Album Review: Robbie Williams - 'Rudebox' [review]

Quoted from: http://music.monstersandcritics.com

'Robbie Williams - a No. 1 artist everywhere except the United States - usually delivers exactly what his fans (and record company) expect, but on his seventh solo album he was supposed to abandon his pop heartland in favor of edgy electronica.
A barrage of hip producers (Mark Ronson, William Orbit) and collaborators (Lily Allen, Pet Shop Boys) are duly wheeled out. But fan-boy covers of the Human League ("Louise") and Lewis Taylor ("Lovelight"), plus Williams' inherent cheesiness, mean this is a long way off from his equivalent to "Kid A" - a point he makes himself on a hidden track: "What did you expect? Radiohead? This is pop, dickhead!"
Consequently, things hover uneasily somewhere between wholesale reinvention and mere superstar vanity project. Embarrassment is just avoided, but expect sales to cool regardless.
'Rudebox' is now available at Amazon. Visit the music database for more information and a complete track listing.
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