I’m no old
crock but had seen many boysbands raise (and fall) since the day I was born.
Some people consider The Beatles, The Jackson 5 or The Rolling Stones as
boysbands. Opinions differ on that subject and I’ll keep my opinion for myself
today…
The first
boysband of my generation remains the New Kids On The Block and I still
remember the effect of the five Bostonians on girls. I’d be lying to you if I’d
tell you I was booing them. To tell you the truth, this band is linked to one
of the biggest moments of frustration in my life… Picture the scene: you’re
barely 14, all the girls of your class have their tickets, it’s eveywhere in
the news, they’re even on the television and you… you’re yelling into a cushion
because your parents won’t let you go in a place where “there are LOT of
people”. Let me tell you that after that day, I made them pay that obstruction
towards my passion of music… most of the time without them knowing about it, by
the way.
This just to
let you know that they eventually allowed me to go to a place with “lot of people”
that was also the day I met Robbie Williams, back in 1995. And that was quite a
meeting! Back then, he was still part of Take That. Not for a long time,
though. Expression of an already present uneasiness or simple demonstration of
the show man he was and still is, he was the only one with an onstage presence…
Hard to miss a guy standing up on amps, close to fall in the crowd when the
other four quietly stand on the stage.
And then,
Robbie Williams calls it quit… And has the career we all know about. One of the
biggest putschs in the boybands world. Only Justin Timberlake will reproduce that
a few years later.
I’ve always
watched closely the lad’s career and his collaboration with Guy Chambers
remains of the best tandem in the British singer’s musical career. The
professional breakup between these two has had an effect on the course of
events in his career… as well as on my enthusiasm for his songs. To this day, I
still give a mean look to the “Intensive Care” and “Rudebox” CDs standing in my
music library… Then, comeback of the big guy from Stoke-On-Trent with “Reality
Killed The Video Star”. A winning comeback thanks to the wise choice of Trevor
Horn as a producer. From the very first listening, it was pretty obvious that
the Robbie I’ve always liked was still very much alive. Damn, it was about
time!
This week,
release of his new album. Slight apprehension considering the previous
experiences. Did he make a trip in another musical style? Cautious discovery by
watching the video of “Take The Crown”’s first single, “Candy”.
The melody
is great, easy to remember and sticks for hours in the back of your mind. Plus
the story of that girl who sees herself so wonderful is fun. The young woman,
played by Skins’ Kaya Scodelario, surely gives Robbie a hard time in this
video. That song smells like summer… turning my head and noticing the rainy
weather of All Saint’s holiday, I can’t help but think that song can’t be a bad
thing…
Little basic
information concerning this review: I only have a few video available as it’s a
very recent album release and the ones you’ll find in this review don’t
necessarily represent the plain musical range I’d have liked to show you...
Robbie
Williams’ new opus starts with “Be A Boy”. If I feared the first electro sound
seconds were taking me back into the Intensive Care/Rudebox time, this was only
a short impression. That song is great. Especially its lyrics… A thought over
his 20 years-ish career, over hard times, over the fact that he didn’t quite
grow old like the rest of us. Also a potential thought concerning those people
unable to stop seeing him as an artist almost “at the end of the road”.
“They said
it was leaving me, The magic was leaving me. I don’t think so […] Now I could make
this last forever”. Displaying such a message to start an album definitely gets
everything to the point.
“Gospel” has
an 80ies sound and the verses’ rhythm section has that easy-to-remember side.
Robbie gets a great vocal support from young American Lissie for that song.
Lissie made herself a name thanks to her Myspace page that eventually led her
to become the opening act of… Lenny Kravitz. “Just” that.
Pick up the
violin, “Different” is coming up! Real violins sound… mixed with a kill-it-all
guitar riff. Also includes the a-we-so-me guitar solo. The whole thing with a
choir, another great quality adding solid weight to the track. That song is
also a living proof that the most simple sentences are the most effective.
“Different” and “Candy” are the result of Robbie’s work with Gary Barlow, the
musical mind of Take That. Robbie Williams may be one member of Take That, he
has his very own personality. The consequence being that his own music may not
always be in full harmony with the one he performs with the quintette. Barlow
and Williams stayed away from each other for years… I’m glad to see these two
reunited to bring a little bit of their respective talent and personality to
write such songs as “Different”.
I was
writing that “Candy” was a summer song… “Shit On The Radio” perfectly fits in
that category as well. That being said, its title will probably not be a
winning one amongst the radio stations. Somehow, I’m not sure the singer’s so
wrong. He lives mostly in the United States and me being on the other side of
the ocean, I wouldn’t dare judging US radios. On this side of the ocean, though…
The over-airing of so-called great artists severely restrains a good musical
education. I still don’t see the talent in LMFAO or Sexion D’Assaut’s music and
you won’t definitely make me love these more by putting them on air 20 times a
day…
Anyway,
let’s close the radio subject by saying I’d rather swing in my living room to
the sound of “Shit On The Radio” rather than on “Gangnam Style”. And well, dear
radios… Maybe you shouldn’t forget that Robbie Williams has always room for
some little provocation…
“All That I
Want” is a recollection of that Robbie Williams’ period I completely tried to
forget. Except for those nice guitar riffs that actually make me stick to the
song. So I keep dancing in the living room… Guess that may make that song
effective after all.
Need to stop
dancing now… I sit down and listen very carefully to “Hunting For You”. Drums,
keyboards, bass, acoustic and electric guitars… I “cut” the song like I
explained it in the Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ review. All the parts
are amazing taken separately and make the song a big hit once they’re all
gathered together. Add some choir and Robbie’s voice and that the icing on the
cake! A cake of multiple layers for an exquisite taste.
“Into The
Silence” is… It’s difficult to write about a song when that one sent you a
“musical” shock in your heart and body. Listening to a song is soooo subjective
after all. The song starts with a melancholic vibe followed by a guitar riff that
U2’s The Edge or The Killers’ Dave Keuning wouldn’t probably mind performing…
Williams hasn’t even said a word and I have a lump in my throat. When he does
open his mouth, I’m not getting any better…
Robbie
Williams is one of those performers who know their voice enough to never
experiment vocal failures. Singing is a natural thing for those artists… At a
very specific moment of the song, his voice comes close on its limits. For the
first time in all these years, his voice is weak for a split second. In
different circumstances, in a different song, it’d have been a disaster. In
this one, it’s… simply superb. Probably because this was no weakness… just the
necessary fragility to express this song’s beauty.
I barely get over the emotion, Robbie’s taking me for another dance round. Not a little one. “Hey Wow Yeah Yeah” is a 200 miles per hour song! Definitely not a lyrics song. A bit repetitive but a song that may get you standing up on your living room table or on your sofa clapping your hands like crazy. You may need new furniture and an appointment to the doctor to check up on your painful body after that one. Diagnosis: stiff neck. Robbie’s fault, Sir! Was fun on the moment though, you know…
While
listening to “Not Like The Others”, my first reaction was: “heeeeeeey, Bowie’s
Heroes!!!”. The feeling only last during the song’s intro though. The song has
its own autonomy and a very different rhythmic from Bowie’s famous song. This
is another tune with great energy for a Robbie showing us he hasn’t quite lost
his… erm… cheeky side.
I mentioned
a few times guitar parts (Different, All That I Want, Hunting For You, Into The
Silence) and this song is a new opportunity to praise the guitarists who
provided their talent for this album. I rarely noticed that much guitar parts –
especially the electric side of it – on a Robbie Williams album and can
therefore appreciate even more their inner quality.
Lissie is
back for “Losers”, a nice duet displaying the great complementary vocals of these
two. A duet dealing with fame and the competition generally attached to success.
The expression of the instability in that competition where there’s always
someone else to replace you before realizing how competition is sometimes pointless
compared to Life itself. Robbie Williams starts his album by saying he’ll
always be there and… ends it by letting us know he has now things that matters
more than other in his life. Brilliant.
The biggest
difficulty of this album is without any doubt to guess future singles.
Generally, some songs have a greater vibe on an album and you can quite easily
spot the singles from 2000 miles away. In this case… well… I may have listened
“Take The Crown” in a continuous loop for hours, I simply can’t pick potential
singles from “ordinary” songs. Each song has its own charm and perfectly fit
Robbie Williams, enough to become some music videos. Even worse, the songs have
so much energy they’d be great played live. Knowing the singer’s love for live
performances, I’d bet he’d have much fun touring for this one album… We may
even be direct witnesses of that fun. Yeepee!!
I liked
listening to this album full of that necessary positive energy as winter is
coming… Then I think it’s important to salute other people for those sweet rays
of sun light.
Williams
picked up producer Jacknife Lee to work on “Take The Crown”. Lee has previously
worked with Snow Patrol, R.E.M, Weezer, The Hives or The Cars. He succeeded to
extend “Video Killes The Radio Star”‘s magic in a very elegant way.
Seven of the
eleven songs of the album were written with young Australians Tim Metcalfe and Flynn
Francis. Eight if you count the great “Reverse” on the Deluxe Edition. I wonder
where the Hell Williams found these two but… I guess it doesn’t matter in the
end… The most important thing is that his association with these two gave birth
to these amazing songs. They though aroused my curiosity enough to keep me
looking for information. So… Metcalfe and Francis are part of a very new band
called Undercolours, apparently still unsigned. I assume that if record
companies don’t turn a deaf ear on good music as they often do, a contract
should come anytime soon… That’s the worst thing I wish for them. Because their
music made me feel good. And not only the one they wrote with Robbie Williams,
by the way…
Some of you
have already seen this video on my Facebook wall with this as an introduction:
“Musical happiness sometimes comes to you through surprising ways”... That is
so true… Great voice, great melody, my ears are ready for whatever may coming
next. Damn, I think I’m musically in love again… Music will be the death of me!
;)
Thinking
back… Robbie Williams is one of those few artists I listen when everything goes
wrong because, without even being able to explain you why, the sound of his
voice makes me feel better and makes me forget about moments of uneasiness I
have like any other people. Remembering the circumstances of our first
“meeting”… that’s what I call irony!
Tracklist :
Be A BoyGospel
Candy
Different
Shit On The Radio
All That I Want
Hunting For You
Into The Silence
Hey Wow Yeah Yeah
Not Like The Others
Losers (Ft. Lissie)
Bonus Tracks
ReverseEight Letters
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire