Life Thru A Lens

I did not love or hate this, I was always curious why the Brits love him and he had not become popular here but it’s probably the same reason Justin Timberlake is not that huge over there. Perfectly fine but not my cup of tea.

Gaudy and gleaming, this rocks a bit more than one would have expected from a boy band alum and a tabloid-y star, but anything remotely approaching soulful is buried under an excess of dubious effects pointed squarely at the mass market (and probably quite well researched, too). The mawkish "God's Better People" gives the game away. The world would be a better place if fewer people cared about such mass-produced/mass-marketed outputs as this or needy-reaching mediocrities as RW, who seems to want to be a celeb more than anything else. One pities those young people who might have been captivated however briefly (and one cetainly hopes it was brief) by all the soaring and reaching or thought it coudln't get any better or more meaningful. Really, who cares? Speaking as. a Yank, one's glad this was mainly an Anglo phenomenon, a British invasion that would have been pretty easily resisted. Mostly forgettable and totally disposable pop. Points off for ever being in an boy band.

Versatility: One of the standout features of "Life Thru a Lens" is its versatility. Robbie Williams effortlessly navigates through various musical styles, from pop and rock to ballads and dance-infused tracks. This diversity showcases his broad musical talent and sets the stage for his future albums. Hit Singles: The album includes some of Robbie's early hits, such as "Angels," "Old Before I Die," and "Lazy Days." These songs remain staples in his discography and helped him gain a massive fan base. "Angels," in particular, has become an anthem and is considered one of his signature songs. Lyricism: Robbie's lyrics are often witty, introspective, and at times, cheeky. They reflect his personal journey and struggles, which adds depth to the album. Tracks like "Life Thru a Lens" and "Ego a Go-Go" show his lyrical prowess. Production: The production on "Life Thru a Lens" is polished and well-crafted. It benefits from a blend of contemporary pop and rock sounds that were popular in the late '90s. The catchy melodies and memorable hooks make the album easy to listen to. Emotional Range: The album showcases a broad emotional range, from the melancholic and introspective tracks like "Angels" to the more upbeat and playful ones like "Let Me Entertain You." This emotional diversity adds depth to the listening experience. Personal Growth: "Life Thru a Lens" marks Robbie's personal growth and independence as an artist. It was a critical moment in his career and life, signaling the start of a successful solo journey that would continue for years to come. In conclusion, "Life Thru a Lens" is a fantastic debut album that set the stage for Robbie Williams' enduring career. Its variety, hit singles, and thoughtful lyricism make it a classic in the pop music landscape. If you're a fan of Robbie Williams or '90s pop music in general, this album is a must-listen and a testament to the talent of one of the UK's most iconic artists.

Blind album and artist period it's the 90s I can't hate it but it's not breathtaking.

Sorry Robbie, but listening to this album in this context really highlights how two dimensional cut and paste pop it is.

crap

Very George Michael. Nice to listen to in the background but got tired halfway through when actively listening. Would revisit

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

Love this album. Robbie Williams at his post boy band best

Guilty pleasure or serious pop-rock artist? Or a little bit of both? And does it really matter? Life Thru A Lens is a good first album by Williams and Chambers. The seemingly Oasis and Britpop inspired music by Chambers goes well with the clever lyrics from Robbie. And it makes for a fun listen, with some very underappreciated songs ("South Of The Border", "Old Before I Die") and a single that in the time never made it further than the tip parades ("Let Me Entertain You") but which I still appreciate and has been the opener of many of my DJ sets. The album after this one ("I've Been Expecting You") was a step up from this one with the writing skills of both Chambers and Williams taking a massive step forward, and the songs "Karma Killer" and "No Regrets" made Robbie Williams fully in the spotlight for me. It's a 3* album. But I'll mark it as 4* for the non-inclusion of his (better) sophomore album.

I know I shouldn't like it as a fully grown woman, but I was a huge fan of Robbie Williams as a young teen. I haven't listened to his stuff in a long time, I've moved on from the tastes of my teens, but I couldn't help myself from enjoying listening to this album back after so long. Its a blatant attempt at trying to be more rock and to shed his happy chappy Take That persona, but despite all this I really enjoyed going back to the late 90's and remembering being sat in my room as a kid listening, or jumping around my best friends bedroom to Let Me Entertain You all those years ago.

There's no doubt that there are some really good pop songs on this album. And I did enjoy listening to it. Will I be playing the album again, probably not.

Robbie has his place and it is not on a list of essential albums Not a 1 because Angels is a classic and LMEY is fun (and should be the first track) Outside of those two this is pretty dull stuff

Interesting throughout. Not expecting to like it as much as I did

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

It was good but generic as if you asked AI to create a UK male singer that was liked across all demographics.

From the lead singer of the boy band Take That, he sings the most stereotypical British pop music out there. Songs like "South of the Boarder" and "Old Before I Die" prove he's trying hard to mimic Oasis but not having any idea how to craft a good song. At least there's creative effort put into the production effects, but there's nothing of value in his voice or instruments, and the song structures are just so predictable and boring. Most of it is trash but at least the weird synths and samples make it a bit intriguing.

Boy band bad boy does Britpop plus 'Angels'. Definition of inessential. 'Let Me Entertain You' owes Bon Jovi a writing credit.

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...

And here I thought Robbie Williams just made music for FIFA game menu screens. There is a fun energy to some songs here and some funny lyrics. Many of the lyrics are trite, though, and the ballads completely lost me. I found this fairly juvenile and inconsequential.

De flesta britpopiga låtarna här låter som något som inte skulle kommit med på ett Blur- eller Oasisalbum. Därför förstår jag inte riktigt varför jag ska lyssna på det här. Ibland är det bra, när albumet viker av från 90-talets britpopvåg och gör något eget. Som i fina 'One of God's Better People', 'Angels', som får mig att känna som jag är med i en film, eller extremt underhållande 'Let Me Entertain You'. Tyvärr är dessa avvikelser, och det blir oftast bara slätstruket och ointressant. Har ändå tänk att det finns guilty pleasure-potential i Robbie Williams, så blev lite besviken. Bästa låt: Let Me Entertain You.

Partly heard before Saved 3/11 Top track: Let Me Entertain You

quite banal as he is

Definitely not my kind of music. It’s overproduced and doesn’t feel genuine.

The classic “boy-band-member-goes-solo-and-releases-a-slightly-less-pop-album” trope that’s been around since, idk, forever? Most of this record is super poppy britpop. Not bad but nothing special either. The kind of CD that constantly clutters thrift shops.

I am only familiar with one Robbie Williams song and that is his cover of Beyond the Sea on Finding Nemo. Disappointingly this cover was not on the album and the music was nothing like that all. The album is best described as Brit Pop. It was not particularly good and I do not plan on listening to it again or other Robbie Williams music.

Robbie Williams is clearly trying to shake off his boy band roots here. He attempts pop punk early in the album and settles mostly on a weak Britpop like sound. He is a great singer, but the songwriting is nothing special and the music is derivative. The last spoken word track is excruciating.

Listening now to the tracks on this album it strikes me that it was only ever really about Robbie as a performer. The 2 hits are pretty good and the rest of the album is pretty generic but it's all about him as a personality magnet. If you don't buy into the persona then I guess this will be pretty blah to you, but boy did Robbie hit the pinnacle of stardom at the time.

Angels is a banger of course the rest is decent enough pop delivered with a wink which stood him out at the time but doesn't stand up years later. 2

Not for me

Baita som tche

Some nice power pop 90's stuff. Some cheesy wedding ballads too, but a decent blend for an album I've never given a chance to.

This isn't my favorite Robbie Williams album but I like them all. 4

Maybe you had to be there?

This was some Brit pop rubbish if I’ve ever heard it. The songs were so jumbled in sound and lacked cohesion. This sounded like a boy band trying to be oasis. It wasn’t very good however in comparison to many albums on this list it’s still okay but would not revisit it. 4.0/10

Good dnoygsupzcwj 90s pop album. Nothing too revolutionary or outstanding, but of course that’s not the point here. It’s good enough to put on in the background although some tracks are just weird. Angels is amazing though, a perfect pop ballad. There’s plenty of references to britpop, some tracks just plain sound like smoothened out Oasis. There’s also a Beatles reference, when Robbie tries singing like Lennon on Old Before I Die. There are some nice instrumental additions here and there, occasional piano passage or the horns in the back of the chorus on Ego Agogo. Not sure if it should be on the list, maybe as a perfect embodiment of a specific time and place in music? It would be a 2.5 but Angels is really good, so let’s go with a 3. Oh and the cover art is pretty.

3.5 stars. Reminds me of Everclear~esque 90's radio alt rock. Thought the slower, ballad-y stuff wasn't as good as the higher energy alt rock sound. Standout is "Let Me Entertain You".

Robbies debut, britisk pop, et par bangers, lidt generisk

Not sure about this one Robbie tries his best Liam Gallagher impression on a lot of these songs Angels is decent, as is Let Me Entertain You (even though it shamelessly rips off Sympathy For The Devil)

Ik kan hier best van genieten, maar ik snap eigenlijk niet waarom het in deze lijst staat. Het valt voor mij in de categorie ‘guilty pleasure’.

Trying to keep in mind things that ‘sell well’ are generally worth considering for a list like this for sure I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I would. The music is seriously dated sonically, but I actually think he’s a good vocalist. For real he sounds good. I also dig the move away from whatever-the-fuck genre of Take That to this ‘britpop’ feel (yes it’s overproduced, yes it’s maybe a thin-ish facade over multi-writer/multi-producer/label-engineered ‘standard’ pop a la Britney Spears, but it’s coming close to fooling me haha) Angels is a legit radio monster and almost enough to push this to 3 stars... but not quite.

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

Had always heard this name but didn't know what type of music he made. It was pretty generic radio friendly stuff. Nothing to write home about and nothing that really impressed. Could have been done by a few hundred different artists. 2.5/5

I had not heard of the artist or heard any of his music that I can recall. Always great to hear something new. I listened to it and it was...okay. I have to admit that although I can hear the skill in the performances, I just never felt that pulled into it or all that interested. I can see why this album appeals to some listeners, but not so much to me.

This has kind of a Blur vibe, which is pleasant. In fact all this aims for is pleasant. One Of God's Better People has some nice acoustic guitar work.

On UTOPIA release day?!!!?!?!

What a wonderful solo debut

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…?

Surprisingly quite good. Full of poppy attitude and really representing the late 90s perfectly. Loads of hits.

Even with Robbie Williams sounding a lot like Liam Gallagher (at least to me), I liked a lot of what I heard. Robbie seemed to be trying different things throughout the album. And eve though some of the songs (musically and lyrically) may not be as good as one was hoping, he at least was willing to try something new. Some of the songs that did not work for me: Angels, Baby Girl Window. I mean, forget the hidden track at the end there, "Baby Girl Window" still sounds a bit on the immature side. The poem at the end doesn't help, but I get why it was there. "Angels".... look I know it's a VERY popular song, but singing about loving angels, it's just... bleah. Songs that really worked for me: "Let Me Entertain You," "Old Before I Die." The first one was almost like him saying he could do a musical if necessary. "Old Before I Die" comes off a bit more tongue in cheek to me. Was there a bit of autotune? Possibly. The music is pretty positive for the most part, and done very well. The songs are pretty personal and I can see why he would leave a group to record them. I liked this album quite a lot, even with the few clunkers that were there. Definitely a surprise for me.

It's not bad, but still kind of meh. I mean sure, boy band member goes solo and puts out a slightly less pop album. But it's still pop even with the rock elements. And it's not like he added anything rock to it; he's not playing any instruments, just singing. So I don't get what the big deal is even though I think Robbie Williams carved out a nice solo career and he showed he has talent. I did particularly like the screw you ode to his former teacher in the bonus track - good lyrics and wordplay. Let Me Entertain You was my favorite actual song - almost a modern Elton John feel to it. Baby Girl Window wasn't too shabby either. A solid 3 but I don't think I can give it more.

3+

Vraiment nice Robbie boy. I like pop rock britannique. J'ai vraiment aimé l'ambiance et les sons de cet album. (Moins que Janice, mais still).

Mandatory presence in every charity shop in the Midlands, alongside Travis - you don't find Beatles and Stones CDs being discarded this frequently Therefore, utter shite, without even listening

Harry Styles of the 90s

A very “safe” (read: vanilla) blend of Britpop, Madchester, Elton John, and Williams’ own pop roots. Makes Oasis seem like Motörhead.

Guilty pleasure. Stands up quite well.

Like

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

наверное почти такой же как предыдущий

Couple of absolute snorters on this one Angels, Old Before I Die and Lazy Days. Rest is bang average. However, I’m removing a star as the fat fucker is one reprehensible human being.

Something doesn’t add up here

Strikes me as decent run-of-the-mill Oasis-era made-for-the-masses brit pop. I like his voice for the most part, but some of the lyrics were embarrassingly cliche - "Angels" being the worst offender in that regard. I thought the softer, more stripped down songs were standouts, they sounded more natural and less like he was just trying to impress us (thinking of "One of God's Better People" and "Killing Me").

I'm not British so I've not listened to Robbie Williams before. I was vaguely aware of his existence being generally interested in music as a teenager in the late 90s. I probably saw reviews of his records in magazines and the like, but never took the time to investigate any further. Now, all these years later, I now know I made the right choice.

Wowza, boring as 90s pop as it gets. Completely forgettable radio-friendly disposable music.

Listened Before? No Never heard of this guy before, but there are two songs on the album with oodles of listens. As a general sentiment, Brit pop rock is not among my favorite genres. Lazy Days is fine for what it is, but doesn't get me going. The title track adopts a bit more alt flavor that parallels post-Dookie Green Day or some Offspring songs. Ego Agogo is a boppy pop-rock song; kind of fun tbh. Most listened to single "Angles" sounds like a Christian rock song in the worst of ways. Not a fan. Alright, this really hasn't gotten any better the longer it has gone on. I could see how this would appeal to someone. There isn't anything outright offensive, and the production is fine, if at times pretty flat. For me, this isn't it -- I have no interest in finishing the last two songs on the record after pausing. Solid 2 / 5 for me. Added to Library? NO

Great for the 1 hit, angels, although i would have been a fan 5 years ago in highschool, i am not so much of a fan of pop, but still a good album 3/5

Corporate britpop

‘Life Thru A Lens’ is brash and unashamedly pop, but mostly it’s fun. It’s peak 90s, complete with a hidden track at the end, something which a lot of artists did, as it was the style at the time. I’m ashamed to admit I like this more than I probably should.

first listen this album is not very good

cool

I really thought this would be better. Fav track: Angels

Robbie's never really been my flavour of pop rock aside from a few undeniable bangers. This didn't really change things for me - I found it to be mostly duds, with cheesy production and lyrics even on the big tracks, and I don't think Robbie has the persona to carry them over the top. Fave track: Hello Sir

A couple good tracks washed out by a lot of crap ones. The boring production on this makes it a slog at times, and the key change at the end of Old Before I Die nearly made my brain pop like a balloon. Not great pop here for the most part. Fave track: Let Me Entertain You

Heard before. *me screaming the lyrics of Angels* I had this weird, but short, Robbie Williams phase as a grade-schooler. I enjoyed this album, it's almost a 4, but I'll still rate it 3. Or should I? + Angels + Old Before I Die + Let Me Entertain You + Killing Me + Clean + Baby Girl Window and a shoutout to the hidden track

C'était sincèrement meilleur que j'anticipais. Je ne m'attendais pas du tout à ce qu'il y aille une vibe rock voir pop-punk ska aussi présente. Mélangé au style plus pop conventionnel ça faisait un mélange très intéressant. Ce n'est pas un album qui est si incroyable par ses compositions on ses paroles, mais généralement l'exécution est assez solide que c'est facile de passer au travers. Un bon équilibre entre radio friendly et intriguant. 7/10

pretty good pop album.

I got the feeling this album wanted to make me go out and buy rubbers. I did not go out and buy rubbers. Instead, I learned this dude was in the band called Take That, who had a hit song in the states that everyone except myself loved for a hot minute. This dude surely thought he was the second coming of George Michael. He wasn't George Michael. He wasn't even Andrew Ridgeley.

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.

Pretty great album. Loved the singing and music arrangement. Could do without the 14 minute track of two songs equaling five minutes of music on a 15 minute track. Common in the 90’s, annoying to revisit.

It’s alright I guess

HL: "Let Me Entertain You", "Old Before I Die", "Angels" Very much middle-of-the road stuff overall. It can be energetic, and catchy, but there's something I'm craving that wasn't there. Using my surface-level research, I've concluded that it's a safe bet from an already established singer-songwriter in the UK that borrowed sounds from the hitmakers of '97, and sold a load of copies. It doesn't do a lot for me now, but I have nothing against it

Boy, I sure have learned that I don’t like britpop. It sounds like what 90’s tv movies for kids look like. I didn’t hate the whole album, but every time I came close to liking a song I’d hear the dumbest imaginable rhyme and lose interest. Ego Agogo in particular sounds like a cut track from an Austin Powers soundtrack.

I didn't like this.

Another good album

“You’re not a middle aged white lady who wants to sleep with him,” my wife replied to my derision at this album. Formulaic and tired, this thing has all of the hackneyed 90s music production tropes on garish display.

Boring pop-rock. It’s not particularly bad, but one could also say that it’s not entirely ground breaking or creative, either. It’s like you take the powerful electric guitar away from Lenny Kravitz and you’re left with this.

Mediocre.

I know this dude has a huge following, but it sounds like standard British pop. Meh.

Life Thru a Lens and Ego Agogo were bops, even if the lyrics are stupid. This album is shades of that Kid Rock album with South of the Border. I'd argue the music is better, but the lyrics and singing are pretty garbage. Kinda whiny.

Classic 90s alternative sound. I was really expecting a completely forgotten one hit wonder banger that would come on while at the neighborhood pool in the summer of 1998 to be on this album randomly

This isn't really it for me. I can hear some Oasis in this, but with too much of a poppiness to it. Not something I'll revisit but not the worst thing I've heard in my life.

Il y a quelque chose dans la voix de Robbie Williams qui ne me revient pas. Les thèmes me semblent plus anecdotiques. Il faudrait qu'on m'explique pourquoi cet album s'est classé au palmarès dans son genre

Angel is still a beautiful song and the rest is better then expected. But it’s still sometimes so cringe that it’s hard to listen to.

OK, I was thinking "maybe I've heard the name 'Robbie William' but not totally sure." Definitely have never heard of his original band, Take That. Chalk it up to the hard-on for UK bands, maybe it'll be good.... Yeah, no. I saw that Angels had 420M plays on spotify so I figured I'd surely heard this guy. Nope. And god damn, the poppy stuff was so boring and derivative and then Angels was his slow ballad that just sounded like a really poor Elton John impression.

Really? "Hide away in your ivory tower and cover me in your golden shower"... Feel like my ears have just been covered in piss after listening to this one. Awful pop rock from someone trying to come across as a bad boy. Cringe. Angels stops it from being 1*. 1.5*.

This album felt like something I had heard before, no particular reason beyond maybe just radio music when we were kids in the car. Not sure why this is on the list as it just felt like basic late 90's pop. Oh, surprise surprise he is from the UK.

Never heard of this guy, apparently he was in some boy band and this was him breaking out, like a Harry Styles or Zayn or whatever. It's '90s pop music with not much to speak of in terms of style or substance. The Wikipedia shows mostly warm reception, but nothing to warrant inclusion here. Some critic said the following: "There's nothing here... sure, Robbie Williams is as fascinating a hapless goon as we're ever likely to come across. But this album feels more like a press release than an album – and that's not what I call music." I second that. Listen to "Ego Agogo" if you need confirmation. Nothing is terrible here, it's just....well it's nothing. And nothing sucks, especially on a list of albums that should be something. Maybe the author of this list was a family friend. Favorite tracks: Angels. Album art: This picture is pretty much exactly what I'd expect from a boy band singer breaking out into a debut. "Ooooh, I'm in the limelight, but I'm still a bit of a mystery. I've lived life through the lens, and finally that lens is turned on me and me alone. Brace yourself, world!" Funny to contrast his face on the cover with the poppy music that he made. 1.5/5

One of the most aggressively British albums I've ever heard. I didn't mind any song, but I also wasn't moved by anything.

Good album.

Life Thru A Lens, Angels, Old Before I Die, Let Me Entertain You and Clean. I didn’t have to listen to this. 5/10

I also didn't need to listen to this, British guy who made the list. ego agogo, let me entertain you

Un 4 por Angel y Old before I die (no sabía que era suya)

This is very commercialised pop-rock music - Robbie's voice is good and he has a charisma so it was more listenable. 'Angels' and 'Let Me Entertain You' stand out to me, otherwise it can get quickly boring musically. I'm giving it a 2.5/3 just because it was pretty enjoyable as a background music while I was cleaning windows lol.

When some music hits you, you do feel pain.

As far as pop music goes this is more my speed. A bit overproduced but it was a fun listen. Kind of "more of the same" don't really see why this makes the list.

Miehen vanha musa osuu kyllä johonkin kohtaan mustaa sielua ja pidän tyypin soundista. Ei yhtään totaalista hutia ja pari megalekaa riittää kolmoseen.

Tää ei iskeny teininä, mut myöhempinä vuosina Robbie on saanut kyllä meikältä arvostusta. Levyllä kaverin paras, myös karaokebravuuriksi noussut, Let Me Entertain You. Varma kolmonen.

Not sure if I primed myself unfairly for Robbie, but his lyrics take the fore unfortunately. Nothing but the poem is particularly objectionable; I'm just happy not to have waited a hidden-track silence for it.

A reasonably enjoyable album, but nothing special. 3/5

Had no idea what to expect. Really good. Kind of sounded like George Michael.

0 if I could.

Would I characterize this album as "bad?" I would not. Does it sound like Robbie Williams doesn't have his own personality and essentially tries to do karaoke versions of songs that sound like Oasis but were not written by Oasis? Yes, it does. Nothing bad here and there are 2-3 really great tracks that can be found on this album. I don't see anything different or a compelling reason to listen to this album, no matter whether you were a Take That fan or a fan of music. Comparing this album to Harry Styles debut album is like night and day, as Styles challenges himself and doesn't feel like he's creating hits that sound like other hits. Not a bad album, but in no way deserves a spot in this book.

Si soy sincero, sí se siente algo genérico. A pesar de esto, no creo que sea malo, solo, eso, le falta tomar riesgos. Aún así, prefiero esto a algo tan arriesgado que se nota a leguas que solo se hizo para ser aclamado por pretensiosos y ser puesto en un pedestal cuando ni si quiera suena bien como varios de los álbumes que eh escuchado hasta ahora (que no son muchos). Finalmente, le doy 2 no por que sea malo en sí, si no por que, realmente, no creo que pertenezca a esta lista

Nothing awesome but a couple good jams.

a do angel la

Robbie what on Earth are you doing here??

I wanted to give this a higher score as I genuinely believe Let Me Entertain You and Angels are two of the best pop songs of all time, and there are some other great deeper cuts on here, but unfortunately there are also songs like South of the Border which is absolute dog shit

I liked listening to this. Helps that its got two alltimer banger pop songs: Angels and Let Me Entertain You.

Not bad, but nothing special besides the 2 obvious bangers.

Typical music of the late 90s. Rock was in fashion, so the pop album perfectly mimics the rock. The artist's voice is pleasant, but I didn't hear anything catchy in the album. The cover is not catchy, at least there is a man's ass in Under The Radar.

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

I was expecting to find reasons to hate this, but it's actually alright. It sounds like a second tier Britpop album, or like Oasis, but with a bit more humour and a bit less plod. Guy Chambers is clearly a smart songwriter, taking tropes and just expanding them enough they become fun again. In hindsight, his success is obvious on the strength of this album - to be fair, I thought more of these hits came later in his career, but it was pretty front loaded!

I know this is fairly good 90s pop, but really can't be fucked to listen to it. Sorry

wow, dette var dårlig. Let me entertain you, på den andre siden, er sinnsykt fengende.

When a mainstream pop artist (and former member of a cheesy boys band) takes a page out of the book of Britpop to sing his way to a more respected position. The thing is, the overall result is patchy, with some good moments in it and others that are, well, not so good. You can't be Oasis or Blur if it's not in your blood from the get-go. The two first tracks slap, I'm not gonna lie. Indeed, "Lazy Days" and "Life Through A Lens" display effective songwriting, epic melodic lines, and smart chord changes. After them, "Ego Agogo" is catchy, I guess, even if it's also a little annoying. The next track, "Angels", is a saccharine cut that left quite a huge impression in the UK (I know, I lived there for a while not too long after this record came out). And as far as reenactments of Elton John-styled ballads go, you could find far worse out there. So, the first four tracks are solid. Too bad that everything after soon peters out into indistinctive tunes following the same template of those early songs without having their strength. Oh, "Let Me Entertain You" is another catchy one for sure (that's another track that was huge in Britain at the time). But just like "Ego Agogo", it can turn into an annoying gimmicky showcase about William's mischievous public persona. Which means "all surface, no substance", a critique that can actually be addressed to the album itself. And I'd even say that listening to such a shallow record decades after its release mostly emphasizes this major flaw here. I hesitate between 2/5 and 3/5 here (2.5?). But even with this hesitation still in mind, you don't need a dozen photographers to get the picture, I guess... Number of albums left to review or just listen to: a little more than 600, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens:  approximately a half so far  Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter (including this one)

Är väl ok om det spelas nån låt på radio. Annars rätt ointressant.

It was actually kind of enjoyable. Few big hits. Not my favorite genre, but surprised 3 stars.

the cover art made me want to dislike this album more than I did. does not seem like a person I want to hang out with

it was okay. weak 3 I think

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.

Nothing particularly bad, nothing memorable. Two songs I, and most people, like: "Angels" and "Let Me Entertain You".

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

Fairly forgettable pop. It was a pleasant enough listen but no songs really stood out to me and I can’t see myself revisiting this album.

I can see how people might be into this genre. Not for me. I’ll pass.

Robbie Wiliams is a mediocre, boy-band dropout, brit-pop tough guy with a neck tattoo. Don't get me wrong, I like pop music. Good pop music. Good music needs to be authentic. It needs to feel authentic. I got the feeling that an authentic spoiled rich kid doesn't think it's fair to be famous. Is it unfair for a wealthy, successful, handsome man to be famous? If you took Mathew Sweet and stripped away creativity, earnestness, and great hooks and replaced it with predictability, stale songs, and great looks, you would have this fucking moose knuckle. I hope he goes bald before he dies. I think I will listen to some Mathew Sweet and forget all about lil' Rob. 2 out of 5 stars (because the title track is listenable if you ignore the subject matter).

Innofensive, the hits make it.

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

Fade

PREFS : Life Thru a Lens, Let Me Entertain You MOINS PREF : Kiss My Ass/Hello, Sir

nothing but bangers.

I remember Robbie’s few solo hits from growing up in the UK in the mid 90’s. I always enjoyed them, they’re high energy, passionate, and fun. They’ve held up pretty well and I had a good time reminiscing while listening to this one. Good mix of Brit pop and rock

Je kunt er van alles van zeggen, maar dit allemaal toch goed in elkaar gestoken spul. Het rockt bij vlagen, wat ballads, je kunt er niet tegen zijn. Williams liet na al dat Take That-gezwijmel zien wat hij waard was.

Robbie ontsnapt met dit album zijn boy-band-stature. Binnen het genre pop laat hij zien dat hij met uitersten kan omgaan. Zelfs de nummers met meer stem-geweld lijkt hij heel ongeforceerd te zingen. Wat dat betreft is hij wat ondergewaardeerd. Misschien omdat het buiten de hit Let me Entertain You (sterk nummer) zich net niet genoeg onderscheidt. Er zit voor het gevoel telkens net iets meer in. We krijgen vast nog een volgend album van Robbie. Ik ben benieuwd of de potentie waargemaakt wordt. Voor nu: 3,5 ster.

Het voelt totaal niet als een album als geheel, maar meer als een verzameling losse flodders bij elkaar. Er staan dan natuurlijk wel 2 kneiters van hits op en die maken het nog wel enigszins de moeite waard. Maar ondanks dat ik in een week vol 3en zit, kan ik hier zelfs geen magere 3 voor geven. Totaal nietszeggend album.

Not a fan, vocals are not great and seem to be tuned. It’s something that could play in the back ground but can’t see spending time with this album.

Niets spannends, wel een paar goede nummers. Luistert ok weg. Niet erg vernieuwend, soort van logisch uitvloeisel van Britpop.

Not essential, but some good pop tunes. He's like Oasis without the balls, but he takes himself less seriously.

Inesperat triomf de pop lluminós i infecciós. Venint d'una boy band, ningú esperava que Williams es treiés de sobre les puces de les expectatives amb aquesta col.lecció inspirada, on més enllà dels triomfs de 'Let Me Entertain You' i , és clar, 'Angels', també sobresurten altres com 'South of the Border', 'Clean' o 'Old Before I Die'

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.

Just good for this kind of genre, solid music and well sung. There’s a bit of “poor little rich famous me” to this, though looking over the trajectory of Williams’ life and solo career it’s clear his struggles are real. And a little pop-slick. But I can’t really fault it seriously.

There is much that is strange about this album. I don’t like the start. Then you get Angels, which is objectively speaking an excellent song. Then a load of forgettable stuff. Then Let me Entertain you, which should have been the opener. Then some sweet stuff at the end. At times it is 2-star but for two smash hits I’ll nudge it up to 3.

there was nothing special about this album

Getting real tired of this british alt rock. I guess this was fine.

Solid pop rock with some really bad ballads

Very nice

Very British, very 90s, very boring.

Un album moyen qui a probablemrnt fait de gros hits. 2.90

After listening to this album I understand why I only heard Angels and Let Me Entertain You. The rest is mediocre and can be skipped. Not really an album you have to listen to.

6.5/10. weno pero es medio fome y las letras son dms simples/generic (maybe pq robbie williams es asi noma pero igual)

A few good tracks

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.

It was ok. Very 80’s pop sounding for an album released in 1997.

The year was 1997, and there’s a very high chance I skated hand-in-hand with Lauren Winder at the Classic Skating in Sandy while listening to “Angels” from this album, or at least I imagine I did. It’s a classic love song, which, funny enough, was written for the singer’s aunt & uncle. A great love song on an album full of traditional late 90s rock.

Bummer that the hidden track on “Baby Girl Window” can’t be heard. It’s not a good format on digital platforms. Not sure if others can hear it. He has a nice versatile voice. I didn’t expect him to bring out some nice soothing vibrato. But he does beautifully on “Angels.” I don’t usually listen to britpop. But I like this record quite a bit. Not every record has to be incredibly great. I think this is a feel-good record with decent singing and pleasant melodies. Highlights: Lazy Days, Angels, South of the Border, One of God’s Better People, Killing Me

Great album, even though pop isn't really my thing Some great tracks, whole thing fits together well Quite a step up for Robbie from Take That

2.6 - Get this mediocre Britpop shit off this list. Get your shit together, Dimery!

Huh, maybe North America really is missing out. This was pretty great!

Some absolute bangers on this. Never listened all the way through but the ones I did know didn’t disappoint

Overall fun to listen to

Kinda enjoyed this.

I'm imagining a record producer in the 90's, totally gakked on cocaine, screaming at the top of his longs in a studio control room "MAKE IT MOOOOORE BRI' 'IISSHHHHHH!!!!" Seriously, this is hilarious in how just how Brit-pop it is. He literally sings "jolly good" in the first damn song. Too pop-y and polished for my liking.

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

I follow a decent amount of music groups that are meant to be UK based, so sometimes artists who are big there but never crossed over to the states come up. Robbie Williams isn’t quite to the taste of those particular groups, but he’s a good example of one. Huge in Europe, practically unknown here. And yeah, not my thing. D… +?

Unexpected great listen! Loved the energy on this record, the songwriting, the way it rocks hard it it’s own way!

Really? Really really? OK, so obviously Williams comes from the background of Take That. He's got some talent, we can't deny that, but what he has in spades is ego. This comes through more than anything else on this album. He went to great lengths to ride the post-Britpop, post-boyband wave and collected songs that complimented his style. Can't fault him - he plugged in with exactly the right people at the right time. Is his style enduring? No. Clearly not. Was he of his time? Yes. This album is almost painfully 1990s. As someone who was there, "Angels" cannot help but bring back images of the penultimate song in the nightclub, when all the girls had sensibly gone off to find taxis home, this song would come on and a load of beery-teary blokes would stand in geet big circles, arms draped companionably over each other's shoulders, singing this at the top of their lungs to demonstrate to any straggling women that they were decent blokes and not beer-swilling monsters. This album is OK. It's not great. It's certainly not something I'd include in list of must-listens, but it's OK. One thing I will suggest though, is to go off and find the video of Robbie Williams on stage with Tom Jones at the 1998 Brit Awards. Williams is trying so very hard, bless him. He's doing well. The crowd are enjoying him. It's good. And then he introduces Tom Jones and the crowd goes FUCKING NUTS. Jones outclasses him effortlessly in every possible way. It's so cute to watch Williams strut around trying to get himself noticed while Jones has the crowd eating from the palm of his hand. Can't recommend it enough!

Ignore the baggage and take this album at face value. It’s good pop, I’d argue there are 2 brilliant songs here ( South of The Border & Old Before I Die ). When this was released he was too close to his previous life. Good pop, well made. ‘Angels’ is utter dogshit.

Wholly generic and uninteresting, but also inoffensive. Not one single piece of this album was memorable with the exception of the "secret track" which I actually quite enjoyed, where was that pithy delivery and irreverent tone for the rest of the album?? Best tracks: 'Hello Sir' and I guess Killing Me

I paused listening to these albums for a few weeks and on Monday of this week I got an email saying "you will get top rated albums this whole week if you reactivate your project today" so I reactivated. Then today (Saturday) I get this shit. WTF.

Musically tight, but also lyrically fairly interesting. A lot of the pop music in this period, with all the boy bands, seems to get a bad rap, and rightfully so, but this stands apart as far more compelling and not nearly as insipid.

A couple semi-catchy songs here, but yeah... Mostly just bland Brit-pop type stuff. Probably not worth revisiting.

This album had a nice level of energy and variety of songs. It was easy to listen to. The later tracks were more interesting than the earlier ones. But it seemed very generic. Sometimes I felt that this could be the modern version of The Monkeys or The Partridge Family with a new sound every week to go with the episode story line. Other times it seemed as if Williams clipped his favorite sounds and riffs from other musicians and used them as the basis for his own songs. I’d listen to it again but there is plenty of similar music that has to compete with for my time.

Really good album that I have never heard of.

I haven't ever really had much Robbie Williams on my radar—I assume just for being on the wrong side of the Atlantic. “Millennium” was pretty much the extent of it. I really appreciated this today! I was happy to let you entertain me, Robbie, with your lovely songs. Here's looking forward to more!

Robbie Williams, have I heard of this dude? Maybe... Oh, I guess I am familiar with "Angels"...but nothing else seemed familiar, and at first run through, I didn't find any interest in becoming familiar. However, as I worked on my grading, I repeated the album 3 or 4 (or 5 or 6) times and it really started to grow on me. This one is a keeper for me!

On our honeymoon in London, we had dinner with an old friend who was living there. The conversation turned to music and he sheepishly admitted to being a fan of Robbie Williams even though his flatmates made fun of him for it. When I returned to the US, I ran across Williams' The Ego Has Landed in a used CD store and picked it up out of curiosity. It quickly became one of my favorites and it still evokes strong and specific memories of where I was living and how I spent my time that year. I only today found out that Ego is a compilation of songs from prior albums, including Life Thru a Lens. So today's listen was a fun mix of songs that I know well and songs that were new to me. I love it!

One of my partner’s favorite songs is “Angel”, so I’m familiar with that song. But somehow I’ve never heard the rest of this album before. I enjoyed all the catchy britpop. Lots of catchy hooks.

As a fellow Valiant and Stokie I should like him, but his music's not for me. A couple of well written sings

Came in to this determined to overturn my long held contempt for Robbie Williams and this album. Couldn't. It's a mixture of dullness, and shit rhymes.

Ok. Wanted to dislike this but tbh its ok. It is, as they say, a bit "full of itself". The Oasis influence is clear. He comes across as a bit needy especially in the lyrics. Having said that there are some decent tunes and Angels is pretty timeless. Just take the 3 and piss off

To sum it up, this is pure, generic, radio friendly pop - which makes it a good album. It's unpretentious and doesn't try to be anything but catchy and inoffensive Top 40 music. You know how there are movies and TV shows that you put on just so you can sit back, turn your brain off, and relax? This is the album version of that. Not to mention, it's a much needed break from grindcore, '60s psychedelic folk rock, or electronica that this list has been giving. Standout tracks are One of God's Better People and the uber-catchy Let Me Entertain You.

I played the heck out of this album when I was at school. Angels, Let Me Entertain You, and Old Before I Die are classic 90s singles and the rest is as you would expect for former boy band cheeky chappie britpop. It's dated now but still an unchallenging and enjoyable listen. Rating: 3/5 Playlist track: Angels Date listened: 24/11/22

Funny to think that 'Angels' rescued this album. Actually, it rescued Mr Williams' career, even before it had begun.

Shallow pop produced with an obviously large budget is still shallow pop music.

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.

Not horrible just uninspiring

Much better than I thought at first glance. I was not expecting such solid and personal songs. I was expecting some generic pop songs and was surprised by this potent work. Without this 1001 list, I'd never think about listening to Robbie Williams, but now I'm looking for his newest albums 🙂.

Ok

I don't feel like this has earned a place on the list.

1996: ex-member of boy band Take That is seen partying with Oasis 1997: he releases Life Thru A Lens, a pop rock britpop album that sounds a lot like Oasis' hit album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? from just two years ago. I am not bold enough to claim that Robbie Williams ripped off Oasis, but it would be no coincidence that he was likely recording these songs as he was rubbing shoulders with the UK's biggest band after their biggest album broke records. If we are to include Robbie Williams in the britpop picture, he is an afterthought. Maybe there's something to be said about the single Angels, but I would hesitate to give him credit based off that song alone. For the record, I don't think Life Thru A Lens is a bad album. It's just so uninteresting and reminds me other music I would prefer to listen to. Robbie Williams is not a great songwriter. Producer Guy Chambers works with what he's given and does a pretty good job making them sound fit for general audiences. I don't think it deserves much more praise beyond that. That album art rules though.

Ok

Kind of superficial I think? Didn't resonate with me

topical 90's UK pop hits

Ill never listen again but it was a'ight

Solid 90's adult contemporary pop

Fun poppy and occasionally alt rocky. Fine album.

Very enjoyable, very unoriginal

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

Nah, mate. The songwriting is boring and the performances are lazy. I can only imagine this dude is even a thing because the ladies think he's right fit. There are too many great bands from the UK for me to believe that the Brits like their music as boring as their food. And this is bland as hell. Hard pass.

This is decent 90's brit pop. It's fun to listen to, but I'm not sure there's a song here to call out.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Angels, One of good’s better place, Let me entertain you

Meh.

Alright. Some decent tunes and one very good. Just heavily produced with little end product.

didnt resonate with me a ton very British, very oasis inspired 2.5

That was a pleasant album. 3.5*.

Maybe this had appeal in 1997, but for the life of me, I cannot see it. It's pretty shallow pop. I don't know much about Williams and I've never heard of Take That, but this album (what I could actually hear of it given that half of it isn't actually on Spotify) mostly seemed like a guy trying to find his voice on his own with mixed results. Stylistically, it's literally all over the place, and none of it feels genuine. Angels has almost 400 million plays on Spotify, but I've literally never heard that song in my life. Maybe he just didn't make the jump across the pond? Standouts: Old Before I Die, I guess

Oasis but much better. Has a touch of pop punk.

7,5/10

Didn't mind it. Probably would not listen again but I like the hits.

This was fine pop music, nothing special to me.

This is a really good pop album. It was huge in England, but barely made a peep here. I was on board early only because a friend living in London alerted me what was going on. I also happened to see Robbie Williams on his first (and only) US tour in a smaller Philly venue to support this release. He was and is a formidable entertainer. No surprise that he now has a Las Vegas residency. The songs are all very good (and Angels is iconic) and the production uniformly great.

This is ok britpop. Trying to be Oasis without that level of talent. I also hear a little Elton John influence thrown in. Don't know why it deserves to be on this list. Nothing special about it

Fine. Not much to say about this except I assume it was big in England?

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

Loving the boyband rebellion vibes. The album is home to some iconic pop classics as well as some unexpected lyrics, my favourite being ‘am I straight or gay? I hope I’m old before I die. I hope I live to see the day the pope gets high’.

Prime holiday advert music, primary school disco vibes, yesterday's was middle aged man music and today's is middle aged woman music, can't say I did have a particularly "jolly good time". Album was consistent so I'll give it that, also a nice balance of upbeat pop and sad ballads. (I appreciate that he's a good singer, but at times it did sound as if someone had his testicles in a vice)

Reeks of “take me seriously now that I’m no longer a part of Take That”. Saying that, it’s actually a pretty good album. Still won’t take him seriously though.

A bit soft pop rock in places.. But still some nicely written songs.

It was so so

Minus two for making milquetoast whisper pop. Minus one for being an insufferable douchebag. Best track: Baby Girl Window

NBz No PL adds. No jive.

I liked this

There's a few really strong tracks like 'Old before I die' and 'Lazy Days', crowd pleasers like 'Let me entertain you' (which I quite like) and 'Angels' (which I hate). So a mixed bag overall but on the whole not bad.

Absolutely destroyed the indie sound at the 90s with his cod psycho babble. I hated this them I hate it now. Interestingly though the only thing I could engage with and that felt as if it meant something was a hidden track where he has a go at hos old teacher. Enjoyed that so saved it from a 1 still arse crumpets though.

Really, really awful.

Meh. Pop bangers, but not my thing. Good sing along tunes.

This was played to death by mates during my Uni days. As far as 90s pop albums go, this is fine, consistent and well produced. Although the real talent of the album was co-writer/producer Guy Chambers.

Very much a pop album, but not formulated. I love his Live 8 performance. This was my introduction to Robbie Williams. I like the songs I knew. I did enjoy his use of vocabulary and the way he developed a lyric.

Listened to on 8/14/22 4/5 Favorite song: angels, killing me I had never heard this album before but really enjoyed if. The songs were easy to listen to but not boring and the lyrics were super funny

Feels like an adult alternative album. Very easy listening.

I honestly do try to go into listening to each album without any bias, but when I saw that today’s album was by Robbie Williams, by first thought was, “Seriously?” But then, it must be on this list for a reason! Songs I already know: Angels, Let Me Entertain You Favourite after listening: Clean, Old Before I Die Overall: 7/10 This album is not at all what I was expecting. I thought it was be cheesy Take That pop music that I would forget after 5 minutes but it isn’t at all. It, dare I say it, is all rock music. Pop-rock, don’t get me wrong, but still not at all what I expected. If I was to buy an Oasis album from Wish.com, this is probably what would arrive. Same genre, not quite as good at what I hoped for, but still good in its own right. Overall, I’m happy to have been wrong with my expectations.

3/5 Pretty good. Nothing amazing but enjoyed it.

Angles is one great song. The rest is very good. I'd like to hear this more often!

4/10. Not only was this album rather mediocre, it wasn't on Spotify so now YouTube will think I like this crap

Crap. 4/10

Good listening-while-getting-through-the-day music. The lyrics had stories, melodies and beats were good. Nice vocals. Overall a good balance where it neither faded into the background nor disturbed the harmony of the day. Would listen to it again.

Feels so vapid and flat. Sure the production and performances are fine, but these songs are about nothing.

decent pop album with 2 big hits on it, some of the more slow paced songs get a bit boring however.

sin más

It's not a bad album, but I just don't see why I needed to listen to this before I die.

Robbie Williams is a very talented singer and dancer. One of the very best in the world. The only problem I have with him is that he just will not stop having sex with disabled pensioners. This directly affects my mental health as the only thought in my head most days is Williams pounding 93 year old Doris in the ass as she howls in both pleasure and pain.

Pffft okay.

Well written alt-pop, it almost sounds like a squeaky clean Supergrass at their more whimsical at points. Kudos to whoever wrote the music, not so much the cringe inducing lyrics. The bit about girlfriends doing the dishes in particular hasn't aged well.

All in all a solid pop effort.

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

Is it just me or is he trying to emulate Liam Gallagher’s nasal voice sometimes through the record? Tbh, I don’t see anything special in the song Angels. 😅 I agree with most people saying that this album is some kind of weird, vague mixture between Oasis and Blur.

Heard before: no I don’t know. I’ll probably still sing along to Angels or Let Me Entertain You if they come on in a social setting, but the album is lowest common denominator pop-rock. Robbie has some charisma, true, but isn’t so great a singer that he can carry this whole project by himself.

I'm pretty sure that before today the only Robbie Williams songs I'd heard were "Millennium" which I remember playing on MTV and that "Something Stupid" cover because he's not well known in The States. I have a half-baked theory that it has something to do with MTV cutting back on music videos which I believe limited the network's influence on popular music in America. This album is excellent by the way, I'm a sucker for a lot of Brit pop and this did it for me.

Mixed bag. It started solid, but ranged from boring to okay after that. I did enjoy the closer. Overall, not bad but nothing I'd go out of my way to really hear again.

Pop rock with some variety, but nothing very memorable. Decent ideas with solid execution outside of some occasional annoying vocals.

Really sounds like pop Oasis, so pretty good

Pop comercial. Ni fu ni fa.

Un 4 por Angel y Old before I die (no sabía que era suya)

"Life Thru a Lens" is the debut album from Robbie Williams following his departure from the boy band Take That. This was really my first time listening to Robbie Williams as he is very big in the UK but not in the US. I was expecting to not like this album at all but I thought was fine for it tries to do and can see why it was very popular. The music definitely fits in the "pop" category; However, I did hear a lot of Britpop influence especially Oasis. The overall production is at a very high level. The songs appear to be grouped into more rockin pop, straight-forward sort of glossy pop and power ballads. The album had five singles released. "Lazy Days," single #2, starts the album off with more rockin' pop; it's enjoyable enough. "Angels" was the fourth single and biggest hit from the album. A power ballad which kind of reminded me of a decent hair metal ballad from the decade before (Good Lord! Was there such a thing?) I think I did hear this song before. "Let Me Entertain" might be my favorite song on the album and kind of reminded me of Elton John. Highly produced and fast paced. If you were a pop fan, I'm sure you've heard this or at least would like this album. It was enjoyable enough for me even if I don't typically listen to pop.

i'm a sucker for that boy band sound! i don't know if i've ever listened to take that or robbie williams, though. i really enjoyed this album. i'm not sure how much is due to williams? i wasn't that into his voice, or didn't find it as impressive as other boy band members' voices. of course, his voice isn't bad and he can certainly hit notes! this album had a great range. i do enjoy that nineties boy band sound, and i enjoy a slightly grittier sound from the britpop influence. "ego a go go" is a great example of that. also, the horns throughout the album are excellent. williams has a softer side with "angels." i'm not surprised such a soft, emotional song has become his biggest hit. his voice is well suited for it. as a side note, i listened to the whole album on youtube because spotify didn't have all songs available. i saw some scary nineties music videos as a result. williams is lucky i did not factor that into my rating!

I'm admittedly not sure why this was included. This was fine, but I'm not sure it's a must listen. Is it supposed to be an inclusion symbolizing the modern pop boy band's split and a member having individual success? Is it supposed to be a shining example of 90s Britpop? I'm not sure, because it's not really a glowing example of either, in my opinion. I didn't get much out of this. It was fine. It was listenable. But it didn't stir me in any kind of way. This falls somewhere between a high 2 and a low 3.

Pretty vanilla.

Some classics in there and a hand hold through the journey to being a single artist

I was close to loving this album but there’s something just not quite right about it

I remember getting this the Christmas of '97. I wasn't interested in the slightest. Angels was alright but this was Robbie from Take That, and that was what my sister listened to! Outside of the singles this feels like Robbie trying to establish himself in the Britpop scene, as here are some serious Oasis/Blur similarities here. He was a little too late to the show but this isn't bad.

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

Guy Chambers wrote a few great pop songs for this and I do like Robbie’s cheeky chappie, bad boy persona. The whole thing smacks a little bit of a desperation for authenticity and breaking away from his boy band baggage. It comes off as too manufactured for me. But hey, it’s a pop album - a decent pop album.

This is just straight up good music. Nothing groundbreaking or special, but still good and sometimes that's everything you need. Tickles my brain and makes me feel nice. This man has never played a genie in a Disney movie.

Much better than expected

mehhhh

Great stuff and Robbie's a mensch but entirely pop which is not my bag.

How is this even remotely close to qualifying for this list? Incredibly generic and overall pointless album.

The whole album wasn't available but I do pull some other later songs of his. Solid late 90s pop/brit-rock.

Britpop saído de boy band, ou seja, não é pra mim.

I can think of 1001 albums that should be on this list instead of this one. Saved from one star due to memories of belting out Angels in karaoke 20 years ago.

Most of the album isn't available on Spotify, but found a decent chunk on YT. Actually a really great voice, soothing and upbeat. New artist for me that I really enjoyed!

Buen disco de pop de un cantante con una buena voz y con alguna canción muy reconocible. Sin aportar mucho excesivamente, se puede escuchar en cualquier momento. Pop inglés

It's not even so bad that it's fun to hate, it's like background music at H&M bad, almost not even worth using your brain to think about it

Nope

not for me

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?

Bollocks sir, kiss my ass. I did have a negative reaction when I realised I had to listen to a Robbit Williams album.... twice... but I was pleasantly suprised on the first listen and not completely turned off. But still, it's just not for me. Let Me Entertain You is certainly a bop, but Lazy Days is my fave.

This one was extremely hard to listen to in the US. At a glance it seems like a lot of other Robbie Williams albums are readily available, but this one in particular isn't.

Robbie never made it in the states.

Ok. Couple of good songs, but it's background stuff at best. I was debating two or three stars, but Baby Girl's Window added an extra layer of wedding band blandness.

Very poppy but very well produced.

No. Just no.

Get fucked.

3.5

Too polished, shiny and manufactured. There are some tunes here, but unfortunately the slick production does the LP no favours. The vocals sound straight out of fame school. Not offensive, but not great!

I can’t give 0 stars, so Robbie gets to have one.