Robbie Williams - Rubebox
He was being very shrewd when he recorded this. Either that or he was stoned. I can't quite decide.
A strange bag of tricks. Some of them work, some of them don't.
1 Rudebox.
I love this song. I like the simplicity of the track, but more than anything else, I love the fact that it's somebody so mainstream that's done it. I don't even know what a rudebox is, but this song makes me wanna shake mine! He raps, then sings, then raps again. Something of a theme for the rest of the album. He talks about a load of crap on the verses but the chorus is to die for!
I love it.
It's funky 70's, blended with 80's breakbeat and it works really well. This is without doubt, my favourite Robbie song.
2 Viva life on Mars.
It starts off like a country song. Then the kick drum kicks in. Oh, so now it sounds like one of those new age country songs. It's inoffensive though, in a very listenable way. There's harmonica and banjo. Didn't do Basement Jaxx any harm, did it?! It's an ok song, but it's no show-stopper. I can only hope that some dip-shit at the Record Company doesn't decide to release this as a single.
3 Lovelight.
An interesting listen. Starts off blip like, then programmed drums bring in a jazzy feel, then the light keyboards kick in. Think Jamiroquai. It's breezy, almost jazzy feelin', very laid back. He sings almost falsetto, which is new one on me for Robbie. Reminds me of old Take That songs. The bridge and chorus lift the song up somewhat but all in all it's a pretty average song.
4 Bongo Bong and Je Ne TÂaime.
Album filler alert! A throwaway song that's got nothing going for it apart from it's worth one listen. What the hell was he thinking when he recorded this? I'm sure he must have been tripping or something. I'm led to believe Lily Allen provides backing vocals on this track, but even with her high profile lately, it's not enough to raise any interest. It goes all French half way through. I guess the clue would be in the title then, huh? I fact, when it goes all French, it actually become a much more interesting listen.
5 She's Madonna.
Dreamy vocals to begin with. This is pure Human League. Breezy basslines and keyboards accompanying an electronic percussion track. Nice simple vocals and one hell of a hook for a chorus. It's very 80's this track. This would be a great choice for a single. Perhaps this could win back some of the fans he lost when he released Rudebox.
The track winds down with Robbie talking in a foreign language through one of those megaphone thingies, but really quiet like.
6 Keep On.
Can I say it? Can I even comprehend what I'm about to say? The intro to this song sounds just like it's come from a Morrissey standard. As soon as the intro is over, that's where the similarities end. What we now get, is Robbie rapping, or more accurately, talking in time with the music. The chorus is pretty good, with some nice strings in the background. Strangely, or perhaps intentionally, he sings in a Human League style vocal again during the chorus, but all the rapping stuff just reminds me of East 17. The Twats.
7 Good Doctor.
Oh Christ, Robbie goes all reggae flavour on our asses. There's a good hook right there in the chorus, but it's short lived when the rest of the songs chugs along at a snails pace. The lyrics sound like they were made up 10 minutes prior to recording. There's punishment towards the end as well. The song comes to and end, but it's a trick, a trick I tell you, because he kicks the fucker back in again. It's twice as shit now, just for that alone!
8 The Actor.
A strange song. I'm not sure what he's singing about because the music has completely taken over. It's Bontempi time all over again! The keyboard tinkering sounds very similar to those pre programmed backing tracks you get on those crappy Bontempi keyboards. And what's with that strange interlude part in the middle? Is that kind of 'tip of the hat' to Madonna's Vogue?
"Strike a pose, there's nothing to it!"
Imagine Depeche mode doing the music and chief Pet Shop Boy style vocals and you're gonna be pretty close.
9 Never touch that switch.
Good keyboard hook in this one. Oh and then he raps again. *sigh*. I actually really like this track. The whole 'feel' of it gives me good vibes. This to me, is like a cross between Thomas Dolby, Kraftwerk and Beck. Then throw in something that sounds like a sample of Imagination's "Just an illusion" and you got a pretty funky tune. The bassline really grinds down well after the second listen and it actually 'feels' like having potential to become a good sex song.
If I listen to this track with my eyes closed and forget Robbies singing on it, then it's actually a really groovy record that could just be good enough to catch people's attention on it's own merits. In fact the more I hear it, the more I'm convinced it would sound great with a female vocal.
10 Louise.
Ok, if I close my eyes this time and pretend it's not Robbie Williams, this track has Karaoke written all over it. Seriously, the backing track is a straight version taken off those Karaoke cd's. It's not a good choice of cover, he sings it almost identical to the original and it sounds more like something you'd hear out of the door of a pub you're staggering past, to get home.
Definate track skipper!
11 We're the pet shop boys.
The first real uptempo track so far and it begins with an intro akin to the likes of DJ Sammy or
Ok, so a cover of the Pet Shop Boys might even be a good idea, but for fucks sake, who decides to cover such a 'name tagged' song. That makes about as much sense as somebody covering "My Name Is Prince" or "Hey Hey, We're The Monkeys."
The words, pointless and idea spring to mind.
12 Burslem Normals.
Slow tempo...
.nice. He's singing, not rapping....also a bonus. Some nice use of a vocoder and a cool, feel good vibe about the whole song. I really think he should release this as a single. This is probably the most 'Robbie' song out of the lot.
13 Kiss Me.
Another cover version, This time a club classic by Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy played in pretty much every club during the late 80's and early 90's. It actually sounds like a remix that should have been released about 5 years ago. Yes, it sounds THAT dated!
There's nothing new here, move along.
14 The 80's.
He's rapping again. *sigh*. But this time he's pretty tolerable. In fact, the things he's talking about make better sense delivered the way he does instead of singing them. This is the sort of song Lily Allen would deliver 100% better.
This is Robbie in reflection mode, talking about his childhood, school and his sexual and drug experiences.
15 The 90's.
Seeing a theme here? A straightforward follow on from the previous track, although at a much slower tempo and actually a lot more interesting to listen to. Ok, he raps again, but the guitar hook keeps the groove on and the whole song sounds a lot more...
.complete.
This one has him talking about leaving school, his Take That days, his relationship with the other members, when he left the band and how he felt on his own.
16 Summertime.
It's a nice song. It's quite uplifting actually. Nice use of vocoder again. He does jump into Rappin' Robbie mode again towards the end, but it's forgivable because the rest of the song is really nice. A nice track to finish off the album.
But it doesn't, this one does....
17 Dickhead.
It's the rapping thing again. Sho Nuff and all that jizzle snizzle. Apparently, this is the track that has a pop at his ex Manager, amongst other people. A pointless track that once heard...
.well, put it this way, you wouldn't lose any sleep over knowing you'd never hear it again.
So there you have it. A right old mix.
I don't think this album is gonna win him many new fans, more detrimental is the fact that it may very well lose him some.
This just isn't a Robbie album. It's a new direction for him, which is always a good thing. Moving forwards and all that. But the biggest problem I think, is that if it were an album by an unknown, or even semi known artist, then it would be instantly dismissed. Frankly, as an album it's very mediocre. As a Robbie album, it makes it just a little more... .interesting.
For your pleasure:
delivered by bedshaped at 11:34 PM
1 Discussions:
Morrissey and Robbie Williams in the same sentence? Surely not! I was never a Take That fan but I like Robbie's cheeky-chappiness. His rapping, however, I feel is better forgotten about.
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