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4.0 out of 5 stars
Back to Britpop, Oct 31 2006
The crossover is over, and Robbie Williams has returned to his roots with this album. It may take repeated listening to get into it, as it's full of Eurodance and Britpop tracks, and sounds more like the Pet Shop Boys (who produce two of the tracks), than the Robbie Williams of the last few albums. First single "Rudebox" is produced by Soul Mekanik, and is a fun dance track that sets the tone for the album. Soul Mekanik also produce two other tracks, including another good electro-dance track "Never Touch That Switch" where Robbie sings lyrics like "there's a schism in the time mechanism". Second single "Lovelight" is a track where he covers the Lewis Taylor original and sings in falsetto, and is followed by the outrageously funny cover of Manu Chao's "King of the Bongo" in "Bongo Bong/Je Ne T'Aime Plus". The two Pet Shop Boys tracks are "She's Madonna" which is a tribute to the always controversial singer, and "We're the Pet Shop Boys" which you won't be able to differentiate from a PSB original. Other tracks are produced by Mark Ronson, Jerry Meehan, William Orbit, and others, and include a cover of "Louise" by Human League. I thought he could have done a bit more with "The 80s" and "The 90s" and was looking forward to more samples. Rapping is not his strong point, and neither is falsetto, but when he turns on his cheeky, rude, bad boy charm you can't help but like him anyway. Amanda Richards
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the best, but I still love him!, Oct 30 2006
I want to begin by saying that I LOVE Robbie Williams! I don't want to turn anyone off from discovering his music, but I have to say, Rudebox, a dance/electronica album (not his forte) is not that great. A lot of these songs are covers, which makes me feel safe about categorizing Rudebox as an "experimental" album, like with Swing When You're Winning. I'm hoping that, like with his Swing album, this is a one time deal, and the next will be back to good ole Robbie. There are a couple songs that I can't stop listening to, like Lovelight and Kiss Me, but most of the songs are skippable. It's been about a year since Intensive Care was released, and considering I'm still hooked on it, I was surprised to hear about Rudebox being released. And now that I have heard it, I have to say he should've waited longer, this album needs much more work. Robbie sounds very lazy when he raps (which he does for most of the songs) and it just doesn't sound like he's having very much fun doing it. I am looking forward to his next album and I'm praying that he'll go back to his tried and true style. A long-time Robbie fan can forgive this album, but it's not for newbies. I strongly promote North Americans to give Robbie Williams a listen, just don't start with this album, it's not that good. I recommend Escapology or any album of his, just not this one, at least not yet. Get this album, but wait until you've heard his other albums first! I give it 3 stars out of 5, it probably deserves less, but it's physically impossible for me to give Robbie anything lower.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Change in musical direction., Mar 21 2007
It is strange that such a forceful pop personality as Robbie Williams should be mired in an ongoing creative identity crisis but, while he can still pack out those stadiums, he continues to have trouble with albums. "Rudebox" is another change of musical direction into the realms of anonymous electro pop, to which he applies the usual mindless cultural reference points and blatant sonic thievery. The main problem is that he has not produced a truly great pop song since "Feel", and "Rudebox" fields no new candidates. The best track is the throwaway pastiche "We're the Pet Shop Boys" (featuring the actual Pet Shop Boys on backing vocals) which, along with a cover of The Human League's "Louise", suggests that melancholy synth pop could be an interesting direction for him to pursue, if only he could drum up some worthwhile material. A scant handful of highlights aside, the album is packed with half-baked ideas, bad jokes, music that any other star of Williams' stature would be terrified of the general public hearing. Perhaps that's the point... If nothing else, "Rudebox" is a sharp reminder that Robbie Williams is unique.
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