Robbie Wiliams is a much more interesting proposition in the UK then the US; for instance, in the US Take The Crown sounds like an answer title to Watch The Throne, which really makes no sense for a modern power pop album, but in the UK it sounds like an answer to his boy band Take That, which makes… well, it doesn't make that much sense either but is at least somewhat important.
Robbie Williams, as great and eccentric a pop star as ever didn't break out of his native country, was a member of the 1990s Take That before the usual rigmarole of sex, drugs and depression played out as an ongoing backstory. And so from the heights of his solo career (I saw him at Jingle Ball one year) to a stint in rehab, a 2005 reunite with Take That, and a relatively low selling (2M units moved, dunno what his kick is…) 2009 effort,he spent the last couple of years watching his buddy , the hugely less talented Gary Barlow (OBE), disband the remainder of Take That, launch a solo career, become chief Judge on X Factor UK and fete a party for the Queen.
So when Robbie Williams said Take The Crown he meant TAKE THE CROWN because he had lost it.
But wait, there's more. The excellent, the first single off the new album "Candy' Radio One (the teen charts BBC national radio station) refused to play it! Wow, can selling out a national UK tour in a matter of minutes save the nearing 40 year old Robbie from such infamy from a station they used to rule? Or, more to the point, can Take The Crown?
Well, yes and no. What's good is great and what isn't is barely existent. At least from this side of the pond.
With Jacknife Lee, an old fashioned sort of a pop producer (U2, The Cars), and former partner co-writing some of the songs, Robbie has his eyes on the charts and then some. "Candy" got to number one and so did the album, though considering the weight of sales in Robbie's past, they haven't taken the Charts by storm.
For good reason, while the best, "Gospel" -a portrait of the artist as a young dog which worms ts way into you, the full monty "Not Like The Others" -a portrait of the artist as a middle aged man and an almost anthem, and "Shit On The Radio" -a portrait of the artist as a boring old fart pop blast, the rest of the songs miss the mark more often than not. Robbie makes so many mistakes here, for a suave, cynical James Bond of pop, he is too much Daniel Craig and not enough Sean Connery. All the ballads are too much heavy lifting and all the pop songs you can see the strain and sinew. Cmon Robbie, you're not Bruce Springsteen, where's the cool and self-confidence.
To put it another way, it is all OK and some of it is a lot more, but too much misses. He overreaches where a touch of English cool would have done him nothing but favors.
And yeah, I guess Radio One are right. He is blowing his god given demo. Still, let's hope he plays nyc.
Grade: B+