Musically focused into guitar-based '60s pop by diffident muso Guy
Chambers (ex-World Party and the Lemon Trees), Robbie Williams has poured
himself into his debut solo album with an emotional abandonment that the
post-modern archness of Britpop (his presumed real love) rarely
expressed.The storming Let Me Entertain You is shot through with cheeky
Alice Cooper-isms- "You're tired of your teachers and school's a
drag/You are not going to end up like your mum and dad" - as William's
mix of showmanship and vulnerability adds character to Chamber's varied
arrangements. Observations on drugs, fame and the "it" girls tumble out
in snappy pop couplets, notably on the title track where he sings "I'm
talking football/You're talking Ab Fab" Williams is less successful when
he slips into Gary Barlow mode for the earnest ballads, but Old Before I
Die, Ego A Go Go and South of the Border show there is life after TT.
***(out of 5)
Reviewed by Steve Malins
Typed up by Burak, thanx!