Sunday, March 14, 1999

Robbie Williams poised for stardom

This rambunctious former member of British boy band Take That fancies himself a Dean Martin for the '90s.

Musically, however, Williams takes things a bit more seriously on his North American solo debut, a combination of his two U.K. releases on one CD.

It's a mishmash of soaring Brit pop songs, dance numbers and middle-of-the road ballads, with my taste gravitating towards the former two rather than the latter.

The first single, Millennium, is a song that you find yourself humming along to mainly because of the sampling of John Barry's breezy You Only Live Twice strings.

"Live for liposuction, detox for your rent, overdose at Christmas, And give it up for Lent," sings Williams, who already has a booze, drugs and rehab past at the age of 25.

Also good are No Regrets, Williams' collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant, who sings backup, and the lively and dramatic Let Me Entertain You, which is more show tune than dance song.

Williams is already a huge star in England and whether or not he will translate well across the pond remains to be seen.

But with his no-holds-barred personality and more-than-decent music, my bet is he will.

Track Listing 1. Lazy Days * 2. Millennium + 3. No Regrets + 4. Strong + 5. Angels * 6. Win Some Lose Some + 7. Let Me Entertain You * 8. Jesus In A Camper Van + 9. Old Before I Die + 10. Killing Me * 11. Man Machine + 12. She's The One + 13. Karma Killer + 14. One of God's Better People * * - tracks from 'I've Been Expecting You' + - tracks from 'Life Thru a Lens'		Album rating