Even those who were pleasantly surprised by the quality
of Robbie Williams' recent Top 10 single Lazy Days should be gobsmacked
at the musical and emotional depth of his debut solo album, Life
Thru A Lens.
The album is released on September 29, two weeks
after his strongest single yet, South Of The Border. It highlights
similar Beatles/Britpop influences as Lazy Days but with harsher,
rockier grooves, and the blatantly autobiographical lyrics indicate
we are about to meet the maturer Robbie we have been waiting for
since he split from Take That.
"The album is probably a Dear Diary thing that
I was going through," says Williams, noticeably fitter, happier,
more sober and up for it than he's been for some time.
"It's very personal, very in-depth as to how
I was feeling. Miserable in places and ironic and funny in others."
Given that the year following Take That's split was
only marked by Williams' debut single Freedom '96 and that the
follow-up, Old Before I Die, appeared nine months later, it had
seemed as if the singer's rejuvenated career was dragging its
heels, as he fought against his teen idol legacy and the demon
alcohol.
"The album did take longer than any of us would
have wanted but you can't let the ticking of the clock dictate,"
says EMI group A & R executive Chris Briggs.
The man credited with accelerating the creative flow
was Guy Chambers, one-time keyboardist for World Party and founder
member of early Nineties pop melodicists The Lemon Trees, who
co-wrote nine of the album's 11 tracks.
"It was actually my mother's boyfriend who brought
The Lemon Trees up in conversation," Williams recalls. "I'd
never heard of them but then I got a call, mentioning them to
me. I thought 'Ah, a sign!'"
Briggs adds, ""Robbie constantly writes lyrics
and has some good ideas but he's not a musician per se, so we
tried various collaborators, and the one Robbie clicked with was
Guy. The demos confirmed we had found a direction. But it had
to come naturally. The last thing we wanted was to be a heavy-handed
record company."
With Chambers and Steve Power co-producing, the album's
core hand was drummer Chris Sharrock (World Party, Lightning Seeds),
bassist Fil Eisner and Chambers on guitar and keyboards. Though
the album doesn't reflect it, Briggs admits recording was slowed
down by Williams' alcoholism. "He had good days and bad days,
but Robbie was very aware of where he was, and what he'd have
to do to get off that path. And it gave him something to write
about."
Williams' decision to enter rehab after the album
was finished wasn't exactly great timing, as Lazy Days was just
about to be released.
"Robbie couldn't do any promotion, so we only
had radio play," says Briggs. "But I was pleased because,
ultimately, he wanted to sort himself out, and you have to respect
that."
Eisner and Chambers are part of Williams' touring
band, joined by guitarist Gary Nuttall, keyboardist Andy Wallace
and drummer Steve Barnard. The album's guitar-based brief makes
it simple to translate live. Briggs says, "The constant check
in the studio was, 'can we play this live?'"
While the band rehearse, Chrysalis marketing director
Richard Engler will be laying the groundwork. Retail window display,
in-store promotion and press ads will roll out.
But Engler acknowledges that consumers will need
convincing that Williams has moved away from a teen/pop background.
"People have to hear the record and realise he's great on
his own, otherwise they'll be suspicious," he says.
With the singles South Of The Border and the mature
ballad Angel scheduled for Christmas release, Chrysalis should
have a timely "second coming" on its hands.
Music Week, 13 September 1997