This Week's CD Reviews: John Legend, Diddy and Robbie Williams [review]

Quoted from: http://www.dose.ca/

'Robbie Williams, Rudebox (EMI)

Kinda like: Ross Gellar's demo tapes with some self-impressed English dude singing over them.
Rating: 2 British smiles out of 5
The Deal: Maybe it's just us, but why do the Brits love Robbie Williams as much as they do? Sure, the UK's eccentric tastes include the sheep-festooned surprise of haggis, the confounding and interminable sport of cricket and, of course, the Monarchy—but all that's forgivable given the scads of evidence they're on the ball most of the time when it comes to culture.
But seriously, what's up with Robbie Williams? This dude sold like, a box of CDs here over the last thirteen years (and that includes anything he put out with syrupy joke Brit boy band, Take That), but in the UK - are you sitting down? - Williams' song "Angels" was given the British music industry's award for the best song of the past quarter century. WTF?!? Do they even listen to British music? That's not even the best British song of the last 25 minutes, let alone 25 years. Also, Williams made the BBC's list of "100 Greatest Britons" (he was number 77). Should he even be on the list of "100 Greatest British Performers" let alone this list? What does that say about the BBC? About Britain?!?
Digression aside, Williams is a lightweight who, to his credit, knows it. He usually delivers lame pop like pretty much everyone else does, but his cheeky swagger doesn't work over here in the land of pimps and honeys like it does in Dear Old Blighty. Fair enough, old chap.
Now it looks like the guy is starting to take himself a little seriously. Rudebox is Williams' "experimental" record, produced quickly, without much demoing or direction – and it shows. It's meant as some kind of milestone in the dance music oeuvre but instead it's rubbish (as the British would say). Flights of fancy of this sort are trying even from the best musicians; from the meager talents of Williams, the effect is laughable. All but the staunchest Robbie diehards/apologists will have trouble with this sleepy, self-indulgent record and its uninteresting beats and ridiculous lyrics. Unless you're British, in which case this record is jolly good cheeky fun, pip-pip! Cheerio!-Ben Carrozza/Dose.ca

Order "Rudebox"'