How many LTAL albums were sold worldwide :unsure:

The Writing process

 

The Dear Diary Album

 

One of God's Better People

 

Baby Girl Window

 

Ego a Go Go

 

 

 

 

 

Nice interview with Guy where he talks about the early days etc

 

 

 

 

As Robbie Williams’ creative partner, Guy Chambers played his part in writing some of the most memorable songs in British music history

When songwriter Guy Chambers met Robbie Williams neither could have known the glorious future that awaited them. It was 1997 and Williams, fresh from his departure from the boyband behemoth that was Take That, needed some help in writing the songs that would launch his solo career. Looking back, it’s fair to say he couldn’t have chosen a better comrade.

 

It was also something of a second life for Chambers who had previously played keyboards with acts such as The Waterboys and had some success with his own band The Lemon Trees, before losing his way after being dropped by the group’s label. Re-energised by their new partnership, Chambers and Williams lit up the charts with singles such as Angels, Let Me Entertain You, Millennium and No Regrets. That Chambers has also worked with artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Lily Allen and Kylie Minogue just highlights how respected he is as a songwriting partner

 

For his latest project, Go Gentle Into The Light, Chambers has recorded simple piano versions of many of his and Williams’ best-loved tracks. Reducing these songs to their barest elements, the songcraft behind them shines through… As did Chambers’ lasting affection for his body of work during our recent conversation…

 

Did you always have a love of songwriting or did that grow from playing music?

 

“It started from playing the piano. I discovered at an early age that it wasn’t enough for me to just play music on the page, like Mozart or Bach, I wanted to improvise. I started improvising when I was about seven or eight and luckily my piano teacher didn’t think that it was evil. She encouraged it.

 

“Then, when I was a little bit older, I wrote a string quartet. I also wrote an opera when I was at school, which the school performed. I had some pretensions of grandeur. You could argue that I still have them now. But in terms of writing pop songs, I didn’t really have enough confidence until I was 18/19.”

 

Was that before you were playing keyboards for the likes of Julian Cope and The Waterboys?

 

“Yeah, the first song I ever released was a song with Marc Almond and it was called Skin. It was on a little independent label called Some Bizarre. That got released when I was still at college and it got a really good review in the NME, which was cool. I didn’t see a penny from it, but that doesn’t matter, it was just great to record. I produced it myself, we had a mutual friend and that’s why Marc came in to sing it, he just liked the song.”

 

What happened next?

 

“When I left college I played with various different bands, like The Waterboys and World Party. I was actually in that band for five years, we toured the world and I learnt a lot from Karl Wallinger. I think he’s one of the greatest English songwriters. He wrote She’s The One, of course, one of Robbie’s biggest songs. That band was like songwriter university.

 

“Not only was Karl a brilliant songwriter, he was also very good at doing cover versions. When we would rehearse we would play endless covers: Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Band, The Clash, Tim Buckley, all sorts. That was a very good thing for me to do, it taught me how songs work, especially when you perform them live. I’m a great believer in songs being able to work live. When I produce songs I am often thinking about what kind of impact it is going to have on stage.”

 

Were you banking your own songs too?

 

“I was writing through my 20s but I didn’t get much encouragement from Karl, he didn’t really like my songs. That was the reason I left World Party to form The Lemon Trees. That was about 1991. I was 28 and ready to stand on my own two feet.”

 

Considering the success you’ve had, why do you think you didn’t scale similar heights with The Lemon Trees?

 

“We had the wrong singer. We didn’t really have a frontman. I tried to sing, which is quite funny in itself, and we had two other singers. The keyboard player sang and the bass player sang and none of us were stars.

 

“The first album actually did quite well, all of our singles were played on the radio and on The Chart Show. We toured with Jellyfish and Suzanne Vega, so it was all going really well. But then we made that classic mistake of making our second album completely different to the first and that’s when we got dropped. The label hated it. That was a mistake I didn’t want to repeat with Rob.”

 

Were you ready to chuck it all in before you met him?

 

“The Lemon Trees split up around 1994 and then there was a three-year gap before meeting Rob. In that gap, I worked with Cathy Dennis. I met Annie Lennox and we tried to write but it didn’t really click, or she didn’t like the songs that we did. There were many times during the 90s when I thought about jacking it all in and becoming a music teacher. Luckily, I met Rob in 1997 and that changed everything.”

 

How did that meeting come about?

 

“My publisher Paul Curran called me and said, ‘Do you know who Robbie Wiliams is?’ and of course I did, he said, ‘Do you want to work with him?’ I said that I would give it a go. The following day, Rob called me up and asked if I could write dirty pop and as soon as he said that sentence I knew that we were going to click.”

 

It’s easy to now see everything that you’d gone through previously as leading up to that moment…

 

“I did have very thorough training. At the time, it felt like I had to wait forever to be successful. When I met Rob I was 34, ancient in pop years. That was the height of the Britpop and there were lots of young bands coming through. But that was a good thing because Rob needed someone to be like an older brother and help guide him, steer the ship and find the right band. He actually knew the sound he wanted, but I needed to refine it and be the responsible one in the partnership, he was pretty crazy.”

 

How did that partnership progress?

 

“We were in a room together, face-to-face, with a guitar or a piano. It was very old school and we wrote Angels on our second day, just on piano. Initially, we only had two days together, like a try-out, as happens so often with any jobbing songwriter – you get given a couple of days and it’s a lot of pressure.

 

“Thank God he came in with that idea. He came in with the topline, which I think he had been saving until he felt somebody could actually find the right music to suit it. He obviously trusted me, even though we’d only known each other for one day. Once we’d written that everyone was like, ‘That’s amazing, you should carry on.’ So we wrote the rest of the album.”

 

Why do you think you had such strong chemistry between you?

 

“We both really needed one another. I really needed a star and he really needed someone with a lot of experience. He had worked with various people but not all of them knew what they were doing. I wasn’t into drugs so I wasn’t going to the Groucho Club with him to get off my head.

 

“It was a working relationship and still is. He did come on holiday with me but it would be a family holiday. We weren’t big party animals together. He felt safe with me and trusted me and knew I wasn’t going to talk to the press or do anything stupid like that.”

 

Were you happy becoming a songwriter for another artist?

 

“I’d had my own band, but that was quite uncomfortable really; standing up on stage and singing my songs. I instinctively knew that wasn’t what I wanted to do – which is ironic as I have my own album out now. But it’s different as it’s a piano album. I’m not singing. It’s just music and I’m confident about playing the piano, whereas I was never that confident about singing.

 

“When I was working with Rob, the way I saw it, especially in the first five years, we were the band. I picked all the musicians and that had a huge influence on his sound. Let Me Entertain You, Angels, Man Machine… a lot of the big songs in the early days were a band sound.

 

Did you have to change much about your songwriting process to suit his style?

 

“I had to make a few adjustments. He would challenge me. When we wrote Let Me Entertain You he said, ‘Do you have any jungle beats?’ and I didn’t really know what jungle was. Fortunately, I managed to find some and we then started with that beat. The riff was written to a jungle beat, believe it or not. Millennium, he had the idea of sampling the James Bond music from You Only Live Twice, so I had to adjust to that. I had to learn new tricks and that was good. He still pushes me.”

 

Was there pressure to follow up Life Thru A Lens with another success?

 

“As soon as we’d finished Life Thru A Lens, literally while it was being mixed, we were working on the second album. I encouraged him to keep going with the songwriting. He writes all the time and I’m sure he’s probably writing a song today. I think it’s his favourite part of being a pop star, writing songs.”

 

Would you say that he’s underrated as a songwriter?

 

“I really do think Rob is underrated as a songwriter, massively. Especially as a lyricist; I think his lyrics are amazing and I think he’s written some great melodies as well. Because he’s such a big star and personality, it overshadows his other talents a bit.”

 

Did you think of it as an exclusive relationship?

 

“Well he didn’t ask for exclusivity, and he never has. But we did write together all of the time so there wasn’t much time for him or me to work with anyone else in the first five years. I was in the touring band so we were touring, writing, recording or doing TV.”

 

When did the relationship change?

 

“I suppose when me and him had our sabbatical and he started writing with other people. On Escapology, he wrote with other people and that was good for his development. It was a bit painful for me, I suppose my ego was a bit squashed by it. In those interim years, when I wasn’t working with him, I worked with lots of great people and it’s been an interesting journey.”

 

Are there any other partnerships which mean a lot to you?

 

“One of the main ones would be Rufus Wainwright. I’ve written quite a few songs with Rufus.”

 

What are you looking for in an ideal musical collaborator?

 

“Great lyrics would be the number one thing. I hate weak/lazy lyrics with empty clichés. I also don’t like endless songs about going to a club, that typical scenario that a lot of people use. I find it really boring. I like originality, for a songwriter to come up with an interesting concept. If I was writing with anyone at the moment I’d probably want to write a song about Extinction Rebellion.”

 

Do artists always bring the lyrics to you?

 

“No, it depends. Sometimes I have a concept. Rob and I wrote a song called Party Like A Russian a few years ago and that was my concept. I had the title and thought it would be fun to write a song about a country and to both take the piss and celebrate the craziness of being a Russian. I had the Prokofiev sample and then it was a lot of work to make the lyric as good as it could possibly be. We had tons and tons of re-writes that went on for about a year.”

 

Do you enjoy that refining process?

 

“I wouldn’t say, ‘enjoy.’ It’s a process and I will always respect co-writers who want to get it as good as possible. Rob is pretty hard on himself, lyrically. When he puts out a single he has to stand up and sing it in front of lots of people and believe it night after night. He can’t think halfway through, ‘God this lyric is weak.’ That’s a big responsibility. When you’re trying to write a hit, you’ll be singing it until you die. So it better be a lyric you can relate to, otherwise you’ll end up hating it.”

 

Let’s talk about Go Gentle into the Light… What was the idea of stripping away the lyrics and only having the piano tracks?

 

“Simplicity really. My manager had encouraged me to do a solo album and I thought I could do something really indulgent, with an orchestra and lots of singers and guests, but then I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to do something that was very simple.’

 

“It was recorded in Abbey Road’s Studio One, which is a very awe-inspiring room with so much history, on a beautiful Steinway. That was enough for me. The challenge was stripping back those songs and going to the heart of the melodies. Maybe people can look at the songs that they know so well in a different way.”

 

How did you choose the 11 songs?

 

“I started with a list of the most famous songs and then I realised quite quickly that Rock DJ wouldn’t be great on the piano and that Let Me Entertain You would be very clumsy. I also realised that I wanted the album to have one reflective, peaceful mood.

 

“I wanted to make an album that people could put on and it’s just there. They either tune in to it or they can have it on in the background and it helps them relax. We live in high tension times and so I wanted an album that could help people heal their differences and frustrations.”

 

Did any of the songs reveal something new to you?

 

“A few of them did, The Road To Mandalay in particular. I always believed in that song but I really like the new version of it. I think it has a power to it and it will be the standout track on the entire album.”

 

And lastly, how did the process of making the album make you feel about your body of work with Rob?

 

“I’m very proud of it and it will be very nice to share a different way of looking at that work. I’m going to do a tour later in the year and maybe some people will take Rob more seriously as a songwriter. He deserves that.”

 

Interview: Duncan Haskell

 

 

songwritingmagazine.co.uk/interviews/guy-chambers

Would you say that he’s underrated as a songwriter?

 

“I really do think Rob is underrated as a songwriter, massively. Especially as a lyricist; I think his lyrics are amazing and I think he’s written some great melodies as well. Because he’s such a big star and personality, it overshadows his other talents a bit.”

 

How many times have we said this?

 

Interesting interview -thanks Tess ^_^

 

 

 

How many LTAL albums were sold worldwide :unsure:

 

 

Not sure how accurate this data is :unsure:

 

 

https://chartmasters.org/2019/12/robbie-wil...nd-songs-sales/

 

Life thru a Lens explained

 

Type: studio

Artist: Robbie Williams

Cover: Life thru a Lens cover.png

Released: 29 September 1997

Recorded: 1996–1997

Studio: Battery Studios, Maison Rouge Studios

(London, England)

Genre:

Pop rock[1]

Length: 52:46

Label: Chrysalis

 

Life thru a Lens is the debut solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was Williams' first solo album following his departure from Take That. Released on 29 September 1997 through Chrysalis Records, it is influenced by Britpop, a departure from the poppier tone of music Take That employed. The album's working name was The Show-Off Must Go On.[2]

 

The album's first three singles, "Old Before I Die", "Lazy Days" and "South of the Border" (the only single to miss the top 10), were all moderate successes, but it was the fourth single "Angels" which catapulted Williams to international fame as a solo artist. Peaking at number 4, it has sold over 1 million copies in the UK and is his biggest-selling single to date. Fifth and final single "Let Me Entertain You" reached number three, becoming the album's third top-5 hit. "Freedom," Robbie's first solo success, a cover of George Michael's 1990 hit, is not featured on the album.

 

Life thru a Lens debuted at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart and initially remained in the lower regions, but, upon the chart success of "Angels", it began steadily climbing and finally reached number one in April 1998, five months after its release. Though never selling more than 60,000 copies in a single week, the album has sold over 2,094,000 copies as of November 2013, making it Williams' fourth-best-selling studio album and fifth-best-seller overall.[3]

 

Recording and music

After trying hard to find his own sound during a period of personal upheaval, Williams began recordings for the album at London's Maison Rouge studios in March 1997, shortly after his introduction to Guy Chambers. The title track, "Life thru a Lens" was written about Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, "Ego a Go Go" was written about Gary Barlow, "South of the Border" discusses Kate Moss, and "Baby Girl Window" was inspired by Samantha Beckinsale and her late father, actor Richard Beckinsale. "One of God's Better People" and "Angels" were inspired by Williams' mother, Jan. Hidden track "Hello, Sir" is a poem that takes a dig at one of Williams' former teachers. Williams reprised part of the poem on the 1 Giant Leap song "My Culture".

 

The sound of the album is influenced by Britpop, especially bands such as Oasis, a direction his former Take That bandmate Mark Owen had also chosen to pursue on his debut album Green Man (1996). John Bush of AllMusic said that Life thru a Lens "continually betrays overt influences from Oasis and other Britpop stars, but triumphs nevertheless due to gorgeous production, Williams' irresistible personality, and the overall flavor of outrageous, utterly enjoyable pop music."

 

Critical reception

Writing for Melody Maker in October 1997, Robin Bresnark gave Life thru a Lens a negative review; "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."[4] However, John Bush of AllMusic was very positive in his four and a half stars out of five review, calling the album "excellent" and "one of the best U.K. debuts of the '90s".

 

Q ranked the album at number 43 in their 2004 list of "The 50 (+50) Best British Albums Ever" and in their unordered 2005 list of the "Ultimate Music Collection".[5] Record Collector included the album in their unordered 2000 list of "10 Classic Albums from 21 Genres for the 21st Century",[5] whilst Robert Dimery included the album in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[6]

 

Commercial performance

The album was released in October 1997, not long after Williams's stint in rehab. The album was launched with his first live solo gig at the Élysée Montmartre in Paris. At first, the album was slow to take off, debuting at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart, and falling to 104 not long after release, having sold a little over 30,000 copies.[7] The album reached the number one position after spending 27 weeks on the chart, as a consequence of the huge success of the "Angels" single, boosting the album's sales to 300,000.[8] The album spent a total of 218 weeks on the chart and two weeks at number one, becoming the 58th best selling album of all time with sales of 2.4 million copies. Despite the album's success in Williams' homeland, it failed to make a bigger impact in the international market. However, in Argentina, the album reached the top ten in early 1998. The album has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. The album has been certified as 8× Platinum in the UK.

 

Singles

"Old Before I Die", a track co-written by Williams, Eric Bazilian, and Desmond Child, was released as the album's lead single in April 1997, peaking at #2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song failed to make an impact in other international charts.

"Lazy Days" was released as the album's second single in the summer of 1997, amidst Williams' battle with addiction. He was allowed to check out from rehab to shoot the video for the song. The single charted at number-eight in the United Kingdom but, because promotion was nonexistent, struggled to reach the top forty of any other European chart.

"South of the Border" was released as the album's third single in September 1997. It failed to make a significant impact on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #14, and as such, many saw this as the end of Williams' solo career.[9]

"Angels", a song penned by Williams and Guy Chambers, was released as the album's fourth single. The decision to release the song came after Williams met the record company to discuss concerns about his future. The single was released in December 1997, soon becoming Williams' best selling-single in the United Kingdom, being certified 2× Platinum by the BPI.[10] The song became a hit around Europe and Latin America and sold almost two million copies worldwide, rocketing sales of his album.

"Let Me Entertain You" was released as the album's fifth and final single in March 1998. It peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming one of Williams' signature songs and being the opening song for most of Williams' concerts throughout his career.

 

Track listing

MVC stores in the UK offered a free bonus CD with the purchase of either Life Thru a Lens or I've Been Expecting You during Christmas 1999. The album did not contain any unreleased material, but contained twenty-one previously released B-sides and demos from both eras.

 

Personnel

Robbie Williams – vocals, backing vocals

Guy Chambers – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals

Chris Sharrock – drums, snare

Andy Duncan – percussion

Martin Slattery – keyboards

Mark Feltham – harmonica

Gary Nuttall – guitar, backing vocals

Steve Power – keyboards, programming

Geoff Dugmore – drums, percussion

Steve Bush – programming

Derek Watkins – trumpet

Fil Eisler – guitar, bass guitar, tom-tom

Mark Smith – bass guitar, programming

Oscar O'Loughlin – guitar

Mark Smith – guitar, programming

Steve Sidwell – trumpet

Chester Kamen – guitar

Dave Catlin-Birch – bass guitar, backing vocals

Kerry Hopwood – programming

André Barreau – guitar, backing vocals

Beverley Skeete – backing vocals

Carroll Thompson – backing vocals

Andy Caine – backing vocals

Claudia Fontaine – backing vocals

Smiler – backing vocals

Nicole Patterson – backing vocals

 

http://everything.explained.today/%2F/Life_thru_a_Lens/

Some of these reviews are just downright weird -_-

 

 

Life Thru a Lens Review by John Bush

One of the best U.K. debuts of the '90s, Life Thru a Lens is an uninhibited joyride through all manner of British music, from glam to alternative to soft-rock to dance-pop. Beginning with the joyous "Lazy Days," the album continually betrays overt influences from Oasis and other Britpop stars, but triumphs nevertheless due to gorgeous production, Williams' irresistible personality, and the overall flavor of outrageous, utterly enjoyable pop music. Whether he's romping through aggressive burners like "Ego A Go Go" and "South of the Border," crooning on the ballad "Angels," or offering a slice of life -- working-class style -- on the title track and "Lazy Days," Williams is a pop star through and through. For those who appreciate great pop with plenty of cheek, Life Thru a Lens is an excellent album.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/life-thru-a-lens-mw0000462941

 

 

Undertakerpt Sputnik Music

Review Summary: An album by a man, and some other men in the background who's names you wont see on the front cover, but if you look closely in the inner sleeve of the album, you will find their names.

 

It's the 90's. Not literally I mean, just when this album was released it was the 90's. I think it was 98? Oh wait no it was 97. Yeah 97 sounds good let's go with that. And a man/robot built by evil record companies from the U.K called Wobbie Rilliams, had just left rehab. He had recently left Take That, due to taking too much of that, and hanging round with big hard men like Giam Lallagher. Barry Garlow (Take that's lead mimer) had had enough of Wob's antics and had a bit of a moan in private to the evil puppet master behind take that. Thus, the plug was pulled on poor old Wob and he was given the finger.

 

But Wob had a plan. A very cunning plan. He would become a solo artist. That would show everyone! Revenge upon the record company and Take That. But he couldn't do this alone, he was gonna need some help.

 

Enter Guy Chambers, who from now on will be known as.... the guy. The guy is what makes this disc spin in your disc spinning machine. Without the guy, this cd would not spin. In fact, it would probably melt or levitate and throw itself into a microwave, resulting in it melting. The guy is a pretty nifty human being. He is great at writing songs. Catchy songs, ballad-type songs, anthem-like songs and psychedelic songs, the latter which is not featured on this album. The guy can also play every instrument, but on this album he plays nothing, except the keyboard and the crack pipe.

 

Now Wobbie was a mimer in take that, but on this album is his debut as a singer in life. And Wob's voice isn't the kind that can make Mother Teresa come back from the dead and poo on a poo, but he can defiantly spit lyrics in tune to the Guy's compositions. But one of Wob's highlights are his talent to write words down on piece of paper, and then say them in tune to the guy's compositions. The word's that Wob writes are very nice, check these words out from karaoke must have, Angels:

 

"And through it all she offers me protection

A lot of love and affection

Whether I'm right or wrong

And down the waterfall

Wherever it may take me

I know that life won't break me

When I come to call she won't forsake me

I'm loving angels instead"

 

Soo deep, but what could it mean? Only Wob (and the other guy who wrote the lyrics) can decipher their cryptic meaning. But these lyrics have captured the heart of everyone on the planet because they all know what the song goes like. Go to a 3rd world country, where a starving child is about to draw his last breath, and guaranteed he/she will be humming this tune. A blessing from Wob.

 

Brit-pop was a type of coca-cola based product from the south of England, but before it took off, a band called Blur murdered the inventor and stole the name. They then categorized their music as Brit-pop. Wob and the guy, at the time, couldn't afford any food because they had spent all their money on blank cd's, and were hungry for a slice of the Brit-pop pie. Thus a few tracks on this debut have a nice brit-pop texture to them. Lazy days, Life thru a lens and Old before I die, are songs that would fall under the category of Brit pop. Other songs on this album that are not brit-pop, are the ones found in the track list that I have not mentioned in this paragraph.

 

The highlights for this album, and the reason I have given it a 3.5 rating are as follows:

Wob

The guy

The other guy who wrote angels

 

The lowlights for this album and why it doesn't get a 5 are:

There are no swearwords

There is no metal guitar

There is no double bass drumming

There are no saxophone solos

There is no freestyle scatting

There are no black people

There is no free packet of McCoy's crisps upon purchase.

 

Overall: If you are looking for a cheeky little pop debut from a man who used to be in a band called Take That, then make this top of your list!

https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/54245/R...fe-Thru-a-Lens/

 

BBC review

 

Just the beginning of a career that would eventually eclipse Take That’s.

 

Mike Diver 2009

Robbie Williams had a 1995 to never forget, assuming he was ever in a state capable of recording the events that passed and, ultimately, defined the artist he soon became.

 

After drifting away from the other four members of all-conquering boyband Take That – his ideas were apparently overlooked by creative spearhead Gary Barlow, and his drug consumption threatened to see him excluded from the group before a mutual decision was finally made and he left relatively amicably – Williams wound up at Glastonbury, and was pap-snapped partying with members of the equally massive Oasis. Gossip columns flew into overdrive, and assumptions that a solo career beckoned were verified quickly enough when, the very next summer, Williams’ take on George Michael’s Freedom charted just a place shy of the top spot – that’s 26 places higher than the 1990 original.

 

That track didn’t make it onto Williams’ debut album of 1997, a collection of co-writes with Guy Chambers that, while mostly unremarkable when assessed as standalone arrangements, comprise the solid foundations for all that followed: seven further solo albums (2009’s Reality Killed the Video Star marks his return after three years out of the spotlight), several number one singles, more BRIT awards than any other artist, and total sales worldwide of over 55 million.

 

No single from Life Thru a Lens topped the singles chart in the UK, but the album certainly trumped all comers in its category, buoyed by both the celebrity status of its (co) maker and the catchy nature of whistle-along tunes like Lazy Days, Old Before I Die and the here-I-am-world-stop-me-if-you-can excessiveness of Let Me Entertain You, a song that’s less about collaborative enjoyment of music between artist and audience, and more about Williams puffing out his chest and adopting a swagger that would see him through until the comparatively melancholic overtones of second album, I’ve Been Expecting You.

 

And, of course, there’s Angels. It’s hard to believe, given its prominence at weddings and funerals, on mainstream radio and in supermarket aisles, that it only charted at four. But that’s the surprising fact of the matter. Less surprising is that Life Thru a Lens was just the beginning of a career that would eventually eclipse, commercially, that of even his former employers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/b96m/

 

RATEYOURMUSIC

If you remember what Robbie Williams was like as a public persona in 1997, then it shouldn't surprise you that he spends much of Life Thru a Lens jumping up and down and shouting 'look at me, I'm credible now!' He was doing everything he could to burn any bridges with Take That (and their fans, to an extent) and was attaching himself to Oasis, Britain's biggest rock band at that point, like a barnacle on the hull of a ship. He seemed to be actively encouraging the press to report on the drug abuse that had caused him to leave Take That too, and had shaved his head and started wearing leather jackets in a transparent effort to try to appear darker and more adult. It was probably necessary for him, and it wasn't really all that different from George Michael's split from Wham! (Williams made the link between the two clear by covering "Freedom"), but it was just a little tragic all the same.

 

The album follows suit; it's not all that bad or offensive, but it still has that whiff of desperation about it. "Lazy Days" tries to capture some of The Beatle's magic dust by including sitars and stealing some of their more idiosyncratic melodic and harmonic tricks, but fails. "Life Thru a Lens" is obviously an attempt to sound like Pulp; even the lyrics ('just because I'm not double-barrelled doesn't mean I'm not well-travelled', 'I'm talking football, she's talking Ab Fab', 'your daddy is very rich') inhabit a land of sub-Cocker witticisms and 'I'm really working class, me' posturing. "Ego a Go-Go" may be the worst of the bunch, with Williams adopting a voice best described as 'pissed builder doing Liam Gallagher on karaoke', although it's hard to imagine Liam singing 'hide away in your ivory tower and cover me with your golden shower'. Gross! And on and on it goes, with Robbie sounding like he's rifling through his dad's record collection for people to copy.

 

Luckily, the album has "Angels" on it. And that's the funny thing; Robbie was so desperate to gain credibility by jacking tricks from more established bands, and yet he got his credibility with the one song on his album that Take That could have released. Quite right, too - "Angels" is a great song, and if you've got great songs, most people couldn't care less about anything else.

 

Nothing else here approaches that kind of quality. "Let Me Entertain You" is decent enough, largely because the producers did their best to cover up its pretentions of being a Queen song. The rest is listenable and uninspired; it's not bad by any means, but I find it hard to imagine that it's his best album or even close to it, particularly given the quality of some of his later singles. For all the confidence and maturity he was trying to convince everybody he had, he sounds very naive and insecure here.

 

Some additional interesting comments in the link provided https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/rob...fe-thru-a-lens/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How many times have we said this?

 

Interesting interview -thanks Tess ^_^

 

 

& his lack of confidence & self doubt did not help. Do you not think that lack of confidence is something that Guy himself suffers from , it came to mind when he was writing the songs for the David Walliams musical TBITD, I think he would have found it difficult doing it without Rob

OLD BEFORE I DIE

 

"Old Before I Die" can be seen as a response to The Who's "My Generation," which contains the line "I hope I die before I get old." Instead, Robbie Williams sings, "I hope I'm old before I die."

 

Williams explained: "What is scary is that a lot of people do these songs that can be self-fulfilling prophecies about how they're going to die, or how they're going to end up when it happens to them. I genuinely want to be old when I die."

Robbie Williams wrote "Old Before I Die" in Miami alongside Desmond Child and Eric Bazilian (of The Hooters). It was the only successful song to emerge from the short-lived partnership, with Williams eventually flying back to London to work with The Lemon Trees' Guy Chambers.

Shot in February 1997, the David Mould-directed video sees Williams performing with a band of aging rock stars.

The Mexican artist Alejandra Guzmán recorded a cover of this song called "Quiero Vivir (I Want to Live)." Featured on her Grammy Award-winning album Soy, "Quiero Vivir" was produced by the aforementioned Desmond Child.

"Old Before I Die" was the first single released from Williams' debut solo album, Life Thru a Lens. The song, which peaked at #2 in the UK, heard Williams leaving behind the pop roots of Take That in order to embrace a rockier sound inspired by the likes of Oasis and Blur

 

"Old Before I Die" was the first single to be taken from his debut album, Life thru a Lens (1997). The Oasis-influenced song became a number-two hit in the United Kingdom and a number-one hit in Spain following its release on 14 April 1997.

Source: Somgfacts.com

 

 

:heart: this live performance of OBID

 

OLD BEFORE I DIE ( short interview & excerpts from video shoot )

 

LAZY DAYS ( second single on Life Thru a Lens )

 

I love this song, the video is one of my favourites of all time. I always though this song has a very Oasis feel to it , could see LG singing it .

 

 

Robbie Williams described the Britpop-inspired cut "Lazy Days" as "an anthem about being young," adding on his website: "It's basically saying enjoy your youth and don't worry about making mistakes because we all make mistakes - it's part of growing up. That's something I've only just learnt for myself." The song was written by Robbie Williams' frequent collaborator Guy Chambers during his time in the British quintet The Lemon Trees. Williams loved the song, but made some changes to the lyrics and arrangement before claiming it as his own. Directed by Thomas Q. Napper, the video sees Williams dancing around a pleasure garden alongside a multitude of Alice in Wonderland-esque characters. Williams was checked into rehab for cocaine addiction at the time, but was permitted to leave for a day to shoot the video for this song. Williams later said it was "a bonkers video, 'cause that's how my head was at the time." Unfortunately, Williams would return to rehab several times throughout his career, including in 2006 for depression, and in 2007 for dependence on prescription drugs.

 

"Lazy Days" was the second single released from Williams' debut album, Life Thru a Lens, after "Old Before I Die." The song peaked at #8 in the UK, but limited promotion meant it failed to see the same success across Europe.

 

It was released in the United Kingdom on 14 July 1997 as the second single from his debut studio album, Life thru a Lens (1997). According to Williams, the song is about being young, optimistic about the future and not afraid of committing mistakes. The song became a top-10 hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart.

 

Williams took a day out of rehab to shoot the video for the song, and he explained it was "a bonkers video, 'cause that's how my head was at the time, I think".[2] Williams explained that Lazy days was a song previously written by Guy Chambers, during his spell in the Britpop band the Lemon Trees. Williams thought it was an amazing song, but made some changes on the lyrics, including hooks in arrangement and music.

 

Source : songfacts.com

 

Original video

 

Talking about the song

 

French TV

 

Source : robbiewilliams.com

 

Source: discogs.com

 

 

 

SOUTH OF THE BORDER

 

 

What a great song , wish he would sing it live more often . I love the videos he used to do around that time, they are really cool

 

 

with guitar :P

 

 

Robbie Williams said that "South Of The Border" was inspired by his move from Stoke-on-Trent to London. Writing on his website, Williams explained: "I whistle along on this track like Roger Whittaker, but the song is about me completely losing the plot and leaving home to move to London." This opening line of this song is rumored to be about the British supermodel Kate Moss, who was infamously involved in a cocaine scandal in 2005: "I know a freaky young lady, name of Cocaine Katie." This was changed to "No Shame Katie" in the single version.

 

Older listeners will remember "Cocaine Katie" from the 1972 Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show hit "The Cover of "Rolling Stone"."

Williams described this song as "one of the best, so much better than 'Angels.'" Directed by Thomas Q Napper, the video for this song was filmed across two days at Bow Studios, London. Williams decided to release "South Of The Border" as a single at the very last minute, hence the largely uneventful video. "We were recording the 'Let Me Entertain You' video the next day, and I just went 'no, we're doing 'South of the Border' as a single,'" he said.

 

"South Of The Border" failed to reach the Top 10 in the UK, leading critics to suggest it was the end of Robbie Williams' solo career. On the contrary, his next single, "Angels," catapulted the former member of Take That to international fame.

 

This was the third single released from Life Thru a Lens after "Old Before I Die" and "Lazy Days." The song peaked at #14 in the UK, making it Robbie Williams' only single to miss the Top 10 until "Sin Sin Sin" in 2006.

 

songfacts.com

These reviews of LTAL are well worth a read if just for the language alone , some crazy passionate people :rolleyes: - see link below

 

Album Reviews

 

Robbie Williams

 

Life Through A Lens 4 ( 1997 )

 

 

https://www.adriandenning.co.uk/robbiewilliams.html

It makes me miss him when I see those videos. It feels like such a long time since he was around

ANGELS

 

"Angels" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was included on Williams's debut solo album Life thru a Lens (1997), and released as a single on 1 December 1997. "Angels" was written by Williams and Guy Chambers, based on an earlier song written by Ray Heffernan.

 

Williams said he wrote "Angels" with Chambers about his aunt and uncle. Heffernan asserts that he wrote the first version in 1996, after his partner had a miscarriage, and finished it with Williams after meeting him by chance in Dublin. To avoid a lawsuit, Williams bought the rights to the song from Heffernan before it was released.

 

"Angels" is Williams' best-selling single and was voted the best song of the previous 25 years at the 2005 Brit Awards. It has been covered by artists including Jessica Simpson, David Archuleta, Beverley Knight, All Angels, Declan Galbraith and Josh Groban. It has been recorded in Spanish (as "Ángel") by Mexican singers Yuridia and Marco Moré, and in Italian (as "Un Angelo") by Patrizio Buanne. Williams also recorded a Spanish version. In a 2005 poll, Britons voted "Angels" the song they most wanted played at their funeral

Writing

In 2011, Robbie Williams said he wrote "Angels" with collaborator Guy Chambers in 25 minutes about his aunt and uncle. By his account, he and Chambers were sitting outside a cafe watching a water fountain, which inspired them to write the chorus.[2] In 2016, Williams said: "It was the first of our songs that we wrote together. We could tell and hoped and prayed that we got something incredibly special."[3] Williams expressed irritation that some assumed Chambers was the sole author.

 

The Irish singer-songwriter Ray Heffernan asserts that he wrote the first version of "Angels" in Paris in 1996, after his partner had a miscarriage. According to Heffernan, he met Williams in a pub by chance in Dublin. He showed him an incomplete version of the song, and that week the two recorded a studio demo. Williams confirmed that he had recorded a demo with Heffernan but said he rewrote the song significantly with Chambers.

 

Before the song's release, Heffernan accepted an offer from Williams's management to buy the rights for £7,500.[6] He is thanked in the UK CD2 single liner notes. Williams said: "We could have gone to court, and it all would have been down to whether what way the judge wakes up that day out of bed ... So I gave him some money, and he went away." In 2011, Heffernan said: "For a long time, I was angry about this, but as you get older you see things differently ... the 'Angels' connection has opened doors to publishing companies and earned me a few quid."

 

Scottish newspaper Aberdeen Press and Journal stated that "Angels" is "perhaps the strongest cut" from the Life thru a Lens album. John Bush from AllMusic noted Williams' "crooning" on the ballad. Larry Flick from Billboard described it as a "sweet ballad that never gets sappy". He noted that the production is "first-rate, the lyric is thoughtful and ear-grabbing, and his smoky, crisp vocal is a sheer delight. All that and a chorus to kill for." Daily Record wrote, "The ex-Take That star shows he has come of age with this melodic pop ballad." They also added, "Surprisingly grown-up sounding Robbie on what is his best tune to date." A reviewer from Irish Independent called it an "epic ballad". Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented that "with songs of the quality of Angels, Robbie Williams is on his way towards extending his audience by drawing in older listeners." They also added that it "distinguishes itself from its indie rock inspired predecessors 'Old Before I Die' and 'Lazy Days' by exchanging their guitars for a more mellow, piano-based arrangement." Dave Fawbert from ShortList called it a "genuinely brilliant song", adding that it has "a pretty understated vocal from Robbie. Nothing too over the top, just sincere." In 2003, Q ranked "Angels" number 237 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".

 

 

Source wikiwand.com

 

 

 

Knebworth - Angels :heart: :heart:

 

Knebworth - Angels :heart: :heart:

 

 

Absolutely iconic :wub:

I wonder if anyone recognises themselves in the photo below from Woking 1997 gig or are even still fans -_-

 

 

 

Relive Robbie Williams' intimate 1997 gig at Woking's HG Wells Suite after quitting Take That

 

Around 600 people were lucky to catch a sneak preview of Williams' debut solo album in 1997 in the unlikely environs of the HG Wells Suite. Not many have the privilege of saying “I was there” when referring to a Robbie Williams gig in Woking back in 1997. The singing sensation performed an intimate gig to just 600 people at Woking’s HG Wells Suite, having left boy band Take That just two years earlier.

 

Little was known then of how much of a success Robbie would become as a solo artist after the band’s split caused heartbreak for tens of thousands. This was before huge hits such as “Angels” and “Millennium” had entered out lives – obviously a much sadder time. SurreyLive photographer Grahame Larter was one of the few to have attended the gig September 1997 gig during his freelancing days and was able to get up close and personal with Robbie.

 

We have taken a trip down memory lane to give you a glimpse of what it was like to be at one of his first solo gigs all that time ago. We have also included our review of the gig at the time, by then Surrey Advertiser sub-editor Carey Middleton, for good measure.Robbie told reporters at the time he picked Woking because "It's a great place with a perfect venue for my preview concert".Maybe he was attracted to its musical heritage too, being the hometown of Paul Weller and The Jam and where Rick Parfitt from Status Quo went to school.He may have been aware that nearby Knaphill was where the Spice Girls started their careers at Trinity Studios. Peter Gabriel, founder of the rock group, Genesis, lived in Chobham too. Maybe it was the town's close proximity to London, just a quick train ride away, or Williams just fancied a quick trip to the shops in The Peacocks centre, which was celebrating its fifth birthday in 1997.

 

The venue for the one-night concert was Woking Planets, at the HG Wells Suite, a small capacity location and definitely very small in comparison to the stadium tours that Williams had been used to in his Take That days. Two girls at the head of the queue on the day had been there since 7am and some had travelled from Germany to watch their idol perform.Around 600 people attended the intimate gig, billed as a sneak preview of his debut solo album, Life Thru A Lens, before he set off on his first solo UK and European tour. SurreyLive chatted to two individuals who were lucky to be part of the crowd on the one-off evening. Carey also had the task on the night of assessing whether Robbie was up to the challenge of going solo. "Looking back, when I saw Robbie Williams at HG Wells in Woking in 1997 - his first solo gig since his acrimonious split from Take That - he'd certainly been a bit of a loose cannon, attracting heaps of publicity for all the wrong reasons," she said. "When I reviewed the show with my [then] teenage daughter and her friend, I remember the palpable apprehension and tension in the room. Would he behave himself? Could he hack it as a solo artist?. "He smashed it. Who could have known he would go on to become such a huge star? "Robbie was certainly at the front of the queue when it came to dishing out confidence and the ability to clown around, and these traits have helped to ensure a rock solid career in the music business.

 

"With numerous best-selling albums under his belt and still filling huge venues around the world, it looks like Robbie is here to stay." Grahame got the chance to chat and photograph Robbie during a break between sound checks and while he tucked into his dinner. He asked Robbie why Woking made it onto the gig list and the musician praised Woking for the superb venue and great people. Robbie also told Grahame, with a playful grin :"And apart from that, they're paying me well." The singer was relaxed while chatting to the press and while Grahame snapped away, the pair also discussed Robbie's then upcoming album Life Thru a Lens, released two days after the gig. Robbie, dressed smartly in a designer suit for the gig, said: "The album reflects life as I see it. It's not a positive or negative thing towards the press. "Without the media, I wouldn't be here. Fame and the press go together."

 

Here's Carey's review in full so you can read for yourself what she thought of the exclusive gig.

After an absence from the stage of two years, Robbie Williams is back... and I have to say, the boy looks good. Last Saturday, Robbie marked his triumphant return to the music world with a sneak preview of his debut solo album, Life Thru A Lens, for enthusiastic fans at Woking Planets, before embarking on his first solo UK and European tour, which began in Norwich this week, with appearances at Hammersmith Palais on October 16 and 17. The HG Wells Suite was an ideal venue for an intimate concert which still boasted around 600 fans from far and wide, and provided the perfect back-drop for the launch of Robbie's solo career. Wearing a black frock coat, pin-stripe trousers, t-shirt and a cheeky grin, he looked in very good shape and ready for an exhausting tour schedule. Kicking off with the high octane Let Me Entertain You, Robbie showed that he could once again have the fans eating out of his hand. His sheer energy and enthusiasm defies many of the reports that have been written about Robbie in the past and he must now surely be 'regarded as a force to be reckoned with. The pelvic thrusts have gone —well, okay, there were a few —and this was a new, Robbie Williams, self-confident with a new album which didn't need the complicated dance routines of yester-year.

 

Life Thru A Lens is an excellent mix of energetic up-beat numbers, dance anthems and soulful ballads, none more so than his forthcoming Christmas single, Angels and the wonderful One of God's Better People, a tribute to his mother. The packed audience was thrilled with the live version of his popular chart hit Lazy Days, sharply contrasted by the slower Killing Me Slowly. The raunchy lyrics of She Makes Me High had the crowd jumping and there were squeals of delight when this was followed by his current chart hit, South of the Border. The sardonic lyrics of Teenage Millionaire reflect memories of life with Take That — now, thankfully, very much in the past.

 

https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/nostalgia/...surrey-12181949

1998 was one very busy year for one Mr R Williams

 

Williams and Chambers started writing the second album, I've Been Expecting You, in Jamaica in early 1998. The first single, "Millennium", accompanied with a music video featuring Williams parodying James Bond, complete with tuxedo and references to Bond films like Thunderball and From Russia with Love, became Williams' first solo number one single in the United Kingdom.It also became a top twenty hit in many European countries, Latin America and Australia

 

I've Been Expecting You

 

Side A

Strong

No Regrets

Millennium

Phoenix From The Flames

Win Some Lose Some

Grace

 

Side B

It's Only Us

Heaven From Here

Karma Killer

She's The One

Man Machine

These Dreams

 

Bonus Tracks

Stand Your Ground

Stalker's Day Off

 

I've Been Expecting You was released in late October 1998 and debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart. The album received more attention outside the United Kingdom, leaving its mark in the European and Latin American markets with hits such as "No Regrets", a collaboration with The Pet Shop Boys' singer Neil Tennant and The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon. "She's the One", a cover of a World Party track written by Karl Wallinger, became Williams' second UK number-one single. Williams finished the year with a European Tour late in 1999. I've Been Expecting You sold almost 3 million copies in the UK and was certified 10x Platinum by the BPI. In Europe, the album sold over 4 million copies. Source wiki

 

 

I found this review of IBEY from Poprescue in 2014 interesting , the reviewer bought the album for £1.00

 

Today’s POP RESCUE from a fate unknown is the 1998 second solo album, I’ve Been Expecting You, by Robbie Williams. Is this album worth the wait, or will you have Regrets? Read on…

 

It’s impossible to not know the four big tracks from this 12 track album – all UK singles. At this point in his career, Robbie was not only doing well in the albums chart, but in the singles chart too.

 

The album opens with single Strong, and this track starts off as if it’s been lifted straight from Oasis‘ What’s The Story (Morning Glory?) album. Combined with long-term writing partner, Robbie’s lyrics are slick, clever, and mature, and feel miles away from the Take That that he had first left. It’s perfectly sing-a-long.

 

Next up, the lovely gentle electronic bleeps usher in the second single, No Regrets – one of my small list of favourite Robbie tracks. This is probably because it has a Pet Shop Boys feel to it – unsurprising as you learn that Neil Tennant is on backing vocal duties here. His vocals are joined by Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy. It’s a warm, mellow, track, and Robbie’s vocals make light work of this. It’s a perfect blend of voices.

 

The James Bond styled hit Millennium is up next. Oddly released as the lead single with a few years yet to be topical, but even still, this song is a polished track that was deservedly a hit. This would have no doubt been aided by the completely hypnotic use of the You Only Live Twice string section. Amongst the backing singers here is Claudia Fontaine, who has worked with The Beatmasters, Betty Boo, Dusty Springfield, and many others. I think that this is my favourite Robbie track.

 

Piano opens fourth track Phoenix From The Flames, complete with higher-pitched vocals in the intro, before a drum fill return a mid-tempo rock number. Again, the influences of his (mostly) turbulent friendship with Oasis are shining, and that’s far from being a bad thing.

 

Up next is Win Some Lose Some, which opens with a telephone message from his then partner Nicole Appleton from All Saints (and later Appleton). This track is loaded with chugging guitars, pitched perfectly against Robbie’s rockier vocals. This was released as the 5th and final single from the album, charting only in New Zealand.

 

Grace is up next, a kind of 60s lounge track. The kind you might find playing in the background of a Bond movie bar/cocktail party scene. It’s up-beat, and fun. The style reminds me a little of his later co-write Loveboat for Kylie Minogue‘s Light Years comeback album in 2000.

 

This is followed by Jesus In A Camper Van, which is a light indie-pop track. I really like the line ‘They told you not to meddle with the bass and the treble. There’s dust on your needle and you think that you’re a rebel’. This is clearly an album track, and there’s nothing offensive about this one at all.

 

Acoustic guitars fade in for next track Heaven From Here, and it remains a lovely mellow track. There’s no sudden bursts, it’s just a really nice track, and Robbie’s vocals compliment it perfectly.

 

The sound picks up the pace for Karma Killer with chugging guitars that follow someone saying ‘You’ve been naughty, very very naughty..’ before bursting into orchestra-backed soundtrack-esque track. It’s a fantastic track, that reminds me musically Pulp‘s track I Spy.

 

Tenth track, She’s The One was also a huge single, and one that I can imagine gets played heavily at wedding receptions. It’s piano led, utterly sentimental, and Robbie delivers the vocals perfectly.

 

Man Machine is up next, and we’re back to a rockier track again, and it’s here that Robbie’s vocals remind me most of Liam Gallagher. The track is fairly catchy, and I can imagine that it would be great to have seen this played live.

 

The album closes with These Dreams which is musically beautiful, building up perfectly, with guitar, orchestra, and vocals….

 

…but that’s not the end. At about 11:50 the sound of waves arrive, and then some acoustic guitar ushers in another 3 minute song called Stand Your Ground.

 

And still, that’s not the end… Stalker’s Day Off officially brings the album to a close about 27:40 minutes into These Dreams. A phone rings, before Robbie and a piano begin, singing a song about stalkers.

 

VERDICT

Having never listened to a Robbie Williams album in my life, I am really pleased that this is my entry point. I can see why this album performed extremely well commercially. £1 very well spent.

 

Rated 5 stars - Essential listening.

POP RESCUE 2014 RATING: 5 / 5

1998 UK CHART POSITION: #1, certified 10x Platinum, biggest selling album of 1998, and 38th best selling album of all time.

POP RESCUE COST: £1.00 from a Poundland store.

 

 

https://poprescue.com/2014/12/31/pop-rescue...lliams-cd-1998/

 

 

I've Been Expecting You | The Secret To Naming A Song