Wednesday, February 3, 1999

Williams side steps sophomore curse

Having firmly buried his former Take That persona with the release of 1997's 'Life Thru A Lens', Robbie Williams aptly side-stepped the dreaded sophomore curse with 1998's 'I've Been Expecting You'.

The album, along with 'Life Thru A Lens' was given a quasi-official Canadian release this January - it was officially imported (ie. domestically priced) by EMI, thus the price dropped from $35 to around $18.

Is it any good? Well, if the six Brit Award Nominations and constant appearance in the UK Top 10 Album chart are anything to go by, then yes, it's a damn good album.

Williams, now a bona-fide solo star in the UK, has once again teamed up with collaborator Guy Chambers (ex of World Party and The Lemon Trees) for a capable collection of ironic Brit-pop numbers.

Similar to 'Life Thru A Lens', Williams peppers 'Expecting' with lyrical observations and pot-shots that will leave the listener just a bit amused. Sample line: 'Every morning when I wake up, I look like Kiss but without the makeup' (from 'Strong').

The most obvious lyrical dig surfaces half way through the disc. Apart from being a well crafted pop tune, 'Jesus In A Camper Van' is a terrific send up of the chronically self-infatuated. Sample lyric: 'I suppose even the son of God gets it hard sometimes especially when he goes around saying I am the way. I am the way. I am the way.' Guaranteed to offend.

Not being able to completely bury his association with Take That (and songwriter Gary Barlow in particular), Williams has thinly veiled an open letter in that direction: the Pet Shop Boys/George Michael flavoured 'No Regrets' - the album's second single. Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant even provides backup vocals, reportedly after Williams rung him asking to sing on 'this new Pet Shop Boys style tune I've just written'.

Speaking of guest appearances, 'Expecting' also contains a cameo appearance from Williams' fiance, All Saints' Nicole Appleton. She's the voice on the telephone at the start of 'Win Some Lose Some' (aka 'Suburban Sun') - the one that says 'love you baby'.

Of particular interest on this disc is THAT song, 'Millennium'. Not only a candidate for the tune played as the ball drops this New Year's Eve - as well as tune of the year - it also contains one of the best uses of a sample in pop history - the decending arpeggio from the James Bond theme 'You Only Live Twice'. Rappers take heed, this is the correct way to 'borrow' from the past.

In the past, Williams has littered his solo musical output with various cover tunes - David Bowie's 'Kooks', George Michael's 'Freedom', Pet Shop Boys' 'I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing', and so on - but they have only cropped up on singles. Perhaps due to popular demand (or perhaps not), 'Expecting' contains a cover version of World Party's slow, moody 'She's The One'.

COHESIVE PACKAGE

There's not a lot to complain about on this album. While 'Life Thru a Lens' felt spotty in parts, 'I've Been Expecting You' feels more cohesive as an overall package. This could partly be due to the renewed synergy between Williams and parter Chambers. During the preparations for 'Life', Williams wandered through a series of four writing partnerships before gelling with Chambers.

While there's no 'Angel' (the career saving ballad from 'Life') on 'Expecting', the lush, meandering 'These Dreams' more than make up for that shortfall. Clocking in at just over five minutes, the vocal overdubs during the last minute's fade out is an exquisite example of Williams at the top of his game.

The other part of his game is carrying the Brit-pop torch while stalwarts like Oasis are busy doing other things. Look no further than opening strains of 'Strong' or the raucous, jingly guitar ladened 'Man Machine' to fill all Gallagher requirements.

The latter is used sporadically by Fox Sports World for their English Premier League Football coverage and the average viewer would be forgiven for thinking this is a long lost Oasis tune, except Williams' vocal range seems a touch more refined than Liam's.

BONUS TRACKS ABOUND

'Life Thru A Lens' contained a hidden track in which Williams blew a musical raspberry at an old teacher who never thought he'd amount to much. Going one step further, 'Expecting' contains TWO hidden tracks. The first is the light and airy 'Stand Your Ground'.

The second bonus track - 'Stalker's Day Off' - is more tongue in cheek and deals with infatuated fans: 'I've been hanging around just in case you fall in love with me'. Partly sung, partly maniacally spoken, the tune, offers insight into the mind of the disturbed. 'I've seem Misery and have a strange empathy for the woman who kidnaps her lover'. Hopefully Ms. Appleton hasn't heard this yet.

With a domestic release - 'The Ego Has Landed' - on the near horizon (comprised of the best of 'Life' and 'Expecting'), Robbie Williams will finally be known in North America for his musical output, not who he's dating.

Track Listing 1. Strong (4.39) 2. No Regrets (5.10) 3. Millennium (4.07) 4. Phoenix From The Flames (4.02) 5. Win Some Lose Some (4.18) 6. Grace (3.13) 7. Jesus In A Camper Van (3.39) 8. Heaven From Here (3.05) 9. Karma Killer (4.28) 10. She's The One (4.18) 11. Man Machine (3.35) 12. These Dreams (5.08) 13. (Hidden Track) Stand Your Ground (3.16) 14. (Hidden Track) Stalker's Day Off (3.46)		Album rating