In his music approach, Robbie Williams shows how big of a knight he is. There is nothing fake about this guy. There are no tiring sequences of weird metaphors that are supposed to leave the listener wondering what is the meaning of life. Throughout his 24 years long career, Williams has been playing an old-fashioned pop-rock ‘’invented’’ by Elton John and enriched with a personal flavor. So, the approach is cool. Still, his latest album Heavy Entertainment Show plays it safe.
Serge Gainsbourg appears as the co-author of the title track, while Sergei Prokofyev has a guest appereance in Party Like A Russian, the song that was released as a first single. Obvious tricks? Maybe. Other co-authors include Stuart Price, Ed Sheeren, and Rufus Wainwright. Did I mentioned before how obsessed I am with Rufus? Further on, his old-time collaborator Guy Chambers is also present on the record.
Williams came up with a solid album, the one with a head and a tail, but there are frequent moments that show that his team for working more with muscles than with inspiration. Party Like A Russian is a perfect example – a trick song with mediocre melody and a lyrics that compensates for it. As Nikola Tesla would say: I am not sorry that they have stealed my ideas. I am sorry because they didn’t have their own.
On the other hand, Motherfucker does not sound cheap at all. It is a classic Willias grand ballade that we have heard 84656748 times before, but it has that special something that drives you in. Hotel Crazy is a charming duet with Rufus Wainwright. Another stellar is a duet with John Grant on I Don’t Want To Hurt You, and I don’t understand why it appears solely on deluxe edition. The rest of the album offers Marry Me, and that would pretty much be it.
Long story short – Robbie Williams did not dissapoint anyone with his latest material. This is not an easy job considering how tumultuous pop music is nowdays. I mean, just take a look at Lady Gaga’s Joanne. Robbie’s natural habitat is stage, and that is exactly where the audience can get the real Heavy Entertainment Show.
