Robbie Williams Returns to 'Reality'
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Former “Take That” member Robbie Williams has long cast his boy band history off and proven to be one of pop’s most eclectic and creative artists in awhile. However, his split with longtime collaborator Guy Chambers a few years ago showed he didn’t always have the magic touch. 2006 effort “Rudebox” showed some cracks in his armor, as he tried to venture out of his comfort zone into harder electronica, an effort that paid off at times, but was embarrasing at times too.
After a few years off, Williams returns with “Reality Killed the Video Star,” an album that sees a mix of the older bravado and sound of previous Williams efforts back in play. His main collaborator on this album is Trevor Horn, who, as lead singer of the Buggles, was responsible for “Video Killed the Radio Star,” hence the album title name. Like with “Rudebox,” Williams cast a larger net, collaborating with a larger group, but Horn’s production provides a unity and mixes the middle of the road Williams of his earlier years with the more experimental nature of “Rudebox.” The resuling combination of elements is wildly successful.
Williams largely returns to his roots of big pop songs with personality. “Bodies” offers a subdued electronica take, much better than his “Rudebox” efforts. “Last Days of Disco,” a dancier track with a darker mood, also works, with Williams’ subdued vocals adding a nice subtlety to a track that is danceable but smoothly glides along. “Do You Mind” adds in hand claps and a beat that ever so subtly seems to elude to a simpler time of rock, but the Robbie Williams swagger is back.
Williams runs the gamut here, yet he was always able to do so quite well. All the pieces are here, fromt the sweeping strings to the personality, and it just works. It’s a nice return to form from Williams, who seemed to have been a bit adrift for awhile. While he hasn’t broken big in the U.S., being a more popular favorite in Europe, there’s plenty here for American audiences to like.
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