Life Thru A Lens

Rating: 4.3/5 Short Review: Britpop bravado with emotional whiplash — like Oasis got therapy but refused to take it seriously. Favorite Track: “Angels” — unironically gorgeous; it’s karaoke transcendence for people who still believe a little.

Absolute hackneyed shite

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

I’ve never been a big Robbie Williams fan. I appreciate him as a performer and songwriter but his music just never clicked with me. That being said I really liked his biopic, Better Man, which I’d highly recommend whether you’re a fan or not. After seeing that I had a greater appreciation for this album for sure and I enjoyed coming back to it for 1001. An exceptional Brit-Pop album worthy of a 4 for me!

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

Couldn't really get into this. Ronbie has a good voice but there were moments of British drabness on the album.

OK I listened all the way through but please don’t make me do it again! I have nothing against Robbie and I’m sure he’s a great entertainer but this is awful. The music is derivative, the lyrics are puerile and his style of singing with a cheeky wink and tongue firmly in cheek just ain’t for me.

angels is great, rest is meh

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

I was excited to get this album actually! I know all his hits, and a few non singles. Robbie was huge when I was growing up. This album is certainly dated, but I liked it. Its the sound of nostalgia Angels is probably his biggest song. I always hear it sung at karaoke. But for me Let Me Entertain You is peak RW. That music video is ingrained in my brain I've seen Robbie a few times and he is an incredible performer to be fair to him. I also like that he's speaking out a lot about the fame and the music industry, treatment of bands in particular. He's not a one hit wonder guys trust me lmao 4 ⭐️

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

Don't really like this, well made enough I guess Will I listen to again: 0%

- I don’t support Zionists. - Holy shit, I really hated this. I love britpop, but this felt like the lowest common denominator. - And the lyrics… I can’t. And his voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me. And, and, and... I can’t say enough negative things about this album, so I’ll stop here. Painful.

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.

The production is pretty solid, I find his vocals pretty mid though. Its a good album, but nowhere near an essential listen.

Generic and dull, except for Angels which is a great pop song.

I liked a couple of songs off of this album. (Angels and Let Me Entertain You). The rest of it is arse. Just bland, bubblegum flavored pop. Nothing about it is interesting, let alone needed to hear before I die. 2.25 / 5 stars

joa not his best

7/10

monkeyman did good

This has got to be one of those most generic pop albums I’ve ever heard, boring and bland. It’s like they dined at the 90’s British pop song buffet and took a little bit of each dish to make a full plate, but it all ends up tasting the same. Next time the chef needs to add some spice.

Bubble Gum Rock at its finest (despite the occasional reference to drugs and/or sex). Every song could be the background music that plays during the character development segment of a Disney TV series. Nothing majorly wrong with it, there’s just cheese oozing from my speakers after playing this album.

Music for the 30-somethings in the bachelorette party while they drive between their cosmo-fueled lunch and the Chippies Strip Club on the outskirts of Birmingham.

Generic pop. It was fine, it didnt offend my senses or get me all riled up about the state of the music industry or anything like that. I don't mind how they take a few good looking kids and put them in a boy band, then when they get a bit older they pick the most attractive and least offensive one and give them a solo career singing banal songs with no soul. Nothing off putting about that at all. One of my favorite new albums, ground breaking and awe-inspiring talent this Robbie Williams guy is. Easy 5 star rating, unless I fat thumb it (accidently of course). Ooops

This is a 3.5 stars for me, but I'm rounding up, because while I think he mostly "apes" Brit pop/rock from the 90's mostly, it still is mostly good Brit pop/rock, which I think surprised most everyone that heard it. I owned "The Ego has Landed," and I actually never realized that was a compilation and not his debut album just re-released in the US...

It was fine but will probably never listen again

Pop music from nearly 30 years ago. Did not enjoy. 3/10.

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.

There were a few alright songs but it does sound like he’s just riding the wave of Britpop. I’m sure the cultural relevance when it came out was huge but it doesn’t help listening decades later. Great album cover though. Rating: 2.4

it was okay great cover tho

The worst Oasis record by far.

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

Lovely memories

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

Now I am become monkey, producer of bland music

2.4 2x first Robbie album, but not too impressed

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.

Tengo la sensación de que muchos las estrellas de pop del 2000 en adelante enfocaron la energía en tratar de generar uno o dos singles que fueran lo suficientemente exitosos como para generar ventas en lugar de pensar en la calidad del álbum de manera integral. Hoy en día cada vez más se prioriza el single y el EP, dado que las ventas de álbumes tienden a ser cada vez menos relevantes con la predominancia del streaming y plataformas como youtube. Esto es muy notorio porque a mi parecer solo "Angels" y "Let Me Entertain You" son temas más o menos decentes en este álbum (dentro de los parámetros de un pop comercial grasa). El resto del álbum es olvidable, e incluso extraño en sus elecciones armónica, temáticas y rítmicas. No me parece un álbum necesario para "escuchar antes de morir".

THE MONKEY GUY IS REAL!?!?!?!?! 3/10

2.5/5

Not for me and definitely not worthy of this list but some decent pop tunes on it

Ravno včer sm šla skoz cdje, k jih še kr mam & je bil vmes Robbie. Ampak ne ta album, tko da prek streaming it is! Ok, taprv ("Lazy Days") komad je čist ok, tadrug ("Life Thru A Lens") me pa aktivno odbija. Nek ta shitty pop punky stil, k je bil sicer mal kasneje ful popularen, but which I've always hated. "Ego Agogo" ma podobn vajb but on speed. Zj pa končno "Angels". Fak, ta komad mu je prou naredil solo kariero, ker so far je album bedn. Ta komad je pa fakin amazing? Njegov glas ne zveni annoying, k recimo na drugem komadu. Lep komad. Uf, "South Of The Border" je bad, sploh začetek. "Old Before I Die" proba bit neki? It's fine. "One Of God's Better People" je dejansko kul, sam akustična kitara in petje. Iiiin drugi znani komad s tega albuma, k mu je verjetn pomagal rešit solo kariero, "Let Me Entertain You". Ta mi je tud kul. "Killing Me" je tud čist fajn. "Clean" sm mislila, da mi bo kul, ker sm vidla na wiki, da je kot songwriter creditan tud Richard Hawley (iz dneva 22), sam ma komad tak butast happy go lucky sitcom ritem in butaste rime. + Clean (sklepam, da od alko in drog) & friends with Charlie Sheen ne gre glih skp? Hm. "Baby Girl Window" - naslov mi je obupn, ampak sam komad je kr ok. Še nek hidden komad je, po pa fertik! Po skor 10 minutah tišine kr naenkrat par klavirskih not & glas od Robbieja, k v bistvu zrecitira pesem s tematiko, k se mi zdi, da je pogosta pr nekih uspešnih ljudeh - da jim je na neki točki nek prfoks/nekdo rekel, da ne bojo nič dosegli, pa so vseen uspeli. Eh, una dva komada rešujeta ta brezvezn album.

Los precios de la fama

Not the worst album ever, but kind drags at times. I just don't love Britpop. 4/10

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.

Unbelievably Mediocre and he’s also a bellend irl. That Hidden Track is GOD AWFUL…

Awful

Generic-sounding britpop- it's not terrible, but it suffers in comparison with similar albums I've rated more highly simply because I don't have the same affinity for any of its songs from my youth.

Thoughts before listening: I know that Robbie Williams was a big deal over in England in the 90s, but he just never really meant that much in the US. It seems like this is one of those albums that made the list for its cultural impact in the UK more than for its actual musical merits. Sure the dude was a massive star and based on the cover, this album addresses that, but is the music worthy of this list? Review: So I guess the general idea here is ex-boy band star releases overproduced songs that lean into the popular sounds of the day such as Blur-style brit-pop, Sugar Ray-level alternative, and boy band dance-pop. Its pretty annoying to be honest and even the big hit "Angel" didn't really draw me in. I haven't given out a 1-star rating in a while, but this probably deserves it...at least in the context of this list. There are some absolute classics on here, even in the pop genre, and this does not rise anywhere near that same level.

Boring pop.

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.

The fat, Butlins entertainer from Take That. Painful stuff but I committed to listen to every album thrown at me. This was my biggest test yet.

1 is pushing it. How this made the top 1001 albums, I dread to think what else is coming.

Boy bands are inherently ephemeral creations. Some Svengali-like figure will assemble an identikit group from a crowd of young hopefuls, give them a carefully crafted selection of songs aimed with laser guided precision at the tween age demographic and then move on to the next pop sensation after a year or two. What happens to the young men involved when the hits dry up and their first cohort of fans grow up? I would be hard pressed to name a single hit by Take That, or pick most of them out of a police line up for that matter, but for some reason Robbie Williams broke the mould. He was the cheeky one out of the group, and in the recent biopic A Better Man he was shown as an anthropomorphic chimpanzee character, and not really expected to do anything other than dance in support of the better looking boys at the front of the lineup. His first solo album combines a bit of jaunty Brit-pop, some mawkish and surprising affecting ballads (Angels is one of the top songs played at funerals in the UK) and at least one genuine banger. OK, so a lot of songs are about how tough it is to date posh girls whilst being showered with drugs and booze, but something about this record rings true. If you listen right to the end there’s a hidden track called ‘Hello Sir’ addressed to a cruel teacher who once told a young boy that he’d never amount to much, and should give up his dreams and join the army. I wonder if that teacher ever changed his ways? Chimp-tastic!

Angels is a good pop song, it's hard to deny this. But apart from that, it's really a pop album in all its genericity, trying to smooth every angle despite the redeemed bad boy image of the guy. Something that both irritates me and somehow pleases me is the inability of the guy to sing. It feels like he doesn't have a powerful voice, he cannot go too low nor too high. Do I really need to listen to the whole album when everybody already knows Angels? I'm not sure.

Look I actually really like Robbie Williams because I think he’s campy and fun and has a great voice but whyyyy is this album on the list? The British bias is INSANE.

As someone who grew up in the UK in the 2000s, I'm obviously aware of a lot of Robbie Williams' songs. This is the first time I've listened to one of his albums, and I kind of get why it's on the list, but it's just not that good really.

455/1001 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

Terrible derivative of blur and oasis with cheesy rhymes on every line. Alternate title: Music For a Troubled Second Grader

Pretty terrible album saved from a 1 by angels

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.

I enjoyed the first few tracks and then it got boring quickly. Favourite Track(s): Lazy Days, Angels Least Favourite Track(s): South Of The Border, Killing Me

Another fantastic classic

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

Kinda boring, generic pop music. Robbie never really made it that big over here, so this one isn't standing out as anything to me.

Favorite Track: Angels

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

Sounds normal

I don't like it.

Mwah, tuurlijk wel grote hits, maar geen goed album

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

This is really just mediocre Britpop slop. it's getting 2 stars instead of 1 because it's slightly more bearable than Williams other stuff but that's a low bar

Let's be honest this isn't great. However.....AND THROUGH IT. AAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL

This is another example of the UK-centric nature of Mr. Dimery’s list. Take That was unknown, and Robbie Williams never made it in the U.S., so I have no none of the baggage listening to this that I’m seeing from others in their reviews. This album feels like it has one genuinely great song - Angels - and a bunch of other generically fine pop music. It’s studio-polished, radio-ready quasi-Britpop from a singer who thought he was George Michael…but was just a bubblegum bad boy. 2⭐️

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.

Usually I'm not a consumer of this genre/artists, it's a kind of music that, if I had to choose, I would pass. But I must say it is a very, very good album! It was fun, it had many hits and, overall, I was entertained ;-)

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, ☺️.

I didn’t listen to it because I’ve been to a pub where a man with his shirt unbuttoned was banging out Angels on the karaoke machine. I don’t want the memory of that shit night to be worsened by this.

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.

Extruded

Not for me

The uptempo tracks crush the ballads. A lot of tracks are like a store brand oasis record, but that’s still pretty good! Let Me Entertain You is both my favorite track, and the one that sounds most unique among Britpop stuff.

I don't get all the american hate for our beloved Robbie!

I knew he had to appear eventually. This is a pretty huge nothing. Nothing on here stands out, nothing is memorable, it’s all just okay. I understand why he didn’t pop outside of the UK based on this album. He has some singles I like but this is the most neutral nothing I’ve felt towards an album on the list so far. What a terrible poem bonus track.

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

It was okay. Brit pop

I don know

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

First time listening to this album and really enjoyed it - at least after the first song that I thought was just ok.

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.

"Let meeeeeee entertai-" no thanks, I'm good.

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

Ugh

uhhhh 2000s Britpop and boy band era, this is vanilla sellout music. I absolutely despise it. Don't know why Williams had a rebel and bad boy image, it's one of many examples how artists got gutted by the music industry and had no edge to begin with. The album doesn't have a single song with actual depth behind it, and while some of the songs don't sound bad, all of them belong into the category of "heard it on every radio station in the 2000s". I believe that music like this is also responsible for the absolute atrocities spawning from music talent shows, throwing more oil into this dumpsterfire of musical bs. If this website would allow 0 star ratings, this album would get that.

Its Robbie Williams Some of his songs are bangers, but not because of the music quality

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?

I'm not sure why he didn't make it bigger in the States. Any ideas?

More engaging than I expected, but nothing really enduring for me. Lots of solo artist angst, living la vida juvenil (including a BritPop song called South of the Border…?), and shoutouts to the people who didn’t believe in him. He has charisma and I understand why he became a British star, but it isn’t for me. Favorites: Life Thru a Lens, Clean Least favorites: Ego Agogo, South of the Border, Old Before I Die, Let Me Entertain You

Didn't love this one

Because I’m an American, I’ve listened to maybe 1 Robbie Williams song that I’m aware of. Places it seems like this album should be played: 1) Sainsbury’s 2) Warm up at a Swansea match 3) Establishing overhead shot of London in a Hugh Grant movie I enjoyed more songs than I thought I would but when I think about what music was coming out of Britain in 1997, this feels like a much squeakier album with less musical innovation. Also forgot about hidden tracks being a thing!

Like a mix between Oasis and George Michael

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

Monkey guy

Robbie don’t miss

Pedestrian. Inoffensive. Far less impressive than the vast majority of albums on this list.

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.

Супэр обложка. Лучшая песня - Angels.

Yet another completely unremarkable album that I can’t understand why it’s here. To me it’s like Lance Bass putting out an album and it making the list. Or maybe Robbie is the equivalent of Justin Timberlake 🤷‍♀️ I’m not British so maybe I’m not grasping the full scope of his genius. I do like his song Angels, and I can remember my British pen pals gushing over Take That back in the nineties. Their song Back for Good is the only song by them I know. The only other thing I’ll say is if he made this list that better mean that the Spice Girls did too. I’ll be waiting in anticipation for 2 Become 1.

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

i’m an oscars junkie, on top of all of this music stuff, which means that i did watch the robbie-williams-as-a-chimp movie, better man, earlier this year. i remember thinking, the whole time, all of this for some run-of-the-mill britpop? better man brought in $22.5 million worldwide against a budget of $110 million. it’s one of the biggest box office bombs of all time. that stat alone encapsulates how well robbie williams plays out in the year of our lord and saviour 2025.

not bad

Mejor de lo esperado. Buen brit pop

Didn't really like it. Just kinda boring standard British pop/rock

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

absolutely dreadful

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.

I can see why Robbie Williams is popular. He sounds like a cross between Liam Gallagher and George Michael. But there’s something I find off-putting about him. Maybe it’s the way he sneers when he sings. I get the impression that I wouldn’t like him if I met him. Also, some of the lyrics talk about average people being bored with their lives. And I find it kind of annoying when a rockstar passes judgement on other people’s lives. Like, easy for you to say! You’re famous and rich! The album’s outro suggests that Robbie Williams came up from nothing, but I didn’t feel that anywhere else on the album. The songs are strong though. Enjoyable pop with a nice rock edge and plenty of hooks. But this isn’t for me. 2.5

There's something that is extra corny about Robbie Williams for me. Some of it is the mix of the band behind him being very thin; the drums and bass sound so perfectly clean and is missing thump and power. His lyrics are on the nose and don't often give me something that really resonates with me. The choruses of "Life Thru A Lens" and "Ego Agogo" just sound very manufactured and sound like they are packed with fake angst. By the time "Angels" comes around I was fully waiting for the big pop ballad because that's what you had to do around this section of your album in this era. By the end of the album and after listening to the standout songs and reading their lyrics again I really feel like I just listened to a caricature of a pop star. Like a director was making a movie about a pop star and hired some handsome actor who doesn't have that special rockstar thing. I'm trying really hard not to be a hater but it just really doesn't jive with me. Maybe there's some nostalgia in these songs? Maybe there's some 90's charm in it's campy-ness? Just really not for me. Even when I tried to not take it seriously it still didn't give me anything.

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.

I don't think generally there's much to say about pop songs/albums. Especially starting around this time. Like, it just is what it is. Generally, music is not bad, but it's not great or even unique. That said, this is definitely higher end pop music. I can imagine most of these songs being played over radio. I also recognized "Angels"! Which is not something that I was expecting. I've never heard of this guy before, and didn't recognize any other songs (so far). I did a little digging and found that David Archuleta covered it (also didn't know that he did it as a cover), and I think that's why I recognized it. I do think the original here is better, though. The album is also pretty impressively varied, especially at the back end of the album. A more rock sounding song with "Killing Me"; a really bouncy kind of pop with "Clean". I'm honestly surprisingly impressed by this album? I don't think that it's particularly great, but I do think it's very good. Quality from beginning to end and some pretty good songs that were designed (and deserved) to be played on radio. And really fun to listen to as well! Favorite Song(s): Life Thru a Lens, Angels

Ne kužim šta te ovdje toliko iritira skroz solidan pop rock

monke

I’d never heard of Robbie Williams. After some research, I’ve gathered, he sounds like Oasis, but isn’t Oasis. He dated a Spice Girl, so he was definitely ‘around’ in the UK in the 90’s. His next door neighbor was Jimmy Page and they got into a scuffle over home improvement projects. Robbie is friends with Elton John, further showing he’s interested in building his own fame profile by associating himself with other British musical celebrities. Robbie has had scurvy. Robbie believes in aliens and almost bought the skinwalker ranch. One of Robbie’s many ailments is that sometimes he’s considered obese, although googling ‘Fat Robbie Williams’ shows you a picture of a normal looking middle aged man. Robbie’s music is boring. I think I would hate this guy if I met him. I spend a lot of time in the UK, working with Brits, and nobody has ever brought up Robbie Williams in a conversation. I’ve never once heard any of these songs. No American will ever consciously listen to these songs unprompted. I literally had no reason to listen to this other than through the sake of education. I will never think about Robbie Williams or this album again.

Proper pop album - nothing to complain about here

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

Meh, beyond the couple of mega singles.

If Noel Gallagher wrote an album for Avril Lavigne it would sound just like Life Thru A Lens.

Angels natürlich DE Karaoke-Klassiker, für de gits fetti Credits. Und bim rest hani nur gmerkt das mich de Robbie Williams würkli gar ned interessiert was de so für Musig macht, was er zverzelle het etc. Und irgendwie hani sini Stimm ned so höch, buebig und biz nervig in Erinnerig. Chani nüd mit ahfange, tschüss Robbie Zwei mal Ohrläppli chraule gits trotzdem (Okay "let me Entertain You" au absolute Banger, ngl!)

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

Fun rock album , enjoyed it didn’t stand out particularly some nice dance jams and the mellower songs are alright

This isn’t great. Certainly not pushing the envelope in any way. It’s a fun listen, but just feels like eating candy rather than chowing down on something substantial. Doesn’t really give a good feeling. Thanks for wasting my time. Anyways, didn’t hate it, but I won’t be listening again. 2/5

Enjoyable but no standouts. Angels is obviously very well known but I don't get the hype personally.

Several songs are so obviously influenced by early Oasis and are kind of boring but when the album seems to find itself and turns up the funky pop rock, it becomes very fun.

Paint by numbers brit pop. Ugh, this was a tough one to get through.

Not my favorite. I like a slower tempo

A brilliant Britpop record Highlights: - Angels - Let Me Entertain You - Life Thru A Lens

So, this didn't do it for me at all. Pretty generic and basic instrumentals so I'm out. But it wasn't really actually bad so it gets a 2, like I wouldn't be mad if it was playing at a coffee shop. Ego Agogo was the best track for me, some really interesting varied instrumentation and rhythms. The other standard singles like Angels were way too long and repetitive to be actually good.

Day579 - over produced lame pop. this isn’t even in the same league as prime oasis

Bangers around! A poppier britpop, certainly an Oasis/Stones Roses feel with some absolute classic songs. This made me watch the "Betterman" movie which I also enjoyed. I have been surprised by the level of sales and acclaim Robbie earned. I'll be exploring the other albums after this listen.

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

Esse álbum é muito bom!! Eu não dava o devido valor ao artista e estava enganado. CVJ Aria

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.

This is pretty dull

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.

No thanks for me!

2+/5

31/1001 :: Robbie Williams - Life Thru A Lens Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Rating: 3 Fav Tracks: Old Before I Die OK…So starting this off by saying this wasn’t as nearly as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Frankly I thought it was gonna be a dance album. Isn’t that what he does? Anyway this was more like a poppy, knockoff Oasis. If you’re a big Oasis fan you might find that repulsive but there was way more guitar on this album than I thought there was gonna be. With this album coming out in 97 the Oasis ripoff is probably just what the doctor ordered. All that said, while it wasn’t horrible it wasn’t great. It was pop-rock…fine.

Angels obviously the standout track but I didn't hate the rest of it, actually enjoyed it a lot. listen to the end for the fuck you poem to his old teacher

I had never listened to much Take That, so I couldn't say whether this is a debut album in which he really re-invented himself as a solo artist, but the album itself is mostly very easily forgettable. The only stand outs were "Angels" and "Let Me Entertain You", the latter of which I had no idea was from Robbie Williams, having heard it on numerous occasions. Since the songs weren't necessarily off-putting but mostly dull, with the two exceptions this album will receive a 2/5.

Wtf is Robbie Williams doing on this list? Sounds like knockoff Oasis at times. I get that leaving Take That was a culturally significant moment in the UK and Ireland but that doesn't mean a mid album belongs on the list of albums to listen to before you die. Angels and Let Me Entertain You keep this from being a 1. 2/5.

I think there's some kind of bias that is playing out in this list. Perhaps it's some connection between the age distribution of the people that contributed to the list, or maybe there's something about folks who are inclined to be music critics are also likely to appreciate Brit pop. I find this fairly indistinguishable from Oasis. Maybe it's missing a hint of cynicism. I did not hate this album but I am baffled that this is included. Anyway, it's well-executed, just kind of boring and snotty in that Brit pop way.

Mid. Didn’t finish this album and don't feel like revisiting. Not the worst thing I’ve heard but also would not consider this album a “must hear.”

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

This seemed like pop for pops sake. He meanders through different styles looking for a hit with shallow lyrics and few hooks. Not terribly awful on the ears in the end, but nothing I’ll be revisiting.

I really liked Betterman, and it shone a new light on some of these songs, like Angels. That and Let Me Entertain You are just brilliant in different ways. I didn't realise Lazy Days (which always gets in my head) and Before I Die we're Robbie Williams. I then looked ahead at his (surprisingly prolific, one album a year) discography and there are ao baby excellent singles (Feel being best) that I might check his other albums out too. This holds up better than a lot of Britpop from the 90s.

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.

Vintage Robbie

I didn't feel the immediate gut-punch revulsion at this, but just because it wasn't immediate doesn't mean I didn't feel it eventually.

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.

I’m not sure if this is actually a popular album, but it was incredibly uninspiring

I've heard the name Robbie Williams a few times in tabloids during my life and I always thought he was one of those corny celebrities known by shallow people who never really had that much talent to show to the world but had enough money to back it up. After listening to one of his albums it's good to know that I was mostly correct

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

Cracking album- angels and let me entertain you highlights but holds its own throughout, very enjoyable

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.

16/07/2025 Surprisingly better than I thought.

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

2/5 Yuck!

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.

A true fusion of many different styles of British music. Very Enjoyable

From Angels on this is the most annoying album I've listened to on this list. Just straight up cringe pop to me.

Ich weiss, scho na legendär. Fühls trotzdäm nöd.

lazy days mega en guet gschriebne chli überproduzierte aber würkli catchy song. sini yeahyeahs am schluss sind semi nötig. ou title track isch zerst blink 182 und denn oasis im refrain haha. go home and wash the dishes? so he doesnt suspect anything? ui. ah so he cant tell. ui viel flat 6 flat 7. ego agogo au sehr überproduziert mega compressed aber s isch no cool? IM LOVIN BIG ANGE INSTEAD. sooo en guet gschriebne song inescapable, catchy, viel zu kitschig aber s macht jede ton sinn. old before i die isch meeeeega oasis au wiener singt hahahaa. hobla. obe of gods dingsbums isch sochli meh. aber let me entertain you isch SO geil. de bass de drumbeat s klavier. fuck drums ufem ride lesgoooo. killing me isch au no schön, sehr abwechsligsriich. de guy chambers cha lieder schribe huii. clean isch etz chli weird well nai du nöd clean und de song het nöd s gwicht vode vorherige

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

fuck off with this shite. An absolute queef sandwich

Pysyin kyllä koko ajan viihdyttyneenä. Jopa nautin olostani! Isoksi osaksihan tää oli keskinkertaista britpopia (miksi yllätyin siitä?) mutta asenne oli kohdillaan. Ääni hyvä. Vähän siltsumaista energiaa mut menköön.

cornyyyy as hell very predictable lyrics almost as if a kid wrote them

Oh, another Britpop album. Generic and boring music I’d imagine you’d hear at a supermarket in England.

very very strong, very solid, pretty good 2, not a great album, not great lyrics, boring sound sounds like slip don’t care i csnt believe he’s famous

The thing about a lot of pop music is that you needed to be there to get why it was so significant. In the case of Robbie Williams, if you were young and British in the 90s, it was massive. Like the Justin Timberlake of the UK, he emerged from a bland pop band with a drive to be taken seriously, and massive worldwide stardom awaited. Except for America where he just couldn't break through. Yes, he scored some decent album sales there, but always seemed more like a curiosity than a phenomenon. The fact that he tried to take his cue from Brit Pop probably didn't help. Sure, Oasis and Blur were popular stateside, but a handful of bands was enough. Did we really need a former boyband member trying to copy Oasis? I get the significance of this one, especially if you had really followed his career from Take That. But if not... well, "Let Me Entertain You" and "Angel" are decent songs, but the rest was fairly dull unfortunately. I tried, but it just wasn't my thing.

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...

A surprisingly fun record with catchy melodies, pop sensibilities, and great guitar tones. I particularly loved “Clean”.

cmon man. 52 minutes of this? killing me with this type of shit

Give me Robert Dimery's address. I JUST WANT TO TALK

This was a surprisingly delightful album! Oasis vibes and just a lot of energy.

4.5 songs was enough. Not for me.

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.

Music is time travel. I put this on and i'm a teenager again when he was about as famous as you got in the UK at that time. I was never a fan, but i can still sing 3/4 of the singles from start to finish. Its not a good album musically it lyrically, but it probably is culturally. This would be the uk version of a destinys child album i got a while ago.

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.

No

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

It wasn't like, bad, but kinda just sounded like store brand Oasis

It’s ok

2/5 couldn't wait for this to be over

It felt very generic 90's pop. I've heard that this guy is popular in England, but as an American, I don't see what the fuss is about

- Angels ist und bleibt einfach ein emotional Banger (und guilty pleasure) - Rest besser als gedacht, aber insgesamt nur okay und einfach nicht so richtig etwas, worauf ich Bock habe 2/5

How could a Generation X make music this awful?

"FOR THE NEXT TWO HOURS YOUR ASS IS MINE" 🐵!! Favorite track: Angels 2.5/5

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

4/10 The bullet in the back of Britpop's head - after this, guitar, jangle indie was deeply uncool. Oasis were never the same again. Death of an era. It's guitar pop and mostly dull, perfectly crafted pop songs with no soul. Hated Angels and Entertain You back then, but I didn't skip em.

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

I see why this didn't take off in America

Prior to this, I had only known Robbie Williams and a UK tabloid superstar. His music was unknown, for some reason kept safely from American ears. Maybe it was the British-celeb-referencing subtext in the lyrics. Maybe it was the lush production that emphasized the "Pop" in Britpop. Maybe the U.S, arm of his promotion team just dropped the ball somewhere. For whatever reason. he just never landed here. That's unfortunate. This album is a surprising gem. The massive sound and Williams' smirk-sneer delivery make a fine stew. Sure, he leans hard on the sounds of his forerunners (Queen, Oasis, Elton John, Blur, etc.), but even now it sounds fresh. I thought that the weakest tunes were the power ballads, "Angels" in particular. Of course, that was the song that saved the album and Williams' career, so maybe my American ears just can't hear whatever it is that made him so popular everywhere else.

Got through 3 songs….nope

More like a 3.5, but Angels is one of my all time faves, so it gets a bump up

Not essential listening for anyone.

This is not special in any way.

Better than I expected going in, but still mostly just extremely generic Brit-pop. Why did they make this guy a monkey for a movie?

Favorite song: Angels. Overall score: 3.7/10

Music for people who hate music.

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)

ㅅㅂ 그냥 존나좋음,

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.

Robbie Williams at his best is the most boring, generic pop ever. At his worst, excruciating. "Let Me entertain you"? If only you were capable of such a feat, Robbie! This "pop by committee" bollocks can fuck right off. It even has ads in it. Can't think why else there'd be a song about Mr Sheen.

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

I will never forgive everyone for not making Robbie Williams a major US pop icon, because he sure as hell was in the UK. I remember when I was telling my friends that I got tickets to go see Robbie Williams, they were all completely clueless, and that was when I first understood that he was only really a British popstar. And then his movie dropped and for some reason he was a monkey so whatever I guess. I will eventually get round to listening to his entire discography as part of Every Album of Every Artist I Have Ever Seen Live, so please take everything I am about to say with a grain of salt. I greatly consider this to be the best Robbie Williams album, with his hit singles Angels and Let Me Entertain You but first lets get into the history of the monkey man. Robbie Williams was one of the members of the hit band Take That which I'm sure people are a lot more familiar with worldwide, but he was soon dismissed from the band due to his growing substance abuse and constant fights with Gary Barlow who was essentially the leader of the band. In response to being kicked out he then began his solo career, where he became greater than what Take That was ever capable of. Life Thru A Lens was his debut album that he released in 1997 and I consider it to be his best piece of work. There is heavy Britpop influence in this album, which was very unlike his previous work with Take That and for that reason I have to give him the credit because it is very impressive. I think this is most evident in his song Angels, which is a masterpiece of a song and I hate that the rest of the world wasn't exposed to Robbie Williams as much as we did. Angels is a beautiful song both sonically and lyrically which was written about the idea that loved ones come back to protect you after they have passed. It is one of the best songs I think I have ever heard, and was beautiful when I saw it live as well. Life Thru A Lens has the perfect combination of both uplifting/upbeat songs with the depressing melancholic ones, and it really showcases his range as an artist. Sure, there are a lot of weaker songs here, but we have to appreciate that he did a complete turnaround with his musical style and genre as a big fuck you to Take That and I do have to give him credit where it's due. Anyway, I love the silly monkey man and you guys should have been well familiar with his music before that movie came out because he has literally been a pop icon for like 25 years.

Nostalgia makes it a four rather than a three. There are some corkers but the album itself is very mid.

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.

A pleasant surprise. Not an incredible album, but not a bad POP album either (as I expected it to be). Pleasantly surprised, a fully deserved 4 star.

Highlights: Angels, Ego Agogo, and Killing Me His voice is hypnotic.

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

I’m an American, and Robbie Williams really didn’t hit over here. I couldn’t find out how high the album charted in the US, but I did learn that his highest ranking single only reached 53 before I got bored of looking. I’m nearly 600 albums in at this point, and I feel like this project has a slightly British bias in some of the album choices, but this may be the most egregious. It was MASSIVE, apparently, in the UK, but didn’t really hit in many other countries. Anyway, I used to think I didn’t like 80s music, but what this project has shown me is that there are some incredible 80s albums, it’s really just 80s pop music that I don’t like. I’m a 90s kid. It brings warm feelings, even if it’s music I didn’t really connect to at the time, like the Alanis Morrisette album. But what this album has showed me is that I just don’t like pop music for ANY decade, because this is pretty shit.

I was actually pretty excited to listen to this one, because why the fuck is Robbie Williams even on this list? Well, it was very bad.

Típico pop noventero hiperproducido, con una mezcla de baladas que son un muermo y canciones más rockeras, con influencias del Britpop, algo más potables aunque también excesivamente simples y comerciales. Las baladas son típicamente predecibles, y las partes más rockeras tampoco me dicen nada. No es un álbum que tenga una significancia histórica de ningún tipo, y a día de hoy suena anticuado. Ni me ha gustado ni merece formar parte de esta lista. No es que sea malo, es que es demasiado genérico. Solo "Let Me Entertain You" se salva de la criba, pero no es suficiente para darle mejor nota.

ich fühle mich glücklicher starker erster Song namensgebender Song gefällt mir nicht wirklich ich will party machen angels ist unfassbar stark "one of gods better people" - underrated (nur 1 millionen plays auf spotify?) LET MEEEE ENTERTAIN YOOUUU!!! It's killing me, slowly Die Bläser sind so stark eingesetzt wow das ende von clean? wtf? baby girl window auch sehr schön kiss my ass

Angels

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

A painful display of brit pop, that only got worse whenever he’d try to slow things down on tracks like Angels. Then it’d just be this shittier Oasis/U2 style of sound with a guy whose lyrics could only rival Bob Dylan’s. Seriously one of the worst albums I’ve listened to in my life.

So awful I had to pause it to come up for air several times. For someone who poses on the cover as if he dislikes fame, he's certainly trying to court it with these "songs". Heinous lyricism abounds "These are strange days we are living in today Am I straight or am I gay? I hope I'm old before I die I hope I live to see the pope get high" barf "Clean?" made me wonder if this is all tongue in cheek, awful on purpose. There's an imitation Elton John song. The constant overly-dramatic but inauthentic references to death. The obviously self-centered worldview... not for me, I hope I never have to hear this one again

This isn’t the best thing I’ve heard. I know Robbie Williams more by reputation than anything else. 2/5

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!

Pop rock. It was okay, although it was starting to grow on me a bit more towards the end. On another day perhaps it’d get another star.

Sounds like warmed over oasis

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.

Un disco de pop-rock típico de fines de los 90. Me cae bien RW, pero no sé por qué está aquí este disco.

All these northern english singers sound like oasis to me sorry

liked his upopular stuff, liked his popular stuff less

no

Omg this album lol

Shitty Oasis, are they any good? They suck! So it’s not just a clever name…

- In the year of our Lord 2024, a biopic came out about Robbie Williams. He was played by a mo-cap chimpanzee. Got great reviews but bombed hard at the box office. Every Brit in existence was shocked to hear that Robbie Williams was essentially unheard of in America. This album demonstrates why. - A bizarre mishmash of mediocre U2, mediocre Michael Bublé, and mediocre Beck. (Do you really think you can pull off the vibraslap, Robbie?) - Legitimately enjoyed "One of God's Better People." Legitimately despised "Life Thru A Lens" (the track). - The hidden track is an almost humiliating example of letting someone live in your head. You are an adult, Robbie...grow up, man. - Rounding up from 1.5 stars. One feels mean and I am admittedly biased by the sheer audacity of the whole chimp film narrative.

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

Good songwriting, boring songs.

A lot of times I would probably give this a 3, but this one I listened to on a long car ride and could actually listen to the lyrics. That bumped it to a 2. It’s like if oasis wrote really bad songs.

Angels is a very good song, most of the rest is fairly generic Britpop, not something I'll be coming back to

Was fluctuating between a 2 and 3... and then I had to listen to extended silence before he performed his poetry slam.

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

2.5 Popular does not equal essential. This is a prime example.

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

This is one of those cases where the album isn't like offensively bad, but it's so bland and the songwriting is so lousy, it makes you wonder how it had any acclaim at all. Britpop as a genre was already on life support by 1997, and this is like a lousy example of it. It's very much the Dollar General version of like Shack or late-period Oasis. A guy with questionable talent trying to come off as reasonably cool. 1 star.

3.5

If there was a Mt Rushmore of biggest twats in the music business then Robbie Williams’ face would be on it four times. Just a huge horrible obnoxious twat. Best keywords I would use for this album would be Smug, Tedious, Obnoxious, Wanker, Useless, Twat, Shit, Wannabe, Oasis, Tryhard, Britplop, Untalented, Fat, Dancer, Crap, Annoying, Petty, Tiresome, Attention-Seeking, Knobend. Guy Chambers can write the odd good song though and with Angels and Let Me Entertain You the album does have to its credit two of Robbie’s biggest and more acceptable hits. And Old Before I Die is kinda good and positive even though it’s a bit of a slick n smarmy inversion of The Who’s My Generation. The rest of this album is just really lousy tryhard ultra-processed Britpop twaddle with crap melodies, crap lyrics and crap singing. Ego Agogo is a complete no no and Clean where Robbie is friends with Mr Sheen, meets the Queen and won’t be obscene is the foremost graduate of the She’s Electric school of shit songwriting. 2 stars because Angels is a good song and it doesn’t have Rudebox I guess.

Lame-o. I remember they really tried to make Robbie famous and the States but it just didn’t work. We saw through his bad boy persona and saw that he was a tool. Blahhhh. 2 stars

I was expecting worse, I liked some songs

Entertainer and pop star. Usually stuff like this doesn't grab me, but this is nice.

This was an important album for Robbie Williams, his first and best chance took define himself as more than the boy band background that made him famous. The sound overall identifies this as belonging till the Britpop era. Lyrically, he shows a lot of vulnerability and introspection. Angels is if course the standout. You can hear the desire to kick back against the media driven fame machine. It works, and for musical snobs, try to forget that Williams was in a boy band and just listen to, for example, the title track for the brilliant bit of pop songwriting that it is.