Robbie Williams

Über-pop star Robbie Williams enjoyed his first round of mega-success as one-fifth of Take That, Britain's most popular boy band since the Beatles. His solo career began in 1995 when the rest of Take That -- a rather straight-arrow bunch -- parted ways with the drinking-and-drugging Williams. The playboy's revenge came in the form of two #1 U.K. albums: his debut, 1997's Life Thru a Lens, and its followup, 1998's I've Been Expecting You.

Those two discs were combined to make The Ego Has Landed, a delicious guilty pleasure that served as Williams' official introduction to American ears. Standouts here include the pop trinkets "Lazy Days" and "Millennium" and the swoon-inducing ballad "Angels" -- expected fare from a boy-band alumnus. But within the album's fluff lurks plenty of cheek: The sing-songy "Strong" is an exercise in self-deprecation, while "Let Me Entertain You" -- quintessential Williams -- sees the singer both reinventing and promoting himself as the human embodiment of show business.

If the ego had landed for Williams' first two records, it had invaded and conquered by the time of Sing When You're Winning: "Single-handedly raising the economy," he boasts on the Kylie Minogue duet "Kids," "ain't no chance of the record company dropping me." The album has its inspired moments -- "Supreme" puts a dark spin on the Gloria Gaynor classic "I Will Survive" -- as well as a number of questionable mushy ballads.

In 2002, EMI signed Williams to a megamillion-dollar deal and declared its intention of pushing him hard in the United States. Escapology sounds like a more self-conscious effort to craft a pop-rock blockbuster. Williams does a fine job belting out power ballads such as "Monsoon" and "Come Undone," but the best tracks here are the ones least likely to become hits: for instance, "Me and My Monkey," a seven-minute saga with mariachi horns about checking into a Las Vegas hotel with an out-of-control chimp. (NINA PEARLMAN/JENNY ELISCU)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide