'Take the Crown', a combination of Mick Jagger and Mick Hucknall.

 

In the music industry, Robbie Williams exists as an invisible line somewhere between Mick Jagger and Mick Hucknall. Throughout the nineties, he’s had the conventions of a Rolling Stone. The scandal, the periods in rehab and numerous relationships with models and films stars. Although like the physical copy of Hucknall’s ‘Stars’ bought from Woolworths years back, ‘Angels’ will always be hidden in the attic with the Christmas lights. ‘Take the Crown’ adds nothing new to this iconography. Robbie knows that it’s not going to be his seminal work and that it’s not going to change the marmite view of him that exists. His post-modernist and arrogant approach of winking at those who thought the ‘magic was leaving him’ is part of what makes it something refreshing, upon the shelves of your local file-sharing site.

Williams has never been known for being revolutionary, his music has always seemed to fit in with the soundtrack of the time. His work in 2002 with tracks like ‘Come Undone’ and ‘Sexed Up’ seemed to have a slight mellow indie feel, maybe initiated by lads like Albarn and Ashcroft. Whilst the desert landscape on his most recent and best forgotten album cover looks like it belongs in a tour programme for Brandon Flowers and his quartet. Although who can blame him with the music industry working to strict regulations? If you don’t hold the ability to conform to these, then you're stranded on a conveyor belt of performing at ‘Butlins’.

This is ever present in ‘Take the Crown’ through there being a clear attempt to establish himself as part of the electro obsession happening across Britain. Imagine Mary Whitehouse working with Skrillex and LMFAO and that’s something like his track ‘Hey Wow Yeah Yeah’.

The sense of insecurity of returning to the spotlight shown in his 2009 flop is quickly replaced with the arrogance which he’s renowned for as he orders the listeners to ‘liberate their’ children. Although there does seem to be a sense of exaggeration to sell the album. If it’s the ironic halo surfacing above his head in the ‘Candy’ video. Or just ‘Candy’ sounding so exaggerated with cheesiness that it wouldn’t sound out of place on a jukebox in Magaluf.

Although isn’t these the expectations of a Robbie album? Whenever has anyone expected lyrics influenced by the unabridged ‘Ulysses’ with a background of guitar riffs similar to John Squire? Yet, a supergroup fronted by Robbie with Squire on guitar and James Joyce scribing lyrics does seem like an appealing idea to say the least. The next NME indie band is probably already working on it.

Conclusion – 8/10
Williams' fulfils his manifesto of creating an album filled with catchy pop songs, which will surely make an appearance on 'Now' 500. Aswell as probably being used as the soundtrack to Hen parties across Britain.