Life Thru A Lens

A pop singer ripping off Oasis. It sounds almost as bad as that description suggests. However, the songwriting is full of earworms, which is what made this such a successful pop album. Personally, I find "Angels" and "Old Before I Die" slightly irritating - but they are certainly memorable and instantly recognisable (at least to me as a British person who lived through the 1990s). So the album has to get some credit for being annoyingly catchy. 2/5.

Formulaic and unremarkable. 'Let Me Entertain You' is a tune though.

Not sure about this one. Angels and Let Me Entertain You are absolute classics😂 (maybe guilty pleasures) from my generation. BUT this rest of the album is pretty shite, standard nonsense pop. Maybe a 2/5? Seems harsh but there's only 2 good songs.

Couple of decent tunes but very of its time.

Sub standard faux-Britpop waffle for the most part

Mijn beeld van Robbie was: 'Komt altijd redelijk arrogant over en maakt kutmuziek'. Hoopte dat te veranderen, maar helaas. Alleen die 2 hitjes zijn te pruimen.

Niet mijn ding.

Let me entertain you vind ik een leuk nummer, verder vond ik het slappe hap.

Went through a lot of trouble to find all the songs on this album on youtube and Spotify, and really wish I hadn't. Great voice and pretty bland everything else. It felt like it was a pop album written by a guy for the sole purpose of making him famous. I'm still not sure how I want to use my 1 rating. Like I hated this album but since it was some manufactured pop it musically wasn't completely unlistenable, so I feel like I've got to save it for when those albums come along. But yeah not a Robbie fan.

I was never a fan of Brit pop. After listening to this I can confirm that I'm still not a fan.

Just generic English pop rock. "Angels" is familiar, haven't heard it in years. 5/10.

A couple decent songs. Spotify wouldn't allow playback of half the record though.

Eh.

Pas mon genre, je ne suis pas certain que je suis passé au travers.

I have no idea how these songs were so popular in Europe. Signed, an American '90s Spice Girls megafan

Not my kind of thing

standard brit pop.. S'alright

Very pop and a bit too much on the mainstream side of things. Muzac

Can't help but cringe at all Robbie, especially the percussion

Uh, no. Maybe if I were a tween girl in 1999 who really liked straight-to-DVD Rom Coms. But I wasn't. Honestly, through Angels was all I could take of this horrid, cynical poptastrophy.

Im pretty sure I had could have gone through my life without having to listen to this

This sucked. Come on.

1/5. As a person born in the U.S. after the year 2000, my introduction to Robbie Williams was his 2024 biopic where he is a CGI ape. Robbie has a pretty typical artist story for his time, a former boy-band member who made it big on his own, in this case thanks to this albums biggest hit “Angels.” As for the music, at least on this debut, it is nothing. It feels completely void of anything compelling. kinda Brit-poppy, kinda alt-rocky, kinda poppy, but never good no matter the style being tackled. The big epic tracks feel unearned and the slower emotional cuts feel insincere.

Gross

this was sooooo bad how the F did this make it on. a reviewer put it best "This book of albums sure places British mediocrity on a pedestal." crazy album cover. mr center of attention

Is this guy popular? Oh wait didn't he recently play in a movie as himself, but he was an Ape? Yeah never saw that movie either. Just another one to toss into the recycle bin.

i think about half of these songs they could've crossfaded directly into oasis' "wonderwall" and i wouldn't have noticed that the song changed. absolutely not a single noteworthy thing about this and in the next edition of this book this should be pruned immediately. legitimately zero artistic direction here or creative decision worth considering; the most britpop-by-committee album i could imagine.

Bubblegum pop with a performative edge. Not for me

Um… I had absolutely no idea about this when it came up, which can be so fun. But… this… “ Where were you when you stole my pride Did you ever get the feeling that someone died Hide away in your ivory tower And cover me in your golden shower”?!? Um… yeah so if you’re going to be crude, go all the way baby, actually be, idk, interesting? Yeah and then I found out this was his solo stepping out from a boy band. Figures. Yeah, I had to listen to Justin Timberlake’s debut too. At least JT had Timberland basically making that album for him. This is total 💩. Sorry to those who feel it. No disrespect to you, but this is total 💩. Boolean: HELL NO!

His debut solo album. Pop / Pop Rock. Over produced Pop candy floss. Edgy as fuck for using 'Thru' and not 'Through' in the title. Crap lyrics written by a team of five year olds at play school. Generic tones and beats. Having to listen to this again or losing the biscuit game after seventeen rounds!? I'll take the latter. Look out for my own debut album 'Thru The Jizz Biscuit'

Maybe the worst thing I’ve ever heard

Bad

This does not belong in this list, nor does it belong in music. This is so boring and lame. Brit pop garbage

Rubbish . I mean, bloody hell

Oi mate this sucks innit

After listening to the first 30 seconds of this album I said to myself aloud "Oh no, it's dogshit" for some reason I thought I would like the album. It continued to be dogshit until I got to Angels and I was like, wait... Do I enjoy dogshit. At this point I arrived at work and read some of the global reviews. Since the consensus seemed to be that Angels was the best track, I figured that I had heard enough. I think it has to be a 1. I'm not sure that there's much I'm less interested in revisiting.

2.5/10 - It would be hard to come up with 1001 life changing albums, but I can find 1001 albums better than this.

I can see why they made him a monkey. No one would want to listen to human Robbie Williams for that long. This album stinks. 3/10

hard to be objective as I hated this so much at the time but it is truly dreadful - this was considered a flop at release before Angels was out and it's not hard to see why, sub sub Britpop

I was almost prepared to give this album two stars... Then the hidden track happened.

No, thank you.

I saw a movie where he was a monkey and if a monkey was singing this I would think it absolutely something worth hearing before I die. I am pretty sure that was AI though so I rate this as pop drivel.

Nope.

Truly terrible in every way

Just the worst of all 90's music packaged into 1 record. Treacly, over-produced, forgettable. Sick album cover though, I will give it that.

Not into this monkey man

Some of the worst lyricism I've heard in a long time and mind numbingly boring songs. One good song does not make for a good album.

Let Me Entertain You is a 3, Angels is whatever, rest is horrible.

Oh please god, just no.

Jeg kan simpelthen ikke slæbe mit usle kadaver igennem det, men forbeholder mig retten til at bedømme alligevel.

"And cover me in your golden shower" <- virkelig? jeg synes godt nok ikke, det er godt - faktisk overraskende ringe og det første album på listen, der faktisk gør mig lidt vred 1.0 det, der trækker den fra 0.9 til 1.0 er, at han har valgt at have et ghost track på sidste nummer. det mangler vi flere af

det er sgu godt nok bare ikke mig. Okay catchy melodier i mellem men totalt intetsigende

They made a monkey movie for this? I guess since I am not British I wouldn’t get it but this is the most generic itunes brit pop music I have ever heard. 2/10

De helft is een beetje cringe

Havde ikke regnet med at den her plade var så rock, det lyder jo som Oasis eller Blur, hvis man altså har vasket det HELT rent så man ikke kan høre nogen identitet mere. Nope herfra. Måske det mest britiske valg indtil videre, og det siger fanme ikke så lidt.

It’s just not the music I like. Robbie Williams had some good songs in his career but this entire album is a thread to my ears. Thumbs down!

I mean, the music is probably better than the Take That bullshit, but the dude is just SO fucking full of himself I can't stand it. No thanks. 1+

Oh boy. Generic mid 90s British pop rock. Yipee. Any list of 1000 albums by a single author is going to have some serious bias, but the 90s British pop bias is so evident as I continue through this project. Isn't it a thing when making an album to put a strong opening at the beginning? The first 20 seconds of this one is the same quarter note strummed guitar chord. To me it came across as "bland bland bland bland bland bland bland bland bland bland bland bland bland bland bland bland". As I write this, I'm 2 songs in and those first few chords have been proving themselves. Let's see how the rest goes. Ok. It does not get better. There were singles off of this? How? Nope. My wife listened to the second half of it with me. "What is this? You're giving this 1 star. Aren't you?" Yeah. Yeah, I am.

I have a soft spot for Robbie’s sophomore effort, which has co-writes from Neil Tennant and Neil Hannon, but mostly because he had a kind of goofy, self-deprecating sense of humour which was rare for a pop or rock star at the time. Everyone was SO SERIOUS - both scripted pop stars or ironic snob slack rockers - and along comes a boyband guy to have a laugh but also deliver some pop chart fastballs. This debut, however, is awful.

Nope. I was right to hate this the first time I heard it how many years ago.

Another slick from one - from a more recent era, but sounds pretty dated to me, at this point (although I wouldn't have liked it in the 90s, either). It's almost as if AI had tried to make 90s pop music, it might have come up with something like this? I feel like I'm hearing echoes of bits and pieces of other things, but not adding up to much of anything. Doesn't belong in this list. 1.

good example of why I think 90s music is inferior. Also makes me question the criteria for getting on this list. Being British? the vocal delivery rubs me the wrong way

Let Me Entertain You ??? There's not a chance. The most over rated clown who really cannot sing. Includes the second worst song I've ever heard, Angels on which his vocals sound drunk. (First worst song that dirge from the wife beating hypocrite Imagine).

Robbie, Robbie, Robbie! This has no place in a list of albums you must listen to. Bland poppy crap.

wa een gejank😭

The guy who did the biopic about his own life, except he was a CGI monkey. That sounds like some of the absurdist (nonsensical) gibberish I have become famous for (one review has three likes), but no, it was a vehicle for the bloated ego of talentless Brit, Robbie "don't call me Robin" Williams. Is this a good time to further shatter my credibility by saying Robin Williams was one of the most overrated comedians ever to lend voice to microphone? As you can see, I continue to exist as a miserable hermit, as I prepare for a guy who staged a paparazzi gathering on the cover of his first solo album. Oh joyous day. Nothing more relatable than a faded teen star doing his "artistic" solo work. Yes, nothing quite reaches into the heart of the common man as lamenting the difficulties of being wealthy beyond your wildest dreams as a teenager. Oh and don't forget the standard "i used to do drugs:-(." When you distil those heart-wrenching sentiments into an album that sounds like listening to Oasis via someone's headphone bleed-through on a crowded bus, you've produced an achievement for the proletariat equivalent to the long weekend. Cue up the construction site boombox, lads. "Angels" will play us through the shift! In the style of the similarly named comedian: Hoo hah, robbie williams sucks uhh vacuum cleaner WHOOOOSH heh heh vacuums what is that extra "u" doing in there? Yoohoo where is the u? Ho hah, I don't have any jokes hoo hah *breathing fast* BEEP BEEP BEEP there is no intelligent life here captain BEEP BEEP hoo hah ground control to major tom hoo uhh breaker breaker 1 9 houston we have a problem hoo hey ho. time to stop this review hoo room with a view ha hoo. I'm funny because I make you uncomfortable with my hyperactivity whoaa heyy honk honk. 0.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Monkey man he he

Unremarkable album. Think maybe it’s impact was more poignant after leaving the sickly sweet arms of take that, but it just didn’t do much for me. I do think, however, if he hadn’t made this album l, he’d be doing panto each year. Which is what this album sounds like to me. It feels like a take that rendition of Brit pop. I liked him in take that, but this just feels like a school plays version of a bad boy in album form. You can tell he’s not really what he wants to be. Who am I to judge? This doesn’t feel like a revenge album I think he hoped for. It’s interesting because I always thought angels of being some over used, unimpressive karaoke song but it is the best song on the album. Maybe we should be more like Gary and less like Robbie.

lol I hate this

There's a hole where the soul should be.

This album is like beating off while checking yourself out in the mirror.

really bad lyrics, whiny and derivative

Anyone who's see opus know that this guy is giving super douche cultist vibes. Okay music. No relistenability and awfully mundane for '97.

Trite unadventurous pop shallowly pitched at making the charts. Even the big hit Angel is cringey garbage.

I already forgot I listened to it except the last track (hidden) which was cute. 1

No I haven’t made any comments

Vapid… why is this here?! Next…

Yeah this completely fell flat for me. This for me felt like a diluted version of what Rock bands were doing at that time but a little more poppy and clean. I feel like someone with as big a personality as Robbie has, this album is pretty bland and by the books. This is one I for sure won’t be returning to.

You've got to be kidding me. 1001 Albums you must hear before you die. Well okay, maybe not all of them. There are a couple of decent songs on this album, but holy shit, this is one where the the authors forgot the intent behind the list. There is nothing redeeming or interesting about someone being in a shitty boy band and then "redeeming" themself by partnering with decent musicians. Nothing here is is interesting, unique, influential or inspiring. I normally reserve 1* for shit that is unlistenable, but I'm adding an inappropriate for the list criterion. And I'm usually pretty generous with respect to the last bit.

Yuck

Not my thing. I think he could write (ahem, co-write) a head-nodding catchy tune, and his voice can't be denied...but what about this earned it a place on the list?

Not very good.

Rubbish. (I'm an American, so this is witty) (14/100)

shite mate

Not really my thing

more english pablum but at least robbie Williams's nasally voice is really grating

Shit only good because of angles and let me entertain u

Not for me. I probably would’ve given it a two on another day but not today.

Nothing interesting here. In fact, some of this is just downright irritating. The arrogance of the concept is astounding, yet Robbie Williams offers nothing of substance to justify such a high opinion of himself.

I liked this far more than I expected. I expected something more, I don't know, shallow? Plastic? Manufactured? It felt like natural, organic songwriting versus artificial pop. (Not that his other stuff is artificial pop, I just don't know much of his material) I was actually a little disappointed in Angel, which is apparently his big hit. Just felt like generic anthem pop/rock. (Full disclosure: I gave this more of a listen than originally planned because this gorgeous, incredibly cool woman said she loved this album when she was younger. Honestly that's good enough for me. Yeah, she's that amazing) Update: Okay so that lady is not so amazing and not incredibly cool. She actually sucks ass. So now I don't give a shit. Now my biased opinion is that this album is terrible. It's fucking trash.

Absolute hackneyed shite

- 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.

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

The worst Oasis record by far.

Awful

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.

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

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

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.

I don know

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.

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

Супэр обложка. Лучшая песня - Angels.

absolutely dreadful

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.

Meh, beyond the couple of mega singles.

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

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.

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

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

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

No

How could a Generation X make music this awful?

Got through 3 songs….nope

This is not special in any way.

Music for people who hate music.

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.

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.

Angels

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

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

no

Oh fuck off. This is Morrissey-level shite. One star.

Lol, no. I didn’t like this at all, and I’m not sure what about it I found so irritating. My tolerance for britpop is low to begin with, and this album felt like it was rubbing what I dislike about the genre in my face. Aggressively bland. Does this really deserve a 1? By my usual pattern, it would probably warrant a 2 (and “Angels” wasn’t terrible), but I was so annoyed while listening that it only seems fair.

Britpop at its worst.

That was very dull pop music

A bland distillation of a lot what was wrong with music at that time. I have no interest in Robbie’s climb from obscurity to stardom. Knowing without being self-aware.

Refused to listen.

Meh

Couldn't finish, just not my style

2/10 So...fucking...boring. 3-13-2025

I had never heard of Robbie Williams prior to this past 2024 Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve and it makes since that he would star in a over-produced, over-commercialized pile of shite (lame Iknow but you gotta throw it on). "Life Thru a Lens" is just bland pop-rock that checks all the boxes a label requires...cookie cutter back-up band, typical lyrical content, God songs, country influenced bs song, even a fuck-you haters hidden track. "Clean" was top track but did they have to throw in a wobbly record and space sounds? Yes they did because that's a box checker. List creator's need to explain this one to me...1.45 stars.

Whats the appeal? He's truly truly awful. This is the type of album that you need a zero star option for.

Terrible - why is this album on the list?

In a nutshell: the ego has landed. This is only on the list for two reasons: 1. Robbie's fanbase exploded after leaving/being kicked out of Take That (a ridiculously popular and overrated British boy band of the early 90s). 2. It was part of the 1990s zeitgeist, mainly in the UK. What I will give to Robbie Williams is that he followed in the footsteps of George Michael: he upended the pop star stereotype. Robbie was pop's "bad boy"... who also likens himself to a "performing monkey. Overall: 2/10

Not for me

Listened to it, didn't remember a single song

Oh sweet Jesus. Why? Is Take That and Party also here? Well I'm listening. I've not listened to 1002 albums just to let this stop me. And ok, I'd forgotten Lazy Days, that's actually quite a fun pop song. I've pretty much always hated Let Me Entertain You so not looking forward to that. Angels is Angels. It's a good song but obviously we've all heard the drunk boys and girls on the night bus yelling it too many times haven't we. Old Before I Die I remember being lame at the time, with Robbie aping Liam Gallagher all over the place, and the song sounded even more like Status Quo than Oasis (if such a thing were possible). Apparently South of the Border was a single also? I swear I've never heard that song before. Everything else is... something. Basically throwaway toss. I don't give out 1s lightly but this was mostly annoying catchy nonsense the whole way through.

I don't like any song on this album

I just can’t

Garbage.

Skipped over most of this. Hard to really take it seriously. No one needs to hear this before they die. Some massive songs on it and clearly a born entertainer, but there’s nothing that makes me think it is anything other than great marketing

Angels is a wonderful song - was overplayed at the time, and I don't mind Let Me Entertain You being played once a year. From (I think) Sing When You're Winning, I really like Supreme, but otherwise everything Robbie Williams has done isn't great. Very limited vocal range, too reliant on Guy Chambers and charisma that isn't cheeky chappy, but annoying idiot. I bet he's a really intrusive person, invites himself along to barbecues. This album is particularly overproduced, and contains absolute nonsense (Lazy Days, and the whole of the second half).

Truly awful. Can't stress enough that I will never get my time back listening to this. Waste of my time. It is like an even more shit version of Oasis.

1 Star (2/15)

disney channeli musiikkia.. mitä hemppua.. pakko olla teollisuuskasvi, niin älyttömän tylsää musiikkia. jotain tunnistettavia ok hittibiisejå mutta niin hirvittäviä korvaraiskaus hetkiä että mahdotonta nauttia ollenkaan hommasta.robi wilöiamssi... miten voi olla noin htvä näyttelijä mutta paska artisti...heh ivtisuä vaan... this album is listen after die when burn in hell.. hehheh... not in while before you die after in hel(in vainAJala) let me entertain you

Why the fuck is this on here? A fat washed up ex-boyband member produces a sad attempt at indie rock. He has a couple of huge hits that managed ti get played still on Saturday night terrestial TV and that's about it. The music is meat and potatoes that has gone rotten and the lyrics are so concerned with being cheeky they just don't really say anything. The attempt at a poem at the end to tell the teacher who said he was a twat as a kid is just shit. Sounds like he never really got over it - kind of taking away the point of the "poem." Utter dross. Best Tracks? Lazy Days; Angels; Let Me Entertain You

Crap

Besides that one karaoke song, this album makes me want to die.

The addition of this album kind of broke my rating strategy. I wish i could give it negative stars

Robbie, your album, woof

It's not bad per se, but there's no freakin' way this should be on this list.

This thing just sound like everything else britpop, but more annoying with a strange feeling of ripping off songs all the way through. Extremely mid stuff. A huge joke to find this album here.

Why was this on the list? WHY?

Dogshit

This whole album is just meh at best. I'd probably turn every one of these songs off if I heard them on the radio. They all sound like someone trying to be a better band that exists. Even then that would be a mediocre band. The most popular song on my streaming service is Angels. I liked that song least of all. My favorite song was Let Me Entertain You. Even though sounds like the first performance or opening theme song to a variety show or AGT or some such nonsense.

So… the fat dancer from take that tried coke, quit the band, hung out with oasis for a weekend, met a songwriter and rejuvenated his career through lifestyle magazine interviews, documentaries charting the ‘rise, fall and rise again’ and a later career flogging cat food on telly ensued. I don’t need to listen to this to know it’s dog-sh!t 1/5

Generic pop. Why is this on the list?

I had never heard of this artist, and at first thought "This has potential." An upbeat & peppy start but then I began to have doubts. When I got to work, I was sad laughing at the horrendous lyrics, and I didn't question why I'd never heard of him.

0 interest in this dribble

I'd heard Let Me Entertain You before and thought I might enjoy the album in a lightweight, fun way. Wow was I wrong - that was hard work.

You're kidding me, right?

I don't know man, this album just pissed me off.

Baaaaaad

Released at the fag end of Britpop, a cynical attempt to make stadium pop with echoes of the Dublin Castle. Sub-Oasis (and that's a low bar) - sneering vocals like Liam, really obvious tunes - Ego A Go Go. He's like Tommy Steele - an all-round entertainer, playing a rock and roller, and entirely unconvincing in the role. "To me it's magic, to the landlord it's tragic" - one of many clunking, lazy rhymes.

Just terrible. Generic ass music with cringy angst lyrics and nursery tier rhymes. I’m glad America won the revolutionary war so that we don’t have to be exposed to this garbage on our airwaves

I echo ben’s sentiment. This wasn’t good

Committed to getting through the albums I missed, which has lead me to skewering this guy on a random Sunday. About 40 minutes into this I started questioning if I actually liked music. Never heard of this fella, but saw his name in the news lately for making a biopic where he’s played by a CGI monkey. Based on this album alone I’m going to say that Robbie Williams is a douche. Jim Jeffries of music maybe, his brand is that he’s a wild rocker. At times the vibe is a 16 year old with a Clash T-shirt. I was particularly bothered by the Elton John impression on his ballad “Angels”. It doesn’t help matters that what he’s going for is Brit Pop, which I’m not learning I don’t enjoy. Two thumbs down on Life Through a Lense.

I genuinely tried, but couldn’t get into this. And to think Robbie Williams is the best selling singer songwriter of all time in the UK 😂 Idk, it felt like even the hits (Angel) weren’t interesting. Some of the singing was great

I hated this

Who made this list? Make it stop.

If you've ever wondered what kind of ego it takes to sustain a cocaine habit so ferocious you can namecheck both Kate Moss and Charlie Sheen, look no further.

How is this on the list?!

This is just bad oasis

Lyrics are awful.

I drew this album after 2 other mediocre dull british electronic albums and to be honest, I'm reaching my breaking point here. Had I gotten this after a truly great album I might be more receptive to this overproduced pop crap, but today is not that day. I won't be finishing this.

What’s the point?

Found this grating... I know there are some 'classic' pop songs of the era on the album but overall it was bad.

I just can’t. I listened to an entire Train album. That’s enough lame rock for me.

Over-rated utter horse shit.

Can't stand the man

Takes a lot from Elton but doesn't create anything interesting out of it.

This sounds like fake music from a movie, like the actor is trying generate a comeback album and this is what the writers came up with. Think Bill Nighy in Love, Actually. Absolute joke, why is this on the list.

Rubbish

What is this bullshit. Too bad there's no option for zero stars.

"Incredibly generic...." Albumin geneerisyyttä ei sovi ottaa huomioon... tämä tappaa demokratian eli enemmistön vallan... jos enemmistö lälläpopittaa albumin biisiä radiossa tarkoittanee tämä pelkästään objoktusfoorumin ulkopupoellle jäävän osuuden kasvavan... ihmiset tarttuvat miekkoihin ja sotivat enemmistöä vastaan... sankaritarinaako tässä... ukr-rus....Ukr get the russian cap.... mitä luulet arvostelusi tuovan tähän maailmaan... Noh mutta totta tosiaan kyllähän tämä yhtä tähteä obj...

Really? Why is this on the list?

Kinda weird!

Really did not enjoy it. All of it felt like filler run of the mill pop content. Even Angels, normally a pretty good song, didn't stand out much because it was right in the middle of the album.

Robbie sounds like an ex boy band member trying to hard too shake that old image

If you don't think mid-career Oasis is bloated and bland enough you'll love this album. I always thought he was more of a post boy band ballad singer and didn't realize he had this much of a rock sound, but this is basically a low effort brit pop album with a touch of blink 182 and smashmouth. Angels is laboratory engineered to manipulate the mawkish sentimentality English people confuse with emotion.

Could have been worse

Please stop

This album is laughably bad.

This album made me wish I could be at a concert of this album with my friend, Dave. Dave has a great laugh—we would’ve been doubled over for hours at some of the cringey lyrics on this album. Seriously, Baby Girl Window is a title of a song? Alas, I had to listen alone. I’m new to this list of albums and have a lot of listening to do, but c’mon. Artists have been releasing full albums since the 50’s. How are some of these albums making the top 1001 you have to listen to before you die? There have got to be plenty of great albums to chose from. A little surprised at what’s making the cut.

What the fuck was this

No.

The only Robbie Williams song I like (Millennium) isn't on this album so that deducts huge points. The rest is British douchiness that was way too prevalent in the late 90s. Hey Robert Dimery. Not everything Britain makes music wise is great. This was utter tosh.

This whole album manages to sound extremely generic and VERY annoying at the same time. I’m on Track 2 and the lead singer is really getting on my nerves. Track 1 did not… inspire confidence. Some of those transitions were waaaay too calculated. We have 45 minutes to go! Oh boy. Carson says Budget Coldplay, I get strong vibes of Budget Blur. And Budget Blur… is really something you don’t want to be budgeting on. I don’t like to do this, normally. Such direct comparisons invite trivializing the whole, no doubt laborious, complicated artistic affair. But this really is a trivial album. And it’s flippant and unserious and clearly trend-chase-y. So I’m also allowed to be a little unserious, too. 1/5. Get this off the list! Posthaste!

How is this on the list with some all-time classic albums???

Wtf, how could this even be on the list?!?

Åh gud nei...

I could do without this album. Gave me a headache.

No. You're being silly.

I love dogshit britrock

No fucking way. This is shit, Mary.

Fucking awful. Nearly had a heart attack when I saw the last track was 14 minutes.

pop cinicism

This is bad. . . It may prompt me to quit this service and find a different list of albums. What an absolutely awful record.

I entered this with an open mind. This closed it.

Trur detta albumet hadde ein signifikant negativ påvirkning på livsgleden min i mine yngre daga, og da e mulig Robbie skylde meg et par leveår

Let Me Entertain You is actually hilariously bad.

Can't stand it.

Wtf is this bullshit? No fucking way am I sitting through this horrendous pop crap. Fuck the dipshit who added this to the list.

Well that was a waste of bandwidth.

I honestly couldn't make it through the album. I was hating it from the get go and then had to stop on track 3 after the lyrics "cover me in your golden shower". Why is there so many shitty British 90s rock albums on this list? What a load of piss.

This is objectively bad music in every way. I can't see how this was, has been or ever could be consequential to anyone. Just a garbage fire over here. I would give this 0 out of 5 stars if I could.

Did not enjoy this. I don't like his voice, and the whole album sounded like knockoffs of songs I might enjoy (or might roll my eyes at) rewritten with painfully rhymey lyrics.

irredeemable garbage from start to finish

"your conversation's boring as hell" well how would you describe this song Robbie A lot of this album kind of makes me think of how when Ryan Adams covered 1989 and Calum Scott covered "Dancing On My Own"* they seemed to inexplicably (or explicably) get a lot of critical acclaim. Probably because I saw that this album doesn't actually contain his first (hit) single which was a cover of "Freedom" by George Michael that strips out all of the character found in the original, and imo this album has a similar lack of experimentation and personal style. I was gonna give it a 2 until I got to the secret spoken word poem. *I'm honestly still not over how one of my closest "nearly got run over as a pedestrian" incidents was a young man in a minivan, in a parking lot, absolutely zooming through the path where I was clearly visible, with this song version blasting out loud through the entirely-fully-down windows. The Gen Z twinks don't know who Robyn is and it's leading to the downfall of Western society

I've given this two stars because, if you like this sort of thing - and I most emphatically do not - then I guess there are a couple of hit singles which people enjoyed... On second thoughts, one star because I cannot stand Robbie WIlliams' music.

I really hope Spotify doesn't include this listen in their algorithms.

Felt somehow bland, like it was created by AI and was trying to be emotional. Just felt off and forced. Not a fan of this artist even though I know he's huge in the UK

crap

I listened with an open mind since I had never heard of this guy, but no, could not find anything to like about it. Not sure how it wound up on this list to be honest

This album is just really overproduced boring pop-rock (with an emphasis on the pop). The lyrics are bad and cheesy, not really sure what the creators of this list sees in this album that would warrant it being included on this list. Standout Tracks: N/A

Shite thru a lens

Nope. Not good. Kinda feels like he heard Oasis and thought, "I reckon I could do that better by making the songs less interesting and more shallow, but poppier." Did I seriously hear my dude sing a line about living long enough to see the Pope get high? Sheezus...

Oh boy britpop but poppier. That'll fix it.

god PLEASE eeeNUFF of this mediocre british NONSENSE!!!!!!!! I’M FUCKING TIRED OF IT!!!!! I GET IT!!!!!!! YOU’RE FUCKING BRITISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET OVER IT IDC YR NOT THAT IMPORTANT!!!!!!! seriously why is this shit in the list. ?¿ is every fucking british album ever made in this list or…?

Really? Ffs, I think this book might be overrated.

Something doesn’t add up here

No matter how bad an album may be, there's bound to be a scenario where it could serve some purpose. The CIA used Springsteen for torture music, Backstreet Boys could be serviceable work-out music in a pinch, and even a shitty band like Coldplay could seamlessly fade to the background of a shopping mall's ambience. But THIS. I can't think of any viable scenario where this would be of any use to anyone whatsoever. If for some reason you still have some old AOL discs hanging around, take them along with this Robbie Williams mess, and hang 'em up in your background to scare crows away. 🐦‍⬛

Seriously? This is just shit.

Rock / Pop with the rough edges taken off. Good production and I can see why it had a big audience. Not for me though. 1/5.

Not for me. Seems vapid and the singer seems pretentious.

When some music hits you, you do feel pain.

0 if I could.

Holy shit this is a bad album. Why would this piece of britpop shit be an album that "everyone should hear before they die", unless it was to make sure that everyone is exposed to middle of the road bad music made by rich English people? 1/5

Now this is really bad, I thought I could find it a bit enjoyable but nah, it’s shit. I have a friend whose favorite artist is Robbie lol, he does not know shot about music in the slightest.

Is it terrible that I can't remember anything about this alum 24 hours later?

Je m'attendais à rien, je suis quand même déçu

Fade

I moved from Australia to London in 1997. Back then we had a huge alternative music scene in Oz, fueled in part by a national youth radio station dedicated to Indie and Alternative music. I'd never heard of Take That and no-one I knew talked about pop music at all. I'm sure some people knew who Robbie Williams was but for me he was in a world I could happily ignore. UK was a different beast - no real alternative radio (apart from bits of pieces on BBC and the ill-fated XFM) - the Xmas number one was a huge thing, boy bands and girl bands dominated the radio and press. Robbie was part of that machine, and that machine helped make this plastic piece of piss popular. This is muzak, a pop star searching for cred.

I was dreading this as soon as I saw I had this album today but I tried to be optimistic, thinking it must be an alright pop album. I still didn’t enjoy it at all, though. I don’t care if there are two big singles off of this album, they aren’t enough to make up for anything here so it’s a no for me, dawg. It’s nothing groundbreaking or original, the lyrics are dumb and his voice is grating. Sure, this is completely subjective based on hearing about him since my childhood, but it’s also my rating.

I really hated this. Post-britpop/hyper-britpop, and I don't care for britpop. It's super bad. 1/5

UK 90s hit parade pop is non-comparable with the decade before, and this is another "late" album that seems to be selected on basis of sale numbers. At its best moments the albums it sounds like an Elton John record but even a bit more sentimental. That could be nice though, but the songs themselves are just not so memorable.

This is a boring album. The music felt like royalty free music that you would find in like a movie or something. I was not feeling anything from this album. Favorite song: Older before I die Worst song: Baby girl window

fuckin hell m8, pour a glass oot for oor gar'barlow whose bin absilutily forgoten by this shity list for a two bit mug lit bobbi williums let me entirtain you? nah mate, pyure angliphyle pish

NBz No PL adds. No jive.

Really, really awful.

Eeeew. Dross! How did this even make the list?! Just no.

BRUH, mid as fuck the only thing impressive about this album is that his career didn’t end after this like shit, this dude’s got no talent, he didn’t play any instruments, he didn’t write any songs, all he can do is sing with his mediocre voice, that’s all he has to show off like yeah, Oasis has similar vocal quality, but they’re a whole-ass band that can write actually good songs the quality is so mediocre on this and the only thing he can do is sing, it’s just embarrassing listening to this and the fact that the working title for this album was “The Show-Off Must Go On” makes this clusterfuck even more laughable I’m giving this a 2/10, and that feels generous

Nope

dom flesta andra album som jag gett ettor kan jag nånstans förstå varför dom finns med i boken men det här är ju bara tråkig pop som tusentals andra album i samma era och genre?

No. Just no.

Get fucked.

Gud va dehä stinker....liksom FR varför är det här på listan? Vad för inflytande har denna skiva? Instrumenten låter (bortsett från nån sång på akustisk gitarr) totalt färglösa, herr Williams är inte en bra/intressant sångare, låttexterna är skräp, och albumet har bokstavligen ingenting nytt att säga!! Robert Dimerys smak är usel då han inte väljer klassiker.

Easier to take if you pretend you are Tina Belcher but I did not like this. Laughably bad lyrics; "I hope I live to see the day the Pope gets high" made me snort.

The album only contain a couple of good songs, in general bad

Technically a 'did not listen' but I've heard it on many a car ride with my mum as a child. I've got a profound dislike of Robbie Williams and things similar due to that kind of over exposure and it just being very not what I'm in to.

Only half was on Spotify. That wasn’t a bad thing.

Terrible. Honestly don’t know why it’s in the book.

Played at my old job too much

Literally an inch better than George Michael´s Faith, and that´s it. Find both horrible to hear. Although I have given 2 stars for George, which now I regret, because he sings better.

No thank you.

How did this make it on the list? Did he pay to be on here? Killing Me is the only good song, and even then. CANDY AND ROCK DJ AREN'T EVEN ON HERE. Looks v hot on the album cover though.

Dopo i primi 2 minuti il senso di morte e dolore era forte e volevo che la fine arrivasse il prima possibile. Poi forse perché c'ho fatto l'orecchio o perché lavorando non ho prestato troppa attenzione sono arrivato in fondo abbastanza velocemente. Innanzitutto bisogna dire che il sound anni 90 era veramente terribile, in questo disco a tratti ho sentito alcune soluzioni di arrangiamento e produzioni interessanti però a servizio di un prodotto discutibile. Questo è un disco da 1.5 però alla fine gli do 1 più che 2 perchè risentendolo mentre scrivo sto pensando "oh cristo".

Not for me

ruim

I never liked his singles. I gave this album a go and I still don't like his music.

Niet mijn meuk

Bellend.

Commercial radio is chock full of artists like this and that’s why I don’t listen to it. Happily, I haven’t heard of Robbie until now. I’m pleased that despite the global success of this LP, it never charted in Canada or the US.

Who dis?

Could not listen. Not on Spotify, not complete on YouTube.

1997. Key Songs: Angels

Rubbish

awful shite