Robbie Williams - Reality Killed the Video Star Review
Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 11.11.2009
After a three-year hiatus, Robbie Williams is done hunting aliens and back to doing what he does best.
Robbie Williams - Reality Killed the Video Star
Review by Daniel Wilcox
Track listing:
1. Morning Sun
2. Bodies
3. You Know Me
4. Blasphemy
5. Do You Mind?
6. Last Days of Disco
7. Somewhere
8. Deceptacon
9. Starstruck
10. Difficult for Weirdos
11. Superblind
12. Won’t Do That
13. Morning Sun (reprise)
The greatest recording artist to never have caught on in the United States has spent the last few years searching for himself, and the extra terrestrial, in something of a hibernation. It was a hiatus that was probably warranted, because previous album Rudebox, although it marked Williams’ seventh consecutive UK number one album, was not well received and saw Williams attempting to come too far out of his comfort zone. Reality Killed the Video Star, conversely sees Williams return to his adult contemporary sound while still venturing outside of the box on a few tracks, but not so much so that the experimental numbers outstay their welcome. When Robbie performed new single “Bodies” on The X Factor, he was like the Robbie of old – average vocals, a cheeky grin, an incomparable charisma, and looking completely fucked out of his mind. But most importantly, he looked like he was having fun once again. And ultimately, that’s what this album is – fun. Williams was forced to drop the “pretentious” album title El Protagonista in favour of something all the more “clever” and “witty,” and that’s a style that is ever-present on the record. Unlike most of his previous records, Williams doesn’t seem to have much to say here, other than he’s back. Don’t call it a comeback, but the Ego has landed once again.
The album earns bonus points from me within the first few seconds, purely for the sonic use of a harmonica. The sound of birds chirping and a powerful piano accompaniment welcome us to the album and let us know that it is the dawning of a new day in terms of Robbie’s career. Initially “Morning Sun” was a song written about Michael Jackson, but Williams has since said he “thought it was about Michael Jackson [...] but it’s actually about me again." The song also sees Williams continue his smart lyrical form, which can be hit or miss at times, but personal I think his often-ironic and always tongue-in-cheek lyricism is at its best on this record, from the thought-provoking, “The morning brings a mystery / the evening makes it history / tell me how do you rate the morning sun?” on the album’s opener, to the scathing “Jesus didn’t die for you / What are you on?” on the album’s first single “Bodies.” That first single carries that vintage-Williams funky strut, and its electronic elements show that he hasn’t completely ditched the experimental sound of Rudebox, but that he has refined it and made it suit rather than the other way around.
Lyrics like “The cellophane around my mouth / stops the anger coming out,” show that Robbie is still as batshit crazy as ever, but seemingly the crazier he gets the better he gets. Some of the album’s absolute best work comes in its ballads. The aforementioned “Morning Sun” is simply gorgeous, and the next single “You Know Me” is full of pomp and glory, but the charming “Blasphemy” is untouchable, even with its lyrical puns, “What’s so Great about the Great Depression? / Was it a blast for you? / Blasphemy.” The up-tempo numbers more than hold their own however. “Last Days of Disco” pays a far better tribute to 80s synth pop than hot-right-now La Roux ever has, Williams’ almost-whispered vocals like a praying mantis as he implores, “Don’t call it a comeback.” Williams’ experimental side rear its ugly head a little more often in the second half of the record, but more often than not it works, such as on the psychedelic “Deceptacon,” sounding like its from a few decades into the future at times but like a familiar blast from the past at others. “Starstruck” and the awfully titled “Difficult for Weirdos” are bonafide dance anthems that see Williams remain vocally in his comfort zone, thus allowing the music to build up around him, but compliment his vocal rather than engulf it. “Won’t Do That,” however, is very much reminiscent of his earlier work, and album closer “Morning Sun (Reprise)” sends us off peacefully, knowing that the real Robbie is back (for good).
It’s honestly almost as if Rudebox never happened. Sure, there are a few more experimental tracks here, but Robbie Williams is once again the focal piece, his poignant lyrics highlighted the majority of songs, his vocal steadily improving throughout but most importantly, his style and his swagger his stamped all over this record. Half the time we may not quite understand what it is that the songs are trying to say, but there is absolutely no mistaking who it is trying to say it, and while “the strange are getting stranger” as the lead single says, the best are also somehow getting better.
Essential downloads: “Morning Sun,” “Bodies,” “You Know Me,” “Blasphemy,” “Last Days of Disco,” “Deceptacon,” “Starstruck” and “Won’t Do That.”
The 411: While still as crazy and eclectic as ever, Williams has once again managed to put his warped genius into his music and as a result has released his best album since I've Been Expecting You, and a record that far surpasses his more recent efforts. While he may never manage to crack the American market, that's their loss more than his. Furthermore, a couple of tracks on here at least will ultimately rank alongside the likes of "Feel," "Rock DJ" and "Millennium" as some of his best. And speaking of best, Reality Killed the Video Star has to go down as comeback album of the year, by a distance.
