Posted September 28, 200915 yr http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showb...-for-years.html Robbie’s come back to reality Published: Today GARY BARLOW rates it. JAMES CORDEN loved it. Even PHIL "The Power" TAYLOR said it was a cracker. And I reckon ROBBIE WILLIAMS's eighth album, Reality Killed The Video Star, is his best since 2002's Escapology. I've had a listen to the ex-TAKE THAT star's latest effort and it's a No1 hit. Simple as that. It's just what his army of loyal fans have been waiting three long years for. Some interesting themes crop up on the 51-minute, 13-track release, out on November 9. There's the obligatory girlfriend track about AYDA FIELD, the woman responsible for sorting his life out. There's another which definitely isn't about her, with some cheeky wrist-related lyrics - and he's not talking about tossing pancakes. I got my hands on a Press copy of Rob's new CD which he released under the pseudonym Luke Moody to defy internet pirates. It probably won't attract a legion of new followers - the album, with Rob posing on a motorbike on the sleeve, is hardly modern. But legendary knobs and dials man TREVOR HORN has steered Rob back on course. Hats off to him for returning to a winning formula. It's genuinely something for fans to get excited about. And like his old Take That muckers, the songs will sound even better live with a stadium audience singing it back to him. Rob is currently hanging out with his old bandmates in New York. He flew in from LA to surprise MARK OWEN for his stag do. He was also seen hanging out in the studio with the lads because he was invited to hear the first mix of their upcoming live album. Here's my track-by-track review of Rob's CD. 1. MORNING SUN: Has the feel of a Carpenters/Burt Bacharach ballad. Lyrics about astronauts and space crop up. One of the top three songs on the album. 2. BODIES: I rate this first single. This could be an Ian Brown track. The best song here. 3. YOU KNOW ME: The second single. Has to be the song on the album about Ayda Field. Only criticism - backing vocals sound like Sir Paul McCartney's Frog Chorus. 4. BLASPHEMY: Big string arrangement. Rob's vocal is impressive, even though it's one of the weaker songs. 5. DO YOU MIND: My least favourite song. A bit of a filler. 6. LAST DAYS OF DISCO: Has a Pet Shop Boys, electro sound to it. Trevor Horn stamped all over it. 7. SOMEWHERE: A 60-second string arrangement with good vocal. 8. DECEPTACON: Hints about missing UK, with lyric "goodbye to Deceptacons" - his word for LA parasites. Great tune. 9. STARSTRUCK: Could be another ode to LA life. Great lyrics. "Everybody's famous", "Knock one off the wrist". Ahem. 10. DIFFICULT FOR WEIRDOS: Electro-tinkering and effects on Rob's voice. Pet Shop Boys-esque again. 11. SUPERBLIND: Classic cocky Robbie, contemplating his future. "I'm the genius behind me. What will they think, when they think about me?" Top. 12. WON'T DO THAT& 13. MORNING SUN REPRISE: Rob introduces brass for the final fanfare. A rousing, upbeat finish.
September 28, 200915 yr Author The second single sounds like the Frog Chorus? :blink: Great review though. :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:
September 28, 200915 yr Author If The Sun likes it it probably means all the 'cool' types like NME and Q will hate it this time. It'll be a complete reversal from the Rudebox reviews :rolleyes:
September 29, 200915 yr Few things I don't like there. Saying for Bodies that is best song here. :blink: How bad others are then? Mentioning PSP twice I don't like at all, and also, word electro.
September 29, 200915 yr Give the guy a chance...wait to hear the bloomin album first before you start frettin .... -_- ;)
September 29, 200915 yr Well I don't know about you guys but 'Bodies' is brilliant and everyone I play it for likes it too. :mellow:
September 30, 200915 yr Give the guy a chance...wait to hear the bloomin album first before you start frettin .... -_- ;) Honestly!!! <_<
September 30, 200915 yr I'm giving him a chance, really! But, I remember people were talking how Rudebox have PSB sound, and now I read the same stuff for some songs in this album. I just don't like that.
September 30, 200915 yr I'm giving him a chance, really! But, I remember people were talking how Rudebox have PSB sound, and now I read the same stuff for some songs in this album. I just don't like that. Is it not better to listen to the album yourself first though Nada...not sure you can rely on a lot of the comments written these days as unfortunately there are a lot of 'watery' RW fans about & get edgy about every single move he makes <_< I find worrying too much about an album before you even hear it spoils the whole build up to the release...... Hey !! you are not going to like every song but I'm sure there will be something there for everyone :) It is getting very good reviews from those who have heard it so that in itself has to be good.... ;)
September 30, 200915 yr ROBBIE ROARS BACK WITH REALITY KILLED THE VIDEO STAR Robbie Williams's audacious new album Reality Killed the Video Star reveals a new maturity. By Neil McCormick Sept 30th 2009 Mature, reflexive and substantial: Robbie Williams There’s a moment in Robbie Williams’s comeback single when you wonder how much desire remains in the 35-year-old superstar for the kind of world-conquering fame and fortune that he has treated as a blessing and a curse. Released on October 12, Bodies (EMI Virgin) represents an audacious return for the biggest British pop star of the post-Britpop era. The production by legendary Eighties studio wizard Trevor Horn is big and bold, with a weird electronic bass, anthemic, string-laden chorus, chanting monks and gospel choir in the mix, while Williams fires off a witty, abrasive lyric about self-serving belief, full of heat-seeking slogans such as “all we ever wanted was to look good naked”. And then, right at the end, Robbie and the massed voices start belting out, “Jesus didn’t die for you” like a bad-news choir. I have a vision of American radio programmers contemplating how that message might go down with listeners. I suspect plans to conquer the US market will have to remain on hold a while longer. Bodies has the air of an attention grabber, rather than a sure-fire hit. It’s a long way from Williams’s cheerleading plea to Let Me Entertain You. Even Williams has admitted to doubts, telling DJ Chris Moyles he was “a bit scared” about its reception and admitting: “I’m at a turning point in my career. This next record decides my path. There’s been a few great records here and there, along the way, but it’s all in the past.” So the big question is: does Robbie Williams still matter? Two years is a long time in pop, and a lot has changed since Williams’s last single, She’s Madonna, failed even to dent the top 20 in March 2007. It was taken from his eccentric but poorly selling Rudebox album. Since then, EMI itself has practically gone into meltdown, with the record industry as a whole suffering a catastrophic loss of sales; plus, a new generation of younger, flamboyant performers, such as Lily Allen and Mika, have claimed our attention. As Williams returned to rehab for addiction to prescription pills, grew a grey-flecked tramp’s beard, and pursued an obsession with UFOs, his former band, Take That, surged in popularity, leading to constant speculation about whether he might rejoin them. But that raised a parallel question: would they even have him? Despite being spotted this week leaving a New York studio where Take That are recording, the truth is that the former band mates have long since rekindled their friendship, and Williams was in town for Mark Owen’s stag night. But, while all involved have indicated a reunion is under consideration, there remains obvious caution about how such a big beast used to a free forum for solo artistic expression could fit back into the demands of group democracy. As Take That’s Gary Barlow, tellingly said in April: “We’re a happy band right now.” Besides, there is the serious business afoot of relaunching Williams’s solo career. Since falling out with songwriting partner and producer, Guy Chambers, during 2002’s Escapology, Williams has flitted between collaborators, as if uncertain of his own musical direction. For his new album, Reality Killed the Video Star (out next month), he has opted for the proven skills of Trevor Horn, the man behind groundbreaking hits for Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ABC, Grace Jones and Seal (among others). The title recalls Horn’s classic 1979 hit with Buggles – Video Killed the Radio Star. The provocative implication is that Simon Cowell’s reality-TV formats may have done for Williams own brand of entertainment. “After a few years of turbo-fame, the strain gets to anyone, but Robbie was ready to get back into it,” says Horn. Yet there is a telling couplet on the album’s epic, Beatle-esque opening track, Morning Sun: “Message to the troubadour – the world don’t love you any more.” Ambivalence and anxiety pervade the lyrics. “You always wanted more to life/But now you’ve lost your appetite,” he sings, while the production swells with Sgt Pepper horns and I Am the Walrus chants. Songs like this only work if we believe the singer is worth listening to. Williams’s psychological complexity, the balancing act he operates between over confidence and self-doubt, has been a key element of his everyman appeal, and here he shows the sensitivity, bravery, wit and maturity to really express himself rather than playing to the gallery. The result is an album that may not be packed with novelty hits, but feels like a classy piece of work, more mature, reflexive and substantial. Williams is growing up, but so are his fans. I’d warrant that his audience’s relationship with him is about to move on to a whole new level. Get ready for Robbie – the adult years. Telegraph.co.uk ...with thanks to TRWS & Scotty
September 30, 200915 yr :unsure: 3. YOU KNOW ME: The second single. Has to be the song on the album about Ayda Field. Only criticism - backing vocals sound like Sir Paul McCartney's Frog Chorus nK6p-MB6qXU :unsure:
September 30, 200915 yr Hey !! you are not going to like every song but I'm sure there will be something there for everyone :) Ok, I hope so. And I really believed in Rob before Rudebox, now I just can't. But, I'll try to shut up and wait new album.
September 30, 200915 yr :unsure: 3. YOU KNOW ME: The second single. Has to be the song on the album about Ayda Field. Only criticism - backing vocals sound like Sir Paul McCartney's Frog Chorus nK6p-MB6qXU :unsure: It reminds me of Lonestar Rising. :lol:
September 30, 200915 yr Author An audacious album that review says. Not packed with 'novelty hits'. Wonder what he means by that? :blink:
September 30, 200915 yr I wouldnt worry too much Nada. Rob said there is 'old Robbie' on there so as Tessat said I am sure there will be at least a few songs you will love :D Glad Smart Gordon is on board but do we really value his opinion? :lol: He generally has awful taste in music. I am suprised he said Blasphemy was one of the albums weakest though. It sounded amazing from reading about it in Feel. Surely Rob wouldnt bother dusting it off so many years later unless it was great? I mean if he wanted an old Guy collab he couldve reworked a few of the countless amazing B-sides. No, I don't buy it - I bet Blasphemy will be brilliant. Morning Sun is the one I am looking forward to. Anything Rob song similar to Sgt. Pepper has my vote :wub: Great to see that review from Neil. He is one of the very few brilliant music journalists out there - any fan of U2 will know he has a great reputation. He has always commented on Rob's ability as a songwriter. He was in that clip I posted from the 21st Century video. :D
September 30, 200915 yr I wouldnt worry too much Nada. Rob said there is 'old Robbie' on there so as Tessat said I am sure there will be at least a few songs you will love :D That's what I want. Three songs, old Robbie, and I should be happy. :cheer:
September 30, 200915 yr That's what I want. Three songs, old Robbie, and I should be happy. :cheer: You did like everything before Rudebox Nada !!! remember that Rudebox was an experimental album ( which did not go down well with the fans ;) ) but he has said that RKTVS has something for everyone..... :) I do not want Robbie to go back to only singing blooming songs like Angels which I was never that into in the first place...he has had far better songs imo but now I want to see him do something new & also hope to hear some songs like he had back on LTAL & SWYW albums which to me are just brilliant :dance: I bet there will be something there that we will all like Nada....they have learnt their lesson with Rudebox so this definately is not Rudebox part 2 because if it was it would have been well reported by now... Are you going to listen to The Proms online with BBC Radio1 ...it will be a great show & you will hear some of the new tracks live :cheer:
