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Can you believe it was pretty much 20 years ago when Robbie Williams burst onto the scene as a member of fresh-faced pop starlets Take That? Can you also believe that his return to the band was one of the most hotly-anticipated reunions since Led Zeppelin got together for THAT London show a few years back?
So why is it then, that after having a series of extremely popular solo albums and chart-bursting singles in the late nineties and early noughties, that Mr Williams has failed to live up to the bluster of before? 'Rudebox' didn’t help matters, being the experiment that backfired, but it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what went wrong. Nevertheless, a Number One single in 'Candy' this year should help matters no?
Let’s talk about 'Candy', actually. It’s fairly terrible on paper. It’s basically Ring a Ring a Roses (a rhyme Robbie is more than aware of, seeing as it’s referenced in the second verse). Music stars using nursery rhymes in a more grown up setting has worked before as Gotye made Baa Baa Black Sheep one of the biggest viral hits of all time, but 'Candy' just doesn’t have the same charm about it. It’s a bit too silly. The sing-a-long chorus is good fun nevertheless. In fact there’s a lot of fun that’s clearly gone into the writing and recording process, but the heart seems to be missing, and that’s a crying shame.
Synth filled titan of an opening track 'Be a Boy' is a clear example of this. It’s got Snow Patrol and Embrace written all over it and seems to be an attempt to bring their success through to the new record with big anthemic loudness. That would be fine if it weren’t for three things:
1. It’s entirely transparent.
2. People stopped buying their records years ago.
3. Coldplay do it better.
I’d love to say that things improve in the next track 'Gospel', but it’s pretty much a carbon copy in terms of structure. There’s a few f-words in it though to make it supposedly “edgy” or something, like Williams has been known to be before, but there’s no real venom in the words either and we circle back to my original criticism – there’s no heart here. It’s a shame because the lyrics are actually very good. On paper they look bullish and proud, but in delivery it seemed meek. Maybe that was the point, but if it was, the point failed.
Elsewhere, as the album progresses, there are a few little gems to be found, as 'Different' shows a vulnerability and near tremble in his voice to really get a little emotional investment in the record. A four-minute track that could have fit quite nicely on an early record with no problems. It’s taught and wistful and reflective and really pretty good throughout. Hunting for You is even more so. It weaves cleverly between being a quiet romantic poem and a huge stadium anthem. It builds and breaks and rebuilds itself with ease, and as far as pop ballads go, it’s pretty much as good as it gets. The heart Robbie didn’t seem to have in the first three tracks seemed to have returned by this point as the album reaches and passes its centre.
In fact, among the slow-burners and woah-oh-oah’s, 'Candy' looks extremely out of place.
Then, 'Hey Yeah Wow Wow' happens, and it’s utterly brilliant. Where this came from is anyone's guess. Lyrically, it’s just a deliberate use of some of the most overused words and phrases in music used clearly for ironic effect and set to a punky, spiky, and dare I say it dirty backdrop of distorted guitars, fuzzy bass and some of the least pop-record musical arrangement I’ve ever heard. There’s plenty of heart in. This is followed up by the equally upbeat and rocking (but less silly) 'Not Like the Others'.
The record closes with the simple duet 'Losers'. A big fuck you to doubters and critics. The strong message that should have been clear from the start. The drums are fancy-free 4/4. The guitars are mere chords. It just gets louder and louder and then stops. No mess. No fuss. A simple, effective song with a simple, effective message.
The music scene has changed greatly since the learly 90s when 'Life Thru a Lens' hit the shelves, and this record will not be a smash hit. It has a few clear cut singles on it, but none feel like the next 'Let me Entertain You' or 'Feel'. Robbie's crown has slipped, so to speak, over the last six years and it’s unlikely he’ll get it back, but, shaky start aside, this album is a reasonable stab at it. It just needed a few songs to get into its stride.
'Take The Crown' is available now. Robbie Williams will support the album with three performances at London's O2 Arena starting tomorrow, Thursday 22nd November.
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So why is it then, that after having a series of extremely popular solo albums and chart-bursting singles in the late nineties and early noughties, that Mr Williams has failed to live up to the bluster of before? 'Rudebox' didn’t help matters, being the experiment that backfired, but it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what went wrong. Nevertheless, a Number One single in 'Candy' this year should help matters no?
