Robbie Williams "Life Thru a Lens" (1997)
My sister loved this album back in the day, she had the first couple of
Robbie albums on cassette (because we're getting old) and as all big
brothers should do, I suspect I poo-poohed it at the time. I've always
had a bit of a soft spot for Robbie though, and a few years later when I
was going through a bout of depression and was feeling like most music
just seemed like a wall of grey noise I turned to Williams' greatest
hits (and some Kanye West if memory serves) and that seemed to be
something that my brain was willing to let in.
As far as debuts go, it is pretty damned good. Robbie had left
boy-band Take That somewhat acrimoniously and teamed up with
song-writer/producer Guy Chambers, and worked to recast himself as a
cheeky rock n rolling pop star.
The album seems to lean very heavily on the 'Brit-pop' sound, with
Oasisy sneery rock and bouncy Blur-esque pop. Regardless of the
influences on display though, Williams makes it his own through his charisma
and voice. Mission statement, the brassy rocker "Let me Entertain You"
lays out what he's about.
It's a fairly even album too without too much filler ("Baby girl window"
maybe seems like a bit of a retread of some ideas already covered),
with even the overplayed ballad "Angels"
seeming entirely bearable in the context of the album as a whole. The
track "Ego a go go" slagging off Robbie's ex-Take That bandmate Gary
Barlow feels musically like it's drawing on the Beatles' Revolver album,
the title track
has a pop-punk bent to its verses. For the most part though it's about
melody with a bit of grit, and Robbie having a good time (and
occasionally finding himself regretting it).
