Robbie Williams: Sing When You're Winning : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Robbie Williams, England's top entertainer of the moment, pulls from pop's past like a hip-hopper samples a groove, chasing lavish contemporary beauty. Known for crowd-pleasing shenanigans onstage, the former boy-band bad boy turns into a craftsman within the protective studio womb. On his second U.S. album, Williams and collaborator Guy Chambers achieve an audio spectacle showcasing their melodic wit and stylistic valor. The opening "Let Love Be Your Energy" is the essence of power pop -- a huge hook, even larger rock symphonics, and fat, flowery sonics to shake your soul. The Oasis inflections from Williams' debut are gone, replaced by a theatrically earnest cry. Layering Barry White violins over Frankie Goes to Hollywood throb, "Rock DJ" is Williams' cheeky-dumb party anthem, while "Better Man" sings a sweet-ballad sequel to his "Angels." In "Kids," Williams raps his own pop biography; no one but this twisted star could rhyme "Sean Connery" with "sodomy" and then "ornithology," and have it all describe his aesthetic symbology. (RS 852)

BARRY WALTERS