyrics on here too. 3 but that’s pushing it.
I love let me entertain you omg. He’s got the voice quality of a young Freddie mercury
He he he... He's a nut and a cool dude.
TENÍA 23 AÑOS AQUÍ. Vayanse a la chucha, es un buen álbum debut
Angels es el corazón del álbum, que caracteriza la carrera de el, porque es realmente una canción muy especial, pero de ahí son canciones un tanto incómodas o muy forzadas
Bubblegum pop with a performative edge. Not for me
So I wouldn't really say I liked this album much - it's completely not what I'm into. However, I didn't hate listening to it, it's just nothing major stood out. I quite liked "Killing Me" as I felt it showed a different side to the rest of the record. And I will say this - I've heard far worse albums on this list so far.
“Cover me in your golden shower” is about how I feel about this album. Lazy Days is a pretty good pop song to open this one, but the rest of the album is covered in piss, I guess. Definitely the solo debut of a recovering boy band member.
Det e litt rart at æ aldri egentlig har hørt på der her albumet i sin helhet? Men æ likte det, for så vidt, og «Let Me Entertain You» e ganske høyt på lista over de hundre gøyeste sangan i verden, så det e også fint!
Overall, I like Britpop, and I think there’s something nostalgic about it. But unfortunately, this album sounds very performative and corny to me, like it’s trying to imitate the Britpop aesthetic rather than being genuinely Britpop. It’s not very low on my ranking, though, because I still think it’s quite listenable. 4/10
It’s a little embarrassing how much I enjoyed this. At least he isn’t the worst dude.
Very 90s and UK>. Very boring.
3.5. Surprised by this
This was much better than expected. I had written it off when it popped up on the list and was pleasantly surprised.
6/10
I've been aware of who Robbie Williams is (I'm from the US) just from the few times that there have been attempts to hoist him upon us and it's never worked. I've known he's huge in the UK and Europe, but only from watching him on talk shows (chat shows?). I also was aware of the Better Man movie but never saw it. I wasn't sure what to expect from this album, given all of the above and that I don't think I've actually heard one of his songs. I wasn't too excited by the start of the album, not liking any of the first three songs. But then Angels started and I was intrigued. It was a beautiful song and heartfelt in a way the first few songs weren't. After South of the Border, which I didn't like, there was another run of really enjoyable songs from Old Before I Die to Clean. I don't think I'm going to explore his music in more depth, but I liked about half of the songs on the album. I never imagined I'd give it a four rating after the shaky start, but that's what it's going to get.
When I got this I wondered why I never had listened to this guy before. I know why now. 2/5
Ahh.. the UK's sweet prince.
Um… I had absolutely no idea about this when it came up, which can be so fun. But… this… “ Where were you when you stole my pride Did you ever get the feeling that someone died Hide away in your ivory tower And cover me in your golden shower”?!? Um… yeah so if you’re going to be crude, go all the way baby, actually be, idk, interesting? Yeah and then I found out this was his solo stepping out from a boy band. Figures. Yeah, I had to listen to Justin Timberlake’s debut too. At least JT had Timberland basically making that album for him. This is total 💩. Sorry to those who feel it. No disrespect to you, but this is total 💩. Boolean: HELL NO!
Robbie Williams is a good example—though not the only one—of a former member of a teen dance group who has seriously and successfully evolved as a musician. That said, I would never go to one of his concerts. The ticket prices are not only unreasonable but still reflect the hype surrounding him. I mostly don’t like his music. On this album, you can still hear too much of his teen-idol roots. “Angel” was played too often on my local radio station. I’ve grown tired of the song. I like “Let Me Entertain You,” even though it’s played often, every now and then. I found the rest of the album uninteresting. 3/5
I like Angels. Rest of the album sounds like D-grade Supergrass. Enjoy his pure pop I lot more.
Not my style
Really enjoyed it. Music was upbeat and fun. Solid 3.
I have never heard this famous singer’s music before, I don’t think. I understand why this British Monkey Movie Man’s music has captured a lot of hearts. Clear voice, fun beats! Enjoyable fun.
So incredibly 90s. Started off strong and then wobbled
It's fine. Bland but fine.
Always enjoyed Robbie's hits and he's a fun personality. Seems to be getting a lot of hate from Americans who don't know who he is. Angels is a great song, and has become a Christmas classic in recent years. I may rate this a bit higher due to my British bias.
This was so fucking good. I loved this album. This is a strong 4. Just great rock. The instrumentals, solos, vocals, and backing band are all great! Liked Songs: "Lazy Days" , "Life Thru A Lens" , "Ego Agogo" , "Angels" , "South Of The Border" , "Old Before I Die" , "Let Me Entertain You" , "Killing Me" , "Clean"
Can't stand the bloke to be honest, I'm playing a few tracks anyway just for a flavour.
His debut solo album. Pop / Pop Rock. Over produced Pop candy floss. Edgy as fuck for using 'Thru' and not 'Through' in the title. Crap lyrics written by a team of five year olds at play school. Generic tones and beats. Having to listen to this again or losing the biscuit game after seventeen rounds!? I'll take the latter. Look out for my own debut album 'Thru The Jizz Biscuit'
Can imagine all the nineties pop girlies screaming for him at gigs - what a heartthrob lol. Perfectly ok-pop
Inte hans bästa men jävlar vilken debut. Angel och let me entertain you är klassiker. Och som han kan sjunga karln! En femma
Angels es temazo
Competent pop album, I can now see why they made a movie about it but had an ape play Robbie Williams. 2.7
2.2 Meh, sounded like some British/American Idol type bullshit
Maybe the worst thing I’ve ever heard
Bad
I was surprised to find so many of the iconic singles of Williams. There's no doubt about the other talents helping him crafting such a memorable album. It is a group effort and a lot better than one might think. Definitely Britpop .
The old me would’ve listened to Oasis and ridiculed this album. But I can’t deny this is a great Britpop album.
An album full of perfectly adequate songs, but pretty much nothing stands out. Also monkey movie guy
empezando con lo claro: el álbum que tenían que poner de Robbie Williams era o Escapology o Sing When You're Winning, ya que este carece de los bangers de los anteriores (aunque tenga dos de las canciones más famositas). Este igual ya roza lo empalagoso para mi, no soy muy fan de Angels o Let Me Entertain You como lo es la mayoría de la gente. 6.5/10
Этот парень внатуре дикий орангутан
Kinda a fun album that I didnt fall totally in line with. Really the only song I was all in on was the title track. Every other song had moments that I couldnt get behind. For the most part its good fun though. Just hard when im having a hard time finding a full song rather than just sections. But its decent but pop from the late 90s or early 2000s. Solid fo sure. But not 100% for me
England is the capital of music that you have to be from there to understand why it's good (see also: Blur, Oasis). That said, if this is on the list there better damn well be a Tragically Hip album or two. I'm starting to understand what that reviewer who had done the whole thing was talking about when he mentioned the overabundance of mediocre British albums on here (though those weren't his exact words). Like...this is fine, I guess. But sheesh.
I liked this one a bunch. Great voice & good lyrics 4/5
I remember being stunned the first time I heard Angels on the radio. I couldn't believe the cheeky sod had come up with a song that good, and I had to give Guy Chambers a lot of credit Listening now, I liked Killing Me as well, but much of the rest is blaring pop/rock as subtle as Robbie's ego. And the tetchiness of Hello Sir is... interesting
Let Me Annoy You
I hate his voice and the way he pretends to rock. Meh.
It was pretty good 👍. Lazy Days was my favorite song on it. Overall, I would give it a 3.5/5!
This does not belong in this list, nor does it belong in music. This is so boring and lame. Brit pop garbage
I wasn't expecting much from this, but it was more enjoyable than I thought it should have been.
Day 31 — Robbie Williams — Life Thru a Lens (1997) Listened: April 25–26, 2026 Genre: Brit-Pop / Adult Contemporary Pop Vibe: Glossy, hook-driven British pop with real swagger — more layered than it first appears, rewarding patience. Highlights: • Ego Agogo ★ Angels • Clean Impression: Couldn't connect on the first four listens during a busy, stressful week. Gave it one more focused listen and it opened up. Ego Agogo is fun and honest, Clean hit personally with sobriety, and Angels has an Elton John grandeur that earns it. Better than most pop I've heard. Rating: 2.9/5 Keep songs? Yes Revisit album? Yes
Rubbish . I mean, bloody hell
Oi mate this sucks innit
Waitwaitwait I got one: … “So-Soasis” Ok in all seriousness I was tempted to give this a 3 because after a week of down the middle dad rock I was so happy to get something new that I wanna reward it with more than it deserves. It’s interesting listening to this in a world where Harry Styles exists: a former member of a pop group who went solo and made reductive soft rock music. Maybe this is a tale as old as time. There’s not much to love about this album but there’s also not too much to hate. “Angels” is of course a stand out but also I thought “Let Me Entertain You” was such a deliciously fun track. The rest is forgettable and sometimes embarrassing, but I eventually found myself endeared to the fact someone like him made something like this, even if it doesn’t really work. Also, how long has Charlie Sheen been a punchline in the cultural zeitgeist??
After listening to the first 30 seconds of this album I said to myself aloud "Oh no, it's dogshit" for some reason I thought I would like the album. It continued to be dogshit until I got to Angels and I was like, wait... Do I enjoy dogshit. At this point I arrived at work and read some of the global reviews. Since the consensus seemed to be that Angels was the best track, I figured that I had heard enough. I think it has to be a 1. I'm not sure that there's much I'm less interested in revisiting.
I don’t think Robbie Williams was ever forced upon America as hard as he was forced upon Europe. This album heralded an era of this crap being in every commercial, radio station, outdoor cafe, etc for the better part of a decade. I thought I’d never hear “Angels” or “Let me entertain you” again, but alas here we are. This shit was made to be as appealing to the lowest common denominator possible. He was marketed as some sort of bad boy but he was just a guy singing generic pop music with a band that could’ve been assembled out of any instrument sample pack. The lyrics are shit, the music is bland, the whole thing is just commercial garbage in the worst way. At least he can sing. Not incredibly or anything but he isn’t out of tune or slurring his words.
2.5/10 - It would be hard to come up with 1001 life changing albums, but I can find 1001 albums better than this.
I can see why they made him a monkey. No one would want to listen to human Robbie Williams for that long. This album stinks. 3/10
#920. Mediocre wine-mom pop. 2/5: yawn
I kinda liked this. Was very 90’s sounding and had an almost Oasis sound to it. Nothing spectacular, but good overall. 4/5
all i know about this guy is he was in some monkey movie?? i don't have high hopes for this album but maybe i'll be surprised Lazy Days - 2/5 Life Thru A Lens - 2/5 Ego Agogo - 1/5 Angels - 3/5 South Of The Border - 4/5 Old Before I Die - 3/5 One Of God's Better People - 2/5 Let Me Entertain You - 1/5 Killing Me - 2/5 Clean - 1/5 Baby Girl Window - 2/5 Average score: 2.1/5 🐒🐒 well, it's not a 1-star album like i originally thought at least? still very corny and mediocre britpop in my opinion, especially Ego Agogo only track i could say i enjoyed was South Of The Border. it sounds like something off an early Blur album, so i could appreciate it to some extent
Why did he choose to portray himself as a monkey? 3/5
Not to feed a fed horse, but it is nothing short of baffling that brits are shocked yankees don't even know who Robbie Williams is. I think this album is derivative and a little boring, so I could see why it was such a hit with the island nation that invented popularizing bland nonsense.
This sounds like a mix between the soundtrack to a soap opera and the music they play in car ads. Maybe I know too much about Robbie Williams as a person to listen to this album objectively, but to me it reeks of pretentious insecurity. Generic and bland.
This is OK. I certainly remember three of the singles. Pretty dull all told, though. Two stars. Mebbe it was important as a solo debut from a member of a big boy band, but it's musically boring.
hard to be objective as I hated this so much at the time but it is truly dreadful - this was considered a flop at release before Angels was out and it's not hard to see why, sub sub Britpop
robbie williams me recuerda de la existencia de amalia granata, y acordarme de la existencia de amalia granata me hace querer morir Igual, realmente solo tiene un tema bueno.
Pretty fun album. I hadn't listened to the whole thing, ever, but it did give me some nostalgia to when my mom bought an album of his way back in the 2000s. Sure, it's not groundbreaking composition-wise, but even for a pop-rock album I was surprised to hear some very clever production going on and very well put together instrumentals. I listened to it twice.
I don't begrudge pop music being on the list, but surely Take That are more deserving of a spot than their coked up dancer is. Maybe they're on here. This is an album of songs Williams didn't write, that he sings adequately at best, and shamelessly copies the sound of Britpop to try to give him some credibility. Angels is a certified banger though, and alone gets it the second star.
Angels and nothing else. Just a bad/lazy/common pop-rock album.
Urg. Have studiously avoided listening to Robbie 'Ego much' Williams. Damn you for making me do this. OK so it sounds like/influenced by 90s indie guitar driven stuff at its peak in this era (Oasis, Supergrass etc) but with Take That calling cards. Something about his voice that grates on me - trying to identify what it is - I put it down to the fake american accent/vowel sounds in the singing style, and the excessive vibrato etc that just feels a bit like a mask. I generally glom onto bands that have a bit of a sense of humour and don't take themselves overly seriously, and Robbie Williams is clearly a 'cheeky chappy' but sames as the vocal style, it doesn't come across as totally genuine, or there is something about the production that is constraining- too 'clean', too much like a pop machine. It is what it says on the tin - life thru a lens. All shiny floor and not much dirt or static. Its not bad, I mean the songs are reasonably catchy, but I'm not going to choose to listen to Robbie Williams again any time soon. 2.5 Number tracks: 11 Fave track: Let me entertain you. 14/04/26
popslop
I remember really not liking this when it came out, but it wasn’t that bad. My big issue with it are the lyrics pretty bland or bad for the most part, but musically it was a fine pop album. 3.5/5
Not what I was expecting or really looking for but it was entertaining enough
Not for me but I can see how some might like it.
"Friends with Charlie Sheen, yeah. Gonna meet the Queen, yeah." Jesus fucking Christ did a 5 year old write this??
Robby some of these songs were very good and the rest were there.
3 stars for Angels and Let Me Entertain You, five star songs on a pretty meh album
Some moments you can really just tell he wants to be in Oasis or creating some equivalent Britpop act music so bad. As a whole pretty enjoyable! Hard to go past Let Me Entertain You as a favourite
A perfectly inoffensive pop album. Slick production, good pop songs. Nothing to complain about nothing to write home about.
It’s like Harry Styles or Benson Boone or Rufus Wainwright, if you put in ear plugs, it can trick you into thinking you’ll enjoy it. Then you listen raw dog and it’s pretty damn bad.
I can never truly hate this kind of 90s britpop. However, even with really good instrumental songwriting and production, the lyrics needed another draft or two at times. I'm not on the UK side of the pond, but I can see why this was probably a milestone album over there for a country slowly starting to move away from Oasis and Blur dominating the pop rock charts nonstop, but still craving that same sound (the Oasis influence in particular is all over this one). 6.5, maybe a 7/10.
Not really a stand out among Britpop. I do see how Angels was the most popular single off this since it could almost pass for an Oasis track.
6/10 It's a bit fun I guess but I can't deny that this is pretty basic britpop and not worth being here at all.
I was almost prepared to give this album two stars... Then the hidden track happened.
No, thank you.
Sugaree pop. No thank you.
Abysmal writing. Some of the songs themselves aren't terrible, but they aren't particularly special either.
I have a big soft spot for Robbie. He's funny and flawed. He's been an absolute knob, at times. He can sing (and, as it happens, dance). I hope he's still sober, because his story could definitely have had a sad and premature ending. Clearly born to entertain, and propelled from Stoke (of all places) at the age of 16 into full-on 90s boyband mayhem, I'm thrilled that he survived being utterly exploited, and is, somehow, still entertaining us. Anyway, I really enjoyed this; quality pop, good singing, although I never need to hear Angels again: great song but sooo overplayed. Hello Sir felt a bit unnecessary, although I guess it felt necessary to him, at the time. Love ya Robbie.
Angels. Nice album tho
I saw a movie where he was a monkey and if a monkey was singing this I would think it absolutely something worth hearing before I die. I am pretty sure that was AI though so I rate this as pop drivel.
Meh.
Nope.
Truly terrible in every way
maybe should’ve given it more of a chance but didn’t like all that much
Not bad! Has some very nice moments. 3.5
Just the worst of all 90's music packaged into 1 record. Treacly, over-produced, forgettable. Sick album cover though, I will give it that.
It’s fine. Just realized it gave Harry Styles his opening album template: power ballad + surprisingly rock album to distance himself from the boy band sound & image,
I m loving angels
Incredibly, despite how ubiquitous the singles off this album are, I have never heard a single album track off it. This was pretty good, better than I thought, but you can really see how much Robbie wanted to be Liam Gallagher
Robbie Williams is a charming interview, but his music has always been insignificant to the United States. I can hear why. This a derivative of an already pretty weak genre in Brit Pop/Rock from the 1990s. If I wasn't intrigued by Blur or Oasis, and I am not, why would I care about a Robbie Williams -me too cash out- of the same dead genre? Unfortunately with the exception of Depeche Mode's ULTRA, Duran Duran's MEDAZZALAND, Prodigy's FAT OF THE LAND, and The Chemical Brothers DIG YOUR OWN HOLE, I pretty much didn't anything else that was released that year.
Not into this monkey man
FLACO TE AMO
Some of the worst lyricism I've heard in a long time and mind numbingly boring songs. One good song does not make for a good album.
Let Me Entertain You is a 3, Angels is whatever, rest is horrible.
Meh. This was boring with hint of something interesting thrown in. My eara didn't bleed but this wasn't my thing. Best track was Let Me Entertain You
Oh please god, just no.
Very Oasis esk. Ok Brit-pop.
Puha det er svært at elske desværre, men det er klart at "Angels" løfter albummet fra afgrunden, hvor Beastie Boys kravler rundt for sig selv.
Overall højkvalitets 90'er pop rock, dog med numre hist og her der ikke rigtig holder.
Jeg kan simpelthen ikke slæbe mit usle kadaver igennem det, men forbeholder mig retten til at bedømme alligevel.
*57 Det er en rutsjebane af kvalitet. Der er alt fra det argeste pis til "Angels". Jeg er generelt tilhænger af britpop, men den variant klinger, for mig, irriterende. Sidste bemærkning er, at der flere gange bliver sunget nogle fuldstændig krudtede tekster. Som Anders R bemærker: "Hide away in your ivory tower And cover me in your golden shower"
Det her fanger mig slet ikke. Robbie har skrevet nogle bangers og det lyder også udmærket, men som album keder det mig HELT vildt. 2,2 søvnige stjerner.
"And cover me in your golden shower" <- virkelig? jeg synes godt nok ikke, det er godt - faktisk overraskende ringe og det første album på listen, der faktisk gør mig lidt vred 1.0 det, der trækker den fra 0.9 til 1.0 er, at han har valgt at have et ghost track på sidste nummer. det mangler vi flere af