Life Thru A Lens

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.

It’s a little embarrassing how much I enjoyed this. At least he isn’t the worst dude.

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

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

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.

Can imagine all the nineties pop girlies screaming for him at gigs - what a heartthrob lol. Perfectly ok-pop

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

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

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

It was pretty good 👍. Lazy Days was my favorite song on it. Overall, I would give it a 3.5/5!

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

Why did he choose to portray himself as a monkey? 3/5

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

"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.

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.

Angels. Nice album tho

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

Very Oasis esk. Ok Brit-pop.

Overall højkvalitets 90'er pop rock, dog med numre hist og her der ikke rigtig holder.

Wayyy more enjoyable and diverse than anticipated! Great Brit-pop, some more rocking tunes, and one that even sounded a bit Wilco-ish.

Classic!

Variert pop

Its very sweet, but not only sugar, so from time to time one can enjoy this ... type of cake

unfortunately its decent

Decent album. It's pretty fun. I felt the hidden track wasn't worth waiting for though.

Not my tjing

Super polished - almost fake. Still it's fine to listen to.

Kind of a guilty pleasure. Some of the songs I hate, but I love Ego A Go Go and Let Me Entertain You. It's like camp Oasis, and I love that more than actual Oasis

I thought I was pretty decent. Nothing really not to like I guess…but just something missing. Like it felt like he was playing something he thought I would like so maybe inauthentic or formulaic? Kind of like a nickleback. They create what they think the audience will like and make them bank bro. Perhaps a lot/most/all music is like that but sometimes it feels too obvious. 2.5 but rounding up because he rhymed “ivory tower” with “golden shower”

This isn't my bag, baby... was prepped for a 2* but gotta admit I do enjoy Angels, so I'm rounding up. 2.75/5

Una joya!

Who the hell is this guy anyway oh shit it's the Better Man monkey guy Album uses cool progressions; I like all the descending lines over pedals that happen in the verses. Overall the band is alright, not great or anything but the music is written well, though the execution is a bit bland. Interestingly, I thought that Angels song was the most boring thing on the album. Lyrics are, on the whole, hilarious. "I hope I live to see the Pope get high" is just so bad I gotta not hate it. I'd say this is average rock-pop type stuff. I wanna give it a 3 but I dunno, the lyrics are pretty bad. Not everything has to be indulgent and important, but they should at least be clever. Then again, I guess I value the feeling imparted by a good chord progression over the failure of the lyrics, so eh. I'll do 3.

So much britpop here

good

Pop is such a funny genre. This stuff is SO boring to me, but I like a lot of Harry Styles' music. It's such a fluid genre and so much depends on what generation you grew up in. I can hear what people liked about this in the 90s, but it's dated and bland now - Judging by the stream count on Spotify, this album is big hits and a bunch of filler. - Bland brit rock. Fine pop music but kinda annoying. I bet 90s kids ate this up - Actually this love song is kinda nice. Still stuck in its genre box though

It’s a solid pop album

Hann kom mér á óvart kallinn. Þótti þetta ekki merkilegur pappír fyrir tæpum þrjátíu árum, en þetta eldist merkilega vel og er aldrei leiðinlegt. Engin snilld, en ég ætla henda rúmum þristi á hann.

He was everywhere, literally couldn’t escape him on TV or radio. As a result, I knew so many of these songs. Looking back now, reflectively. They are well crafted songs sung by a man with a perfectly good voice and a lot of charisma. What elevates them are the two BIG singles Angeld and Let me entertain you which rise far above the perfectly fine Britpop stylings of the rest

picks: let me entertain you, killing me

It's just kind of whatever. Not my bag musically. Can't even be bothered to take the time to give each song a point by point review.

mOnkEE

Kinda gave off oasis vibes. Saved like 2 songs. Pretty chill album

Okay, theres some major pop slop (Clean) on this album, but theres also some extremely huge bangers and overall? It’s a laugh, it’s fun, it’s cheesy - what else do you want from Robbie Williams? I think realistically it’s not an album to change the world. But it is an album that offers you a clear and succint view into the heart of british pop culture in 1997, which is essentially what Robbie Williams was. 3.5/5.0 Best Song: Angels, obviously.

Angels and Let me entertain you. That's it. The rest of them fell like a cocaine infused britpop fever dream. The stangelhold this man had on the country is absolutey fascinating. Thank god Angels and Let me entertain you are fucking class

A pesar de conocer el nombre de Robbie Williams, nunca había escuchado ninguno de sus álbumes, y menos sabía que había sido parte de una boyband. Musicalmente, siento que este disco suena –irónicamente por su nombre– como si pudiese haber sido el soundtrack de alguna película de su época. En mi opinión, su sonido power pop se queda un poco atascado en el tiempo, a excepción de algunas canciones (entre ellas, el clásico 'Angels'), aunque no necesariamente es esto algo malo. Aprecio en sus letras las ciertas críticas a aquellos en los estratos más altos de la sociedad británica, como también que hable de los efectos que la fama tuvo tanto en su vida y en sus relaciones personales –como con sus compañeros de grupo–. Quizás no sea tan compartida mi opinión, pero para mí es un muy buen debut solista. ↑: Angels, One of God's Better People, Killing Me ↓: -

Never heard or Robbie Williams but enjoyed this record.

Decent first solo album. I have a lot of time for Williams.

Definitely not my listening preference, but my co-worker popped in and stated she really liked this guy. I listened a few times. I don't know, it wasn't terrible but found a bit, I don't know, a poor boy's George Michael. Didn't his guy get sued for stealing music? I ask because the opening/guitar part of Baby Girl Window is a rip off of Don Henley's Heart of the Matter. Can't say anything stood out me. Decent background music, but would have changed the channel if it came on the radio. I'll go 2.5 with the round up to 3 for Monica, who insists he's really good. OK...... 2.5

3.5 Whenever I hear Robbie Williams’ name, I will forever now associate him with that Better Man movie that was a huge hit in Europe and completely flopped in America because none of us know who the hell Robbie Williams is. Robbie Williams? Not Robin? And he’s a monkey? What? Needless to say, I was a part of the majority of Americans who were completely befuddled by the film. You mean there’s this British pop icon with billions of streams I have just never heard of? Yes, I guess there is. From what I’ve gathered, he’s kind of like a British Justin Timberlake in that he was originally part of a popular boy band in the ‘90s and later had a wildly successful career as a solo artist, except Robbie is seemingly a bit more flamboyant and goofy than JT (see: him caricatured as a primate in his own movie). In the brief time I spent reading up on him, it also seems that a lot of Brits find him insufferable and his music terrible in hindsight. And yet, maybe I should get checked for COVID to see if my sense of taste is off because I kinda enjoyed this. It’s so clearly influenced by that era of Britpop, to the point where I wouldn’t be surprised if he threw a copy of (What's the Story) Morning Glory? down in front of his producer and said “I want that”, but I like said era of Britpop, so naturally, I liked this as well. There’s probably an argument to be made that this is an inauthentic, cash-grabbing attempt to ride on the coattails of bands like Oasis, but regardless, it still results in perfectly listenable music. Hell, I’d go as far as to say that the first few tracks are really good. Angels, his biggest hit, was a bit overblown for my taste, but I liked most everything else surrounding it. It started losing me a bit somewhere after the halfway point (except for Let Me Entertain You which I enjoyed), but I never really thought it got bad by any means. The closing track, Baby Girl Window, is pretty weak, and the hidden track certainly isn’t worth the wait, but that’s probably the most negative thing I can say. Plus, how often do you hear pop songs with lyrics like “I hope I live to see the day the Pope gets high”, “Hide away in your ivory tower and cover me in your golden shower”, and “And here I sit in first class, bollocks sir, kiss my ass”? I’d like to hear something like that come from JT. I teetered back and forth between a 3 and 3.5 here, but the more I think about it, the more I think I actually liked this album, Robbie’s supposed insufferableness be damned. I guess it’s time I go watch Better Man now.

If I'm reaching for a pop album it probably wouldn't be this one

A fine pop album I guess, but truly nothing really special about it. Maybe this would mean more to me if I was British, but alas!

N paar seiner ikonischen Songs, aber jetzt nicht n Sänger oder Album was mich umgehauen hat.

Ganz ok, nicht schlecht.

durchschnittliches Pop-Album. Angels legendär und Let me Entertain you einfach ein Banger

Had never heard this before - liked it

This is miles from a 1-star album and you guys know it. Lazy Days has that overwhelming "you. are. happy." sound that's extremely characteristic of Britpop from around this time. You see it all over the place in the 2000s, too, so in a way it reminds me of my childhood. One of the better tracks here. Ego Agogo starts off with a promising combo of instruments, but the lyrics are bizarre and off-putting. The point of no return is "Hide away in your ivory tower / And cover me in your golden shower", though the whole thing is pretty hard to take seriously. Good thing it's followed up by the simple, balladesque-yet-anthemic Angels. Not that it's a particularly legendary track – I have no idea why the single sold as well as it did – but it has this bland "good song" energy about it. The following track, South Of The Border, does a better job at adding musical instrument – mostly with its guitar and bassline, which add an indescribable grittiness that contrasts with the rest of the album. The chorus is the most Britpop thing to ever be released, but I guess late 90s white male British artists didn't have a choice. But... wow. The first seven tracks do not prepare you for how great Let Me Entertain You is. Everything is played a bit aggressively, especially during the chorus, where Williams goes all-out with his catchy hook. That's one thing a lot of the music on Life Thru A Lens lacks: convincing hooks. One Of God's Better People and Angels (among others) get close to having this kind of star power, but Let Me Entertain You does it best, and for that reason it's the strongest track here by a mile. Fun, engaging percussion and trumpet parts too. After this point, the music goes slightly downhill, with the lacklustre Clean and the middling Killing Me and Baby Girl Window. But man, with the excellence of Let Me Entertain You, you could convince me to take this record up to 3 stars. You know what? Screw it. 3 stars it is. 3/5 Key tracks: Lazy Days, South Of The Border, Let Me Entertain You

Ugh, again, I'm annoyed by how much I enjoyed an album. The lyrics on Life Thru a Lens are pretty daft, and the music is mostly played straight to the heart of big, banging Brit-pop perfection. But it's catchy, and Robbie Williams is just as charming as he is obnoxious. I probably won't want to put this record on again, but I did easily listen to it two or three times straight through for this review. Three stars.

This was just meh. There are better Britt-pop albums from this same time.

An interesting one, a shot at independence and his way of saying what he had to say with a few authentic all-time hits that would remain for generations to come ✨

Some 90s sitcom intro music

Niet helemaal mijn genre maar wel oké om is te luisteren.

Een paar jagers, maar zou de rest niet per se opnieuw beluisteren

Marmite. Don't like him so much, feels like he knows he's on to a good thing and is taking the Mickey. That said, some good britpop and a couple of genuine heartfelt songs.

Life through a 90s lens brings back the nostalgic Brit invasion waves.

Thai ppl love this guy

Some GREAT tracks and a few like “oh sure”. British pop rock is a vibe sometimes haha, got a little too long back sided.

This isn’t a bad album, but I really feel like it tries to be something it isn’t. Angels is good, and Let Me Entertain You as well as Killing Me are alright, but it just feels like too much. I’m sure it resonated in the 90s when that sound was still fresh and new. I guess I’ll just go back to his peak appearance in Cars 2: Collision of Worlds.

Could’ve been worse for a 90’s cheesy pop album. Couple of great tracks, whole lot of cringe. Overuse of pitch correction too, quite distracting.

Angels is the cheesiest, most perfect pop ballad ever<3. Three stars just for that.

Note as bad as I thought it would be. But the big singles were also not as good as I remember them being. Lots of rip off riffs and hooks. Without the vocals, you could think you listening Tom Petty, and next its a radio friendly pop punk tune. OK but not a classic

Not me good thogh

Some songs reminded me of blink-182, which i like a lot. 6.3/10

It's not as bad as I thought it'd be, very of its time, but it'd be better with a much MUCH stronger singer

I like Robbie Williams' voice and there are parts of this album that I enjoy a lot, but I also feel like he thinks a whole hell of a lot of himself and it certainly isn't anything that I'd consider one of the best albums in the world.

Okay, but I think he's released better albums.

Freitag, 06.02.2026 ~ Nachmittags ~ Im Superfit Europacenter - bevor ich zur Arbeit musste.

Sonntag, 08.02.2026 Auf dem Laufband im Superfit Zoologischer Garten

The one and only CGI monkey man. Points were deducted for being British, questionable lyricism, and being British. Aside from that, it was surprisingly listenable

Inoffensive Britpop. Pleasant and catchy enough, but it's not going to linger in my thoughts.

It was ok

Good Just no for me

Now this is real coworker music. I remember enjoying the singles off this album, but writing this review a few days later, I recall nothing.

Impressive amount of hits, but also a lot of filler. All in all this is a fun little lightweight pop record, but I fail to see how this would be essential in any way being a very mediocre example of a mostly mediocre era of British pop.

surprisingly good

Was he trying to sound like oasis or it just happened?

good 90s pop

Dammit, Robbie. This was far more listenable (dare I say 'enjoyable'?!) than I dared expect and now I feel dirty. I have to bear in mind that he didn't write it, although I do believe he helped, but it was genuinely a bit of a phenomenon at the time. He's pitched the attitude just right; doesn't take himself too seriously or try to be more rock'n'roll than he actually was(n't) but for a pop album, it's got a fair bit of variety and is pretty engaging. Would listen again but wouldn't admit it too loudly.

Fun pop 3

3.5

Interesting! Definitely seems ahead of it's time.

Album #1,011 To my knowledge, I've never heard any Robbie Williams or Take That music before now. I didn't hate it. In the late 90s, pop music was still tolerable. Kind of pop-punk on some tracks which can be catchy and I wouldn't mind hearing again. There is also the bad, like One of God's Better People (gag!) and I rolled my eyes at the hidden track "Hello Sir."

Very basic, but not unpleasant, mid-90s pop music.

Lazy days, Angels, and Let me entertain you are the clear standouts for this record. Honestly pretty fun Britpop however mixed in with subpar filler that drags it down. Decent nonetheless.

5/10

Expected this to be way worse. Fairly generic so I don’t know if it fits on the list.

3 - decent album, don’t think I’d ever go back to it

5.5/10 generic Britpop. Highlight: Let Me Entertain You

Angels and let me entertain you carry hard on this album, the rest is quite boring unfortunately

Britpop - Oasis, Goo goo dolls better Life thru a lense Angels South of the border

It’s now well-documented that I am no Britpop fan. I can be swayed, though, if the songs are good or novel in some way. I thought I would dislike this a lot more than I did, and I think it’s because there are genuinely great melodies, good songwriting, and a sound that veers away from the ‘70s Bowie worship of most Britpop and finds something more modern. This is how a lot of the pop-rock in America sounded in ’97-‘98, which makes it even funnier/weirder that Williams never popped off in America. Huh. Well, anyway, this was decently pleasant. It’s not a must-listen, but I’ll keep it in my library for now.

Solid pop music infused with glam and full of personality. I had heard of Robbie Williams but hadn’t actually heard his music (to my knowledge; or Take That’s music for that matter). He definitely has vocal presence and sings like he means it. Production is polished but not too glossy. Nothing earth-shattering here, but I think it’s a good record. 3.5 if I could.

I get all the haters, but I’ve always had a Robbie Williams fascination. I think the hate comes from the boy band era. But he’s got a great voice. Sounds like Elton John on a few songs. 3.5

I can see why Robbie Williams is such a star in the UK. I wasn't familiar with his music before listening to this, and while it isn't necessarily my usual cup of tea, it was enjoyable.

I seem to remember that of all the members of Take That, Robbie was supposed to be the one who wouldn't amount to anything. Yet he is the only one who ended up with a career performing, and you've got to admire him for that. Having said that, I'm so not a fan. But, there were bits of this that really weren't that bad. on the whole I think it's worth a 3

It’s a 3. Can’t explain why it’s not a 1. Let’s never speak of this again. Next….

I used to lash this album as a kid. But unfortunately with mature ears this just sounds like someone desperately trying to sound like LG and then their production team insist that the iconic Angels appear to save the downfall of a career.

lekker

Robbie Williams is a guy that I only knew three things about before today. I knew that he is not to be confused with late comedy legend Robin Williams, I knew that he is completely unknown in the US despite being VERY popular in countries like the UK and Australia, and I knew about the biopic about him from last year where he is, for some reason, portrayed as a motion-captured anthropomorphic chimpanzee. Wait, I knew a fourth thing, actually. I knew that he has an album on this list, which is very unsurprising when you take the other things into consideration, especially the UK popularity thing. You can't just be a UK music artist and sell 75 million copies without getting an album on this list. I'm actually surprised that he doesn't have more. You'd think this guy would get glazed like crazy by Dimery and Co., but no. They did the right thing and restrained themselves to only one Robbie Williams album on the list. Good job, guys! Anyway, this album's alright in my eyes. I can see why he's popular, but I also kinda get why he never really took off in the US. His whole style is very UK-coded, and his musical style wasn't exactly the most marketable in the US at the time of his career starting to pop off in the UK. I mean, this debut album of his was in 1997. America was too busy engaging with things like hip-hop, alt-rock, and even the beginnings of nu-metal to care about some cheeky British lad or whatever. But that begs the question. Who was right? Was the UK right in propping this guy up to be a star, or was the US in the right by not giving a piss? Eh. I wouldn't really give the point to either specifically. There are things I like here and things I don't care for as much. Robbie's definitely got some things going for him. His songwriting has a good blend between stardom and honesty that I can respect. There's some solid variety on the album, which I always appreciate. "Angels" is genuinely a great song. I don't have it in me to call Life Thru A Lens a bad album, but there are other things that I could see others not caring for. I'm not huge on Robbie's vocals for the most part, and the writing has some weak points. Additionally, while I respect the variety, there isn't really anything that the album does that hadn't already been done by other Britpop acts like Oasis. So, while I do like this album, I can still see why others don't care for it. It's a solid debut album. Maybe his others are even better! I don't know, and I probably never will. Strong 3/5.

Had enough of a beat to avoid a standard britpop 2 star

Very well produced and very reminiscent of the era. I kept waiting for the eventual song that I'd go. "Oh, it's that guy"... Angels was that song. Bottom line. He's alright. I'm glad to have heard more than just his hit.

Greit album

My theory is that Robbie's musical powers are proportional to his level of arrogance. Whilst there is clearly a high degree of self-importance on display here, I feel there is still a hint of humility he was yet to fully expunge in this, his first album.

Wild to think there was a time when someone decided " Let Me Entertain You" should be the 8th track, not the opener it obviously should be. Angels is up there with Mr Brightside as one of the songs that literally everyone in Britain will sing along to. Difficult to judge something like that. But it's a typical pop album, a few absolute bangers, and a lot of lesser songs. The highs are high though.

Not bad, catchy. Not my usual thing, but better than expected. Let's mark it as 3, but it's a 2 and a 1/2 for me.

Decent, Angels and Let Me Entertain You are the highlights

Just makes me want to listen to Oasis

A good blend between rock and pop, though the songs are of mixed quality. 6/10

The most interesting thing for me is how some artists are hugely popular in the UK and don't really make in the US. I've heard the name Robbie Williams before but didn't know any of this album, including the big tracks: Angels has 700M plays, Let Me Entertain You has 196M plays. All in all it's an OK rock-pop album, and I see some stylistic connections to Oasis. The hidden track "Hello Sir" is a big up yours to his dad.

3.5

Wenn Pop, dann Robbie Williams. Erträglich bis sehr gut.

There is a sort of muso orthodoxy that Guy Chambers carried Robbie Williams through this album but I think he is unfortunately often too pedestrian by half for the funny, soulful, honest thing Robbie Williams is reaching for. You can see why a lot of pop stars will employ dozens of songwriters instead of one.

Decent, but another questionable entry on the list. Light beer of albums

Surprisingly enjoyed. Row tapping to the songs.

Robbie is nostalgic to me and I just watched his movie so that might sway some of this. Most of this is generic 90s pop. Angels is the standout here. Old before I die was like Temu Oasis. Highlight: angels, let me entertain you

3 just because Angels

Worth a listen, feel-good pop, somewhat corny. I enjoy the humor and directness in the lyrics. Angels is a lovely chune.

I can’t believe I had never heard of this person before. Wasn’t bad.

This album has a feeling to it that is soulless, without any raw emotion and only a masquerade of songs to follow in the footsteps of other artists. It has a happy mood throughout, although to its own detriment as it feels repetitive and tiring. Angel was a nice change of pace but not nearly enough to save 9 songs of this "fake" nature to it. (6/10 - Well made so that's enough to give it 3 stars, but nothing special or interesting)

Monkey 🫵

Pretty ok soft rock. Really nothing to be excited about, but more songs were goodish. 2.5/5 - 3/5

His lyrics let him down - there’s shovels of passion but it simply isn’t good enough. Standouts still serve for a jukebox.

Good pop album. Angels is one of the best songs from the decade.

Never heard of this guy. At first listen, or on the first song, it definitely sounds produced and like a watered down Oasis. However, as the album plays, I'm impressed by the range of musical styles. None of it is in a style that I really like, personally, but it's a good album. I'll give it a 3.5

Some decent songs, but seems like a decent amount of filler. Good voice.

110/1089 robbie williams is so interesting because he had this cool “bad boy” image an then he’s off singing about a “jolly good time” lmao this album’s sounding quite dated. imo Britpop tends to either stand the test of time or age poorly, i think this is the latter Angels is still cheesy but has stayed quite timeless Let Me Entertain You is the clear standout i think. I know part of this is because i have nostalgia for that song unlike the deep cuts but i really feel that it’s the one that pushes the envelope and sounds most developed 56/100

No sé si es bueno o malo el disco, no es la música que me gusta por lo cual esta llena por lo cual mi opinión será sesgada.

joa not his best

He had a good voice. Some of the arrangements were interesting. First time I had heard of him or heard his music. Not interesting enough for me to seek out a second listen.

it was okay great cover tho

It’s weird - Robbie Williams only showed up on my radar when Millennium - a minor hit in the us - came out. But I know these songs. So I must have heard that song on a different album and liked it enough to seek out more Robbie Williams and thus listened to this album? Anyway, it’s fine.

Nice

Can take it or leave it

Better than I was expecting. I thought for some reason that he would be trying to rap. But this just sounds like another britpop band. High 3.

For a guy with a movie where he is a fucking monkey this was pretty boring. Just felt like a more corporate take on britpop. I can see why it never really made it to the states

I was marginally aware of Robbie Williams in the early aughts, so this album was mostly unknown to me... until I saw the movie "Better Man." The music is enjoyable, but not great. For a former boyband member to be making this change to a solo career, it's an interesting move to go to maximalist rock-pop.

Overall: 5/10 It's at least better than I expected. I never saw that monkey movie about his life so I don't really know much about Robbie besides what people have told me. I guess he was in a boy band then made this album after they split and he was in some legal trouble? Again, I know nothing of the man. It sounds like he really liked the music coming out in the UK at this time cause this album sounds like everything else that was out there. Robbie has a decent (if a little nasaly) voice and some of the songs are pretty fun. Overall, it's a mediocre album that I'll likely not revisit often. Fav Song: Let Me Entertain You

Okay. Didn’t grab me.

2.5/5

Solid pop rock album that is genuinely funny at times. I'd heard all the bangers before anf the non single tracks were decent too.

Never listened to a Robbie Williams album before and was pleasantly surprised. The album is great but the last “through your window” song was dreadful as well as long. Went from a 4 to a 3 with that mess.

A pretty good debut album. I never realized that some of his most well-known songs were on his debut album.

#141/1001. I’m not a huge fan of overproduced pop, but something about this album managed to feel not so calculated. Most of the songs come and go, but then there are eternal classics. Actually just a few days later I played Let Me Entertain You on my dj gig - a bit late when most of the audience had gone, but I didn't see anyone not dancing out of those who had stayed. And that is pretty good if you think that the audience was art teachers and students - not perhaps the obvious pop loving audience.

Serviceable pop album. Liked a couple things but wasn't overly into most of it. Not terrible though.

Ég veit ekki af hverju en mér hefur ekki fundist Ribbie eitthvað æðislega skemmtilegur. Veit ekki hvort það sé vegna hans sem persónu eða að lögin höfða ekki til mín. Þarna eru samt tvö af skástu lögunum svo hann dettur í meðalmennsku

I didn’t really know what to expect but I enjoyed most of it, even if I found some of the lyrics a bit corny. I’ll probably return to this album at some point to see if it grows on me. I miss the days of truly hidden tracks.

Meh

The monkey man! It's alright I like Oasis more.

Easy to listen to. Quite a few I knew, didn't know they were all on the one album

You can’t get much more peak 90’s than Robbie Williams. It’s a decent pop album with some of his singles being big hitters. Good but with a few fillers for me.

Angels at 18ths...

Objectively, this is a bad album. Whoever he was w/ Take That - and I don't care enuf to find it out - Robbie W isn't much to write home about on Life Thru A Lens. He makes the whole Britpop thing more generic than it had already been, opting for a sound that's got little to no attitude, even on the Oasis ('Live Forever') reprisal 'Old Before I Die': 'I hope I'm old before I die / I hope I live to relive the days gone by.' It airs dreadful tracks like 'Angels,' 'One Of God's Better People,' and 'Killing Me.' The better ones would still never find their way on rotation, not out of a sense of guilt, but simply b/c extant is more outstanding music. For some reason tho, I find it difficult to hate this record. He seems to be smiling thru the whole thing. For that, ☺️.

Most of the lyrics are dated. The album seems to be written in the name of being edgy. That said, Angels and Let Me Entertain You carry the album.

A lot of harsh reviews on this one! I can see why this deserves to be on the list considering some of the other stuff that is on here. Much rather listen to one Robbie album than the umpteenth Bob Dylan etc. Angels is a perfect pop song. Not relevant to the music but I also really like the album art!

p814. 1997. 3 stars. Proof (if it were needed) that (a) Robbie Williams was a singles artist and (b) owed much of his success to Guy Chambers. Having said that, it's got some sharp lyrics, and as a debut album it's a strong start.

Mediocre, but nudged up one star for Angels and Let Me Entertain You.

A rather generic Brit pop album. It was fine, inoffensive, not particularly memorable but not bad.

Gets 3 stars because Angels is such a good song. The guy who he stole it off should be really proud

All in all, a safe album to perform. Clean, unimposing. South of the Border is maybe the most experimental of the group, and its no fluke that it's also the song that interested my ears the most.

I liked it! Very nostalgic for the two hits. Overall pretty good. But I can’t seriously give it a 4. 3.5.

Didn't need to be on the list, but I guess I get it since a Limey wrote the book. A fine example of smoothed out Brit Pop I guess?

Britpop. It's good but I don't really get into it as much as I feel like I should. 3 *

That was okay. Robbie Williams was huge in Europe and I was surprised he wasn’t as well-known in the States. There are some huge hits here but overall it’s just okay. 3/5

as impressive as it is that a chimpanzee could record an album it’s unfortunately a pretty unexciting listen

An album that was produced for two singles: ‘Angels’ and ‘Let Me Entertain You’. The rest sounded like filler.

My initial impression is that this is some damn fine window dressing; Williams has a solid enough voice and the production is *great*, so much so that I'm tentatively slapping this with a 3.5-star rating despite not being sure if there's a lick of good songwriting here. Most of the lyrics I observed were questionable to one degree or another, though Williams pretty much always sells the vocal performance. I plan on going back to most of these anyway, but this one will definitely require further listenings to determine how I really feel about it. 3.5/5

not bad

Mejor de lo esperado. Buen brit pop

I was expecting much worse from this tbh. Going into it, I only knew Angels and Let Me Entertain You. I think the latter is great, but the former was on a Christmas compilation we had when I was a kid, so in my head it's purely a Christmas song. There are a few other good songs on here though, particularly the last 3. The rest is a bit bland and full of silly lyrics, which is fine I guess. Also owes way too much to Oasis. I never really connected Robbie Williams to the Britpop scene before, but I guess he was part of it.

Decent pop

It is not bad, some songs were fine but it's just the same thing over and over and, honestly, there is not much interesting stuff on there, just a bunch of mainstream songs that are bland and feel uninspired. Overall, it's Robbie Williams, he's not a genius, nor someone interesting at all.

I have a soft place in my heart for late 90s Robbie Williams. So many fond memories. The happy pop music and entertaining lyrics equal a big fun listen!

Favorite Track: Angels

Angels reminds me of the glorious Spurs run to a Europa League trophy with Big Ange. I'm lovin' big Ange instead. Rest of the album was fine enough.

This was a fun last 90s pop record. Not really sure it deserves a spot on a 1001 list, but its something I would never have picked up on my own.

Ne kužim šta te ovdje toliko iritira skroz solidan pop rock

monke

damn that monkey from the movie was a real guy????

Yo, c’est le singe du grand écran! Je lui aurais pas accordé l’argent pour faire un film après l’écoute de cet album là, mais je peux voir l’appeal — Salut Cyril! Je t’écris entre deux valises, à l’aube d’un roadtrip avec mes chums! Si t’es curieux d’explorer la région sur Google maps, on fait le tour du Lac-Saint-Jean, en passant par Charlevoix et Tadoussac! Moi aussi je me remet d’une maladie embêtante, une belle grosse infection à l’oeil droit. Pas pratique pour faire du design… Je suis tombé sur le générateur par hasard en cherchant une sorte de liste de nouveaux albums à écouter. Je commençais à tourner un peu en rond dans ma bibliothèque musicale, et j’ai vu en ce challenge une opportunité pour élargir mes connaissances musicales. Je suis bien content d’avoir embarqué là-dedans, même si j’ai mes problèmes avec la selections d’albums (mais en même temps, qui n’en a pas?) D’ailleurs, tu trouve pas que l’auteur de la liste originale a un énorme biais pour le post-punk/new-wave? Messemble qu’il y en a plus que d’albums jazz, pis c’est des genres assez éphémères dans l’histoire de la musique. Aussi, je réponds à une plus vieille question de ta part: je suis 100% CD. Si je me fis à l’explosion de popularité du vinyle, c’est l’heure idéale pour assembler ta collection de cd. Je vais principalement dans des librairies ou des brocantes, tu peux ressortir de là avec des dizaines d’albums pour moins de 100$. En plus de ça, ça prend vraiment moins de place et les systèmes de sons sont moins cher et très modulables. C’est sur que le «rituel» d’écoute est moins impressionnant, mais je retrouve la même joie de manipuler l’album physique et de parcourir le livret. Bon, il faut que je m’y remette, bonne fin d’été!

Angels (track) is one of my all time favorite.

First listen

Robbie du alter charmeur. Sicher so manchere boomerin s herz la rase. Au 1 straight outta banger playlist chumende track. De rest halt easy aber au boring popig. 3 gibi dir ez, wells du bisch

Some hits (angels, let me entertain you... I enjoyed killing me as well), but I didn't feel as if it was a smash. But it would be more of a 3.75

Some good songs

this is a 2.5 but im rounding up cos robbie is very sweet

This sounds almost exactly like Oasis to me.

I had never listened to Robbie Williams. In doing my research, I was surprised to learn that he was former member of the band Take That. I had one of their albums, when their song Back For Good was popular in 1995/1996. I enjoyed this album. I could see myself checking out his other albums, and I would also to listen to the other Take That albums. Songs I liked: Angels, One of God’s Better People, Baby Girl’s Window.

As is evident from the reviews here and the reception of that monkey film, America just doesn’t get the cultural phenomenon that was Robbie Williams in the 90s. When he left/was kicked out of Take That and skewed more towards this Britpop Badboy sort of sound, it really made an impact. From his debut through to his fifth album, he was a pop juggernaut in the UK. I totally get why his debut is on this list for that alone, even if listening back to it now you can really hear where the ideas run a bit thin. Still, I’ve always liked Robbie so I was happy to see this album pop up this morning and relive a bit of nostalgia through it.

Classic

I listened to this a lot growing up thanks to my older sister, I actually thought I remembered it being better, but perhaps I remember some from his 2nd album too - I've been expecting you. This albums has 3 great songs on it. Angels, old before I die and let me entertain you. There are some ballads that are ok and some fairly dodgy other ones. His lyrics are hit and miss, but fairly of the time - listen to anything by oasis... Speaking of which old before I die feels like an oasis track, I know Robbie was a big fan at the time. It's alright, he has a great collection of singles. I suspect he has better albums. I generally like his output, except when he put out swing when you're winning, but that's cos I generally hate swing music.

6/10 Quite generic but Robbie's voice is always great

Familiar with Angels but that’s about it from this album. Rest of the songs are ok. I like one song from this guy’s catalog and I can’t even remember its name.

Big nostalgia trip - not a huge amount of filler. Angels and Let me entertain you were soundtracks to my childhood and britpop classics. In all a solid 3

Pretty fluffy but quite a few catchy tracks. Definitely liked this more than I expected. Don’t think I will be going back but “Let me Entertain You” slaps. Straight 3.

At first i thought it was Britpop trash, but it has its moments behind strange writing

I liked this album a bit more than I expected. Passable pop with some good opening tracks. My wife knew Angels, but that was new to me. I liked Life Thru a Lens a bit more, but they're good. The back end of the album was more forgettable, however, and it's far from my favorite album.

Ich weiss, scho na legendär. Fühls trotzdäm nöd.

weiss nöd öbi mi freue aber mal luege! DA ISCH LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU DRUFF das han ich als chind e ziit lang soooo cool gfunde hahaha lazy days isch voll ok aber nöd meh life thru a lense isch na wasy cool, ich han d gitarre mega gern im pre-chorus! ahhh angels hani auscho ghört, macht sinn, dass es so beliebt gsi isch haha han würkli no spaaa bis jz (au wenn ich mich fröge, wie fest das album uf die liste ghört) jaa find let me entertain you scho immerno sehr fun (au wenn de come on come on come on come on teil chli lame isch) HIDDEN TRACK hmm ich han schono spass gha aber schlussendlich isch au einiges chli ah mier verbii gange, aber life thru a lense, angels und let me entertain you hani scho fun gfunde

Eh. Two and half stars is my actual rating but I'll give it 3. At best it's generic 90s-2000s radio pop. At worst it's Call Me Maybe level bad songwriting. Didn't have to skip any songs but I know I won't be listening to Robbie Williams again, unless it's over the shitty speakers at the grocery store.

A perfectly fine pop album. Doesn’t stray too far from what you’d hear on the radio. Kind of bland but didn’t find myself looking for the skip button either. Weird one to rate as I didn’t hate it but nothing stood out.

He has a nice voice

I agree with the common consensus that it's held together with a few real great songs, but apart from that it's pretty meh...

It’s… fine. Pop music

I've never listened to a Robbie Williams (or Take That) album, though I've heard his hits a billion times (like Oasis). The Better Man movie with monkey Robbie Williams was great, although that didn't inspire me to actually purposefully listen to his stuff in the months since I watched it at the cinema. This is alright, Angels is an undeniable banger. Robbie's aura farming hard on the cover, it's a great photo. I can't believe most Yanks don't know who Robbie Williams is, even ones in their 40s/50s. We know all your bullshit.

Robbie does Britpop. It was alright at the time and alright now. Cant be bothered with Angels though, drag of a song but can see why it was popular.

Well performed but the writing was kinda stupid. I think I get it

Decent pop record I guess, but it wouldn’t make my top 1000

Yeah big hits on this album. It was good but that's it

I see why this didn't take off in America

Pretty good but the lyrics are just rubbish. Good voice and arrangements but his songwriting makes Oasis look like geniuses

ну не особо) энджелз всегда бесили, остальное не впечатлило (энтертейн б норм)

Not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I like Robbie Williams well enough, but I'm not sure it was this album of his that needed to be on the list. The Ego Has Landed, Sing While You're Winning, or Swing While You're Winning would have been better choices. That being said, this album is fine. "Angels" is on here, and that's his best song. I think I'm just not sure why this is on the list. Was it because Robbie was in Take That? Otherwise I don't feel like this is a necessary inclusion. It feels like this list is allergic to including boyband albums, despite their cultural impact. Like there's a Justin Timberlake album on the list, but nothing by NSYNC or Backstreet Boys. Maybe there should have been a Take That album on here instead of including Robbie's British solo debut. I like it, and it's fine, but I don't think it needs to be included on this list.

Kinda bland. I guess I didnt hate it.

One I listened to plenty when I was a kid. Aside from a couple of obvious gems, it’s all just Brit pop by numbers

For someone who has an Oscar nominated movie (lol) based on his life, the number of total ratings his albums have is shockingly low. It's funny reading the reviews there, almost everyone says they liked him in the past tense. This is the most nothing-burger middle-of-the-road album on this list. As soon as a song would end I would already forget how it sounded. It is crazy that Angels has 650 million streams on Spotify, it is fine, but like common guys there are plenty of better ballads out there. I swear when I finish this list I am going to add up all of the UK albums that had no right being on this list. low 3.

7/10 An album that's kinda all over the place for me, but in a good way. I think that's what Robbie Williams was kind of going for with this experience. Favorite Tracks: Life Thru A Lens, Let Me Entertain You, Killing Me

Wasn’t my favorite tbh

Better than I anticipated. As an American, the only RW I know is Angels. Loved that this one wasn't all ballads and had some distinct Britpop feel to it. 3/5

I stand by my opinion that purely in terms of singles, Robbie Williams is up there with the likes of ABBA and Queen as the GOAT. From the late 90's to late 00's almost every song he released onto the UK charts was an undeniable pop banger that seems to have stood the test of time and has remained popular. So how would a full album fair? It does sound a little like an ex boy band member trying to sound a bit edgy by going in a slightly rock or brit pop direction. I guess that's entirely the point. As I said before, the singles are good. The Oasis sounding 'Old Before I Die' and the Coldplay sounding 'Lazy Days' though not Robbie's absolute best are still good pop tunes. 'Angels' is still a banger. I don't even care. A little cheesy, but a great pop ballad, with a perfectly serviceable guitar solo. I'd gone off 'Let Me Entertain You' in recent years but listening to it today, again, it's undeniably a banger and the verses are very catchy. Of the non-singles, 'One Of God's Better People' is my favourite. I like Robbie's voice, in particular when he goes for the higher notes like in the chorus of this track and there's a slightly throaty gruffness to his voice. 'Clean' sounds very Beatles-esque. A little over produced overall, lyrically not great and probably a little basic and "cookie cutter" music, but it's a fun pop rock album. I like Robbie Williams, always have done, always will do, and I don't care who knows it. Eight decent to great songs that I enjoyed out of a possible eleven can't be bad!

Lazy Days, Angels, & Let Me Entertain You are each 5-star songs. There are a few 3-to-4-star songs. And the rest are 2-to-3-star tunes.

It's just so cheesy. The uber clean production makes it very listenable and there are some nice tracks here, but it's just somehow lesser than the sum of its parts. Lyrics are hokey, it's all of the worst parts of Brit Pop. I thought about 2 stars, but the musicians and production gave it the extra star.

meh, I was excited cause it was a 97 album but it wasn't that great. 3 stars.

All these northern english singers sound like oasis to me sorry

Meh, angels en let me entertain you zijn bangers maar de rest laat me pici koud

Mid

About as 90s as you can get but I enjoyed it

Fun

I would like to know more about why the Brits have such an affinity. This was fine??

Not bad for an artist americans have no connection to. I could see why he was popular. Shows the power of marketing. Vocals sounded a bit like oasis, instrumentals sounded very 90s, maybe a bit smash mouth at points?

Excellent vibes, but could use a trim. 55 minutes is a crazy length for britpop-type music, regardless of quality.

3.5

This was a bit surprising to find here but I'm glad to report that it wasn't too bad. It's a bit bland and some moments could've had more emotion or fun than what he gives. In "Let Me Entertain You", he goes all for it though which I appreciate. That's a fun tune! "Angels" is probably the best written song here. Highlights: "Angels" & "Let Me Entertain You".

3.5

I find it pleasantly enjoyable despite bring not particular anything great.... Kinda like Katy Perry's *Teenage Dream*... Fluffy like cotton candy and with all the nutrients. 6.85/10 ★★★

Well-produced album, albeit filled with fluff. 3 stars

3.5

I was expecting worse, I liked some songs

Kind of unremarkable Britpop, but also not offensive. I can see why this album didn’t really make a splash in the United States. But it definitely fits in with the time that it was created. I don’t know that I would go seeking out this album in the future, but I wouldn’t complain if it gets put on as background noise

Not sure that this would have launched Robbie to the heights of pop royalty if he hadn't done time in Take That first. Lazy Days and Life Through A Lens sound halfway between brit pop and US pop-punk. Ego a Go-Go is more the kind of thing I can appreciate from Williams - a bit manic. Angel is the depressive flipside with a low budget Oasis rip off. Let Me Entertain You does its job admirably. Most of the other songs just kind of fade into the background as FM radio fodder.

Better than I expected, but I really wasn't expecting much tbh. A lot of it sounds like it was written by committee, going down the checklist of current popular sounds to tick off. The production is super slick. There are some reasonably enjoyable songs on here, but I wouldn't actively seek any of them out. The thing is, being over the hill and male, I'm not the target demographic for this. So looking at it in that light I can see the appeal and why it sold so many copies.

monkey man mid music. 3 banana out of 5.

Okay and that’s as good as a Robbie Williams album will get but that’s fine. Decent work, nothing too awful, or special.

I'm feeling generous, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would

I think if I had rolled this before March 16th I wouldn't have even thought much about it beyond "oh yeah, the DJ Rock dude" and just moving on because like, what else is there to think about him as someone who actually did hear the one big hit but didn't care otherwise? That much changed after watching the biopic about him, Better Man, which not only is it a great movie that does the most out of being a biopic while not falling in the typical trappings of biopic but also it made me interested in his music because the movie heavily featured it of course (albeit in it's own versions rather than originals) But this isn't a Better Man review but instead a commentary on Life Thru a Lens and I was wondering if it would be some pretty ok album with great singles but forgettable deep cuts, not like an actually pretty good album that has songs as entertaining as it's singles Obviously I have my bias towards britpop music or simply nice rock music, but I think Robbie slots in the kind of Oasis sound more naturally than I would have imagined, I mean Lazy Days' melodies and all just have the kind of ear worm quality that I would want out of this genre, same as the following songs up until Old Before I Die which from there the songs aren't as neat but still remain a good time. I think the best way I can describe these songs is that, a good time, they know how to be just the exact breezy and fun sound of the genre and making it songs that initially could seem annoying but manage each time to save themselves from just falling into "meh" territory for me. Idk, maybe the Better Man brainworms makes me feel positive about this but genuinely I think this album is pretty good.

***An ok. Album

I’m a sucker for pop music, and because I’m also a Millennial, I have a particular soft spot for boy bands, although I can be randomly judgmental. On the other hand, I notoriously hate Britpop, probably because I’m American. That also means that, despite being a pretty big music nerd, like most Americans, I hadn’t really heard of Robbie Williams until a couple years ago thanks to Brits on TikTok being shocked that Americans didn’t know who he was. (This was pre-Monkey Movie™️, though, and that only got worse after the Monkey Movie™️ was released.) Like, it’s to the point where I didn’t even know he was in a boy band originally. But then, looking at his music out of context, I wasn’t really sold. In a vacuum of singles, Robbie Williams makes watered-down music for the karaoke masses and an audience with a palette as diverse as you’d expect knowing how bland their cuisine can be. All these things caused me to have a volatile listening experience with this. Life Thru A Lens is a watered-down version of Britpop, squeaky clean to the point where it’s lame. To make it worse, it adds in adult contemporary wedding songs and crooners like “Angels” and “One of God’s Better People” to give it that extra mass appeal for Brits, a market that would be permanently filled by the Pop Idol ecosystem the country birthed a few years later. On its surface, it’s a lame album. It’s also derivative. Those are two adjectives that don’t typically inspire ✨essential listening✨ to most audiences. And considering that, again, I’m a Yank’ who hates Britpop, my initial listen was not a thrilling experience. There were, however, a handful songs that I did like on first listen, and my gut reaction was that this isn’t a bad album. Mass market, trite, and fluffy? For sure. And there were some pretty grating songs on here. But not as unbearable as a watered-down, pop himbofied version of a sincere genre of rock and fuckin’ roll should be, especially considering that I find the original genre to be pretty trite and fluffy on its own merits. This is where the Poptimist (read: Dumb Bitch) in me took over. I started to enjoy my subsequent listens. I found myself vibing with more and more songs. I heard “Angel” in my Brooklyn grocery store and found myself humming along now that I knew the context– and that was one of the songs I still wasn’t a fan of even after a couple playthroughs. It wasn’t like this was my new favorite album or something, but it was growing on me. I still found myself hating some songs for being overproduced (“Let Me Entertain You”), too British (“Clean,” “Ego Agogo”), or too saccharine (“One of God’s Better People”), but there was still over half an album that I wasn’t just fine with, but actively enjoying. What started out as guarded surprise grew into actual pleasure. Why was this happening?! I knew this album was fluff and watered-down pop meant to appeal to the most common denominator, so why did I like it? For one, I think my hatred of Britpop actually benefited my listening experience. Like how a stiff glass of straight liquor can be easier to tolerate once you let it sit on the rocks for a minute, Life Thru A Lens made the burn of Britpop more appealing to my Americanized ears. It wasn’t always successful, but the Atlantic cultural divide is hard to bridge. Secondly, mass appeal means *mass* appeal, and for better or worse, even though my music nerd side wanted to resist it, I am part of the masses. Not only that, but I’m also a Pop fan, and even with its flimsy rock star aesthetic, this is a Pop album, regardless of cultural context. Most importantly, I’ve heard some bad albums thanks to this generator, and I’ve heard what Britpop Proper has to offer, and I’ve generally not loved what’s on the menu. Sure, Life Thru A Lens may be an cheapened, unrefined version of Britpop, but it’s a lot more straightforward than Parklife, Rings Around the World, or either Suede album, and somehow a lot less overproduced than What’s the Story, Morning Glory?, A Northern Soul, or either Pulp album. The fact that it’s more contained and the production is middle-of-the-road actually makes it more appealing to me because those are my issues with Britpop as a genre. I think the best point of comparison for Robbie Williams to me is Justin Timberlake. I grew up in a culture that adored JT and NSYNC. I like their debut and All Strings Attached, and I like some of JT’s solo material. I’m not going to lie, if you played some of his songs at a karaoke bar, I would vibe. I still put some of those singles on playlists. But when I listen to the solo material front-to-back, I get annoyed. When I look back on that time period when he was super-mega famous, I do recall that most of it felt trite and fluffy. 99% of the time, he was appealing to the American mass market of the era. I can kind of understand how someone from outside of America could look at Timberlake and find his music annoying. I also have heavy critiques of his solo albums. But like, I don’t think you can hate from outside the club, y’know? And if you told me you sincerely hated “SexyBack” or “Rock Your Body” because it sounds like watered-down 2000s American hip-hop, I would assume you’re just being contrarian. Those are fair critiques, but only an American with American context can really make them. As an American, hating Robbie Williams feels contrarian. I felt that muscle flexing on my first listen, but I’ve honestly come around. This isn’t my favorite album ever, but it’s appealing and well-made, even if it isn’t essential. It’s also a much better gateway into Britpop for me personally, and I’d rather listen to this interpretation of that genre as an outsider because it’s easier for me to digest as someone missing the context. I get why this is here. It’s no Supergrass, but it’s maybe in my Top 5 personal favorite Britpop albums, which is simultaneously an insult, a compliment, and proof that I don’t really have the right to have too harsh of an opinion without a British context, especially when I vibe to, like, 65% of this record.

Interesting to experience someone who is an icon for half the world, but a minor footnote in the US. I'm surprised he didn't do better, because a lot of this album sounds like the kind of alternative-rock inspired pop that did numbers here in the late 90s. Wasn't crazy about Angels, which is apparently his biggest hit of all time. Oops

This guy must be the final boss of 90s Brit-pop on the list. Its not terrible but also not good like so many things, just not for me I guess

decent overall not bad

This is a 1 star pop album. But my wife says it's has to be at least a 3...

A couple of good ones

Soft rock

"Angels" and "Let me entertain you" on here. The rest sounds quite similar.

‘Criminally Addictive’ was the first manufactured pop record. Recorded by Houmous & Chutney in 1971 it was totally pioneering and given a nod in every single manufactured pop record since. Prior to this no one thought brainwashing through music was possible. 3.4

Pretty meh. Crazy how much less Angels hits when it’s not being sung at karaoke. 5/10

Pretty average late 90s rock. Has some good nostalgia factor, but not my fav by any means.

Weird pick, but surprisingly fun. Is Sing When You're Winning here at least?

Maybe this seems like a backhanded compliment but this was better than I thought it would be. A lot of the songs are fine, but nothing particularly stands out, with the exception of “Angels”. That’s where his strength lies, less with the Britpop songs that are on this album

More britpop but this album is a cut above many others.

Was actually pleasantly surprised by this one. Recognized a couple tunes from soccer chants. Wouldn't listen again but I expected for it to be a lot less I mean holy shit it's the monkey album

Not what I was expecting from a former boy band member. I know he has a huge following in Europe but never really took hold in North America. Nice to her at least once and have an idea of what his music is like.

Much better than I expected. Angels shines more than usual in the context of the album, and it makes me appreciate Let Me Entertain You more. The (for me) deep cuts are a varied bunch of nice Beatlesy pop (Killing Me, One of God’s Better People), Oasis throwaways (South of the border, Old Before I Die, Lazy Days), uptempo rockishers (Life Through A Lens) and nondescript tracks, as you'd expect. The production is slick and rather soulless, but it works on tracks like Ego Agogo, where the brass and hammond really adds to what is otherwise a really mid track.

Life Thru A Lens was a pretty generic pop rock album for me on this listen. It's not bad, not great. Has a couple songs that I can see why they might resonate or become minor hits upon release. It's mostly forgettable but is perfectly fine filler music for most occasions. What I didn't know was how big of an artist Robbie Williams is/was. His popularity never extended stateside so I wasn't familiar with him previously. A CGI monkey ingesting copious amounts of drugs and acting like a cheeky asshole for 2 hours gave me the perfect context as to why this album belongs on this list. Robbie Williams has a crazy story and it is best viewed through the filter of a digital monkey partaking in classic boy-band turned rock star antics. Album gets 2.50 stars. Better Man biopic also gets 2.50 stars. CGI monkey get 5.0 stars.

Decent

Not too bad.

Waar is de aap?

pretty decent for a debut album a bit too radio friendly for my taste tho

Enjoyable album, the hits haven't aged a bit, and there are a couple of hidden gems. Not a remarkable album still.

Ikke i humør til det i dag, men det er god musik. Britpop som er meget artistic

Decent listen

I got excited when the first song was randomly shoegaze but most of the album is solid but kind of boring

This was ok

Not my type of music. Although the album is good and has great lyrics and continuity as a story teller it is a good album. But pop music sucks