The first suggestion that we’ve had as to who to cover as part of our Artist Focus pieces is this one – Robbie Williams, former member of Take That. He started his solo career in the mid-90’s and here I am, today, telling you what his top five songs on Spotify are like. I’m sure he’s quaking in his shoes.
I’m familiar with most of these songs just from looking at them. Have a guess which one I’m the least familiar with. Go on, you can do it!
Angels
Angels, which I know is going to be misspelled at some point in an accidental nod to Hot Fuzz (though if I pre-empt it, does that make it deliberate?), is a song that I’ve known for many, many years. That’s probably helped by the fact that it was released in 1997 and I’ve been alive for all of that time. Angels, being part of his debut solo album is probably significant in some way, though I suspect not as significant as his first single having been Freedom. But less of that, more about the song.
It opens with some what I think sounds like a tambourine, being shaken beneath some thoughtful piano as Robbie asks if angels exist and think about us, in only the way that a lovestruck teenager pines after their crush. But that said, he’s not really talking about angels, he is instead likening a woman – a particular one, whose identity I am unaware of – to an angel, presumably due to her beauty and kindness, along with the other qualities he specifies in the song itself, such as protecting him, giving him love and affection, and her loyalty. The song utilises that most over-played of 90’s boy band tropes, the key change, as it prepares us for the final chorus. We all know it’s coming with the drum build up and the way he’s clearly aching to belt it out in the way that a drunken football fan would loudly accompany as Three Lions plays, though it is worth noting that Robbie’s performance is endearing whilst the football fan would mostly likely not be.
If it sounds like I don’t like it, you are mistaken. The music builds up throughout the song, adding layers to layers to make a piece that while not perfect, is pleasant to listen to. Bar the final chorus, Robbie sings thoughtfully, carefully, considering the intonation of each word well and it’s clear when you listen to it that he’s thought about this song properly. Even in that final chorus, it’s more as though he is overcome with emotion, than throwing caution to the wind. Good song, well made. 8/10
Feel
I’ve said previously that I sometimes come across posts like this where I don’t know a song or two by the name and in this particular piece of writing, this is that song. I know the song, but I would never have a) chosen to listen to it, and b) known what it was called. This is not because it’s a bad song, not at all, just that when I think of Robbie, I don’t want to listen to this sort of thing when I can be listening to Rock DJ (oh look, that’s next), and Let Me Entertain You. This, like Angels, is a thoughtful song and while he’s clearly able to sing it well and create a track worth listening to, he is let down by the overly repetitive music, which slightly drowns him out. It’s not bad, it’s just not as well made, I don’t think, specifically the mixing side of things and I know that makes me sound either like I know what I’m talking about (I don’t), or like a pretentious asshole (let me know if you think it’s this), but in reality I just mean that the respective volumes just don’t go well together.
Lyrically, there’s some true gems in there. I’ve pointed out in other songs by other artists the sort of lines I mean, so I won’t do them all from this one, but one that really stands out to me is as follows:
I don’t want to die
But I ain’t keen on living either
Before I fall in love
I’m preparing to leave her
And together they paint this picture of someone who is going through some serious shit, some sort of depressive episode where they’re just numb to everything and expect the worst, and when you consider that the titular line is “I just wanna feel…” then it really hits home that maybe he’s not having a great time of it. Contextually, that might be accurate, but you know me, I don’t do much research about the backgrounds of songs – too much science ruins the magic. Is it a good song? Yes. Would it be better with some technical reworking of the volumes? Definitely. 6/10
Rock DJ
This is, if nothing else, a playful song about how music and fame gets you a measure of enjoyment that the average person can only aspire to, as well as the admiration of your fans, power over the crowd and, if you’ll excuse me saying it, sex. The line in which the title is present strongly hints at how the DJ has played a track, or multiple tracks, that are making people want to dance and groove despite it being against their best interests and they want it to stop but at the same time, really don’t want it to. The verses feel like a different song in the way that they use a different pacing to the chorus, with the second verse showing this better than the rest of the song, specifically the section about having a proper giggle, which I take to mean one of two things, if not both – either he’s all fun and games, but when he’s working, he’s working; or more in line with the sexual hinting later on, he’s friendly, polite, but when he’s going to town, he’s going to town and given the fact that he references a mike (microphone to the uninitiated), something you use with your mouth… Nudge nudge, wink wink, ladies.
Is it good? Yeah. The music is repetitive and again the levels feel a little off, but less so than in Feel and the whole upbeat nature of the song counters the more gloomy mood in the previous song. This is, for all intents and purposes, a laugh – or a proper giggle, if you prefer. He’s here to have fun, it sounds like he’s having fun performing the track, that’s what it should all be about at the end of the day, right? 8/10
Candy
I remember when this was new, which makes me feel quite old to be honest, though I realise now that this website is older than this song. What the hell it’s about, beyond a woman who thinks she’s great but has her flaws as she draws men to whatever fate it is she has in store for them. Personally, I think she just strings men along with the promise of something they want – most likely her body, sexually, as that’s what women tend to have that sort of power with – and I now realise that I’m references sex quite a bit. I’m not in that mood right now, if that’s what you’re wondering, but sex does sell when it comes to movie, music and TV shows.
It is also a playful song, the chorus in particular does a lot for me in that regard. It’s fun to sing along to, to do a little dance to. It’s effortless, catchy and upbeat, making it an instant hit, which it was. Throw in some early 20-teens tropes for successful songs, such as sounding like the kind of thing that you could play in a club (with the repeated lines around two-thirds of the way in that would allow for one hell of a bass-drop when the chorus comes back, and that sort of Latin-esque sound I associate with the use of trumpets and it may well not be particularly Latin in style but I can’t for the life of me work out what else to call it. It’s designed to be popular, it worked back then and it’s working now. The lyrics themselves don’t feel like they connect too well, but like all good jigsaws, it all sort of comes together at the end despite that, but the chorus really is the strongest part of the song. 7/10
She’s The One
Ah yes, a love song. It was bound to happen eventually. At least, it feels like a love song, I’ve never really analysed it properly. I shall do so while I listen, but before I do that I would like to share the knowledge I have learned about how this is actually a cover of a song by the band World Party, who I have never heard of. I’ve done a little reading about it (thanks Wikipedia), and honestly, the whole situation is more amusing to me than I would have expected, with the song’s actual writer telling Robbie’s version’s producer to tell Robbie that he is what some of my colleagues refer to as a five-pounder, in that it was a swear that would cost us five whole British pounds to say when we had our swear jars (they covered the tab at a Christmas do, bar about £15), though with inflation that would probably now by a seventeen-fifty.
Anyway, the review. I feel like the video provides a context that the song itself doesn’t demonstrate well enough, so I’m going to include that in my opinion here – it’s a song about a love you can’t have. In this case, he’s an ice skating coach who has fallen for one of his skaters, as told through facial expressions when he has to give direction to her skating partner. He wants her, he doesn’t know if she wants him, but it doesn’t matter because it’s horribly inappropriate for them to change the nature of their relationship. It’s good to see that sort of thing being acknowledged, to be honest, as I’m sure it happens a lot more often than people care to admit.
The music is a thoughtful piano piece, before becoming a drum and electric guitar piece, and settling down again for a bit, reverting for the build up as he declares a bit repetitively that she’s the one, which I take to mean the one that he wants (ooh, ooh ooh). It’s a good song, definitely a love song, and while I think forbidden love is an overplayed concept, this particular example feels novel and the fact it means someone call him that? Grand! 8/10
I will, here, just let you know that I’ll be reviewing the original version, by World Party, next week, so feel free to look forward to that.
All in all, Robbie manages a score of 37/50, or 0.74, or 7/10 rounded. Not a bad score, and honestly, he was let down a bit by Feel which I just think could have been much more enjoyable if they’d mixed it better. I really do. Still, 7/10 is nothing to be disappointed with. It’s respectable.
-TG
Those Guys That Review Stuff 