Delivered on time great cd many thanks.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Alexis Petridis The Guardian, Friday 15 November 2002 In the world of rock and pop, as everywhere else, money talks. If it talks too loudly, however, no one can hear the music over its yapping. History is studded with projects upon which so much cash was lavished that the actual music could not compete with the surrounding extravagance and expense. There was Kiss's rock opera The Elder, the Bee Gees' remake of Sergeant Pepper, country superstar Garth Brooks reinventing himself as a wig-wearing alt-rocker called Chris Gaines. Last year saw the mother of all disasters: Virgin's decision to pay $70m for Mariah Carey's signature, which appeared to send Carey herself temporarily loopy and resulted in the sacking of chief executive Ken Berry. There was no way that Carey's album Glitter could live up to the expectations raised by such sums. All of which bodes ill for Robbie Williams's fifth solo album. Last month Williams signed a staggering £80m contract with EMI, the biggest British deal ever. It covers his next six albums, but the proximity of the deal to Escapology's release inexorably links the two events. Escapology has become, as one music mag put it, "the album with the £80m price tag". That kind of money can't be recouped - unless Williams achieves success in the US, a country that has thus far proved indifferent to his charms. It's a tall order, but no one could accuse Williams of not trying. No British record has ever made such a naked lunge for the American market. One theory suggested Williams would attempt to bludgeon his way into American hearts by adopting the thudding beats and screaming guitars of nu metal. Escapology, however, is nowhere near as subtle as that. With the ruthless efficiency for which Williams and his songwriting partner Guy Chambers are noted, the sound is fixed squarely on AOR balladry and drivetime rock - genres ingrained far deeper in the US psyche than Limp Bizkit's raucous strains. Listeners must endure the unappealing sound of Williams crying "Yee-haw!" and adopting a faux-Yank drawl. Lyrically, he strains so hard to convey his new-found devotion to God's Own Country that you fear a hernia. "God bless you, Uncle Sam!" he cries on Hot Fudge. "I'm moving to LA! LA! LA! LA! LA! LA! LA! LA! LA! LA!" Perhaps troubled by the thought that his approach is too understated, he revisits the theme in the thuddingly titled Song 3 (Song 2 being the track that broke Blur in the US): "You gotta love LA . . . God, I love LA . . . California USA, baby! . . . I dig LA! Gotta love LA! California! USA! USA! USA!" He could make no more brazen an appeal to America if he came on stage dressed as the Statue of Liberty, unfurled the Stars and Stripes, set fire to an effigy of Saddam Hussein then launched into a chorus of Yankee Doodle Dandy. However, Escapology also illuminates the one stumbling block to Williams's projected US takeover. Quite aside from his showmanship, good looks and radio-friendly anthems, his success in Europe is predicated on people knowing his history and thus being fascinated by the contradictions in his character.....Read full review
As a male heterosexual Robbie fan right from the start, ive always noticed a trend with Robbie albums where there seem to be 4 stunning songs on each, and the rest are pretty average, and its always the 4 great ones that get released. A good example is 'Sing While Youre Winning'....great songs like Better Man, Rock DJ, A Love Supreme and Let Love Be Your Energy but the rest are all listenable but not in the same league. Escapology contains a bucketload of songs that would make number 1 quite easily. Not being a fan of the much over-hyped 'Me and My Monkey' and a couple of other tracks including Nans Song and How Peculiar, the rest of the album is fantastic, especially his best work on the album...Come Undone, and also Monsoon...typical comical catchy Robbie stuff just like the humour in previous records like Strong, No Regrets, and the production class of tracks like Lazy Days. Easily his best CD to date. Intensive Care seemed a bit sterile and Rudebox came in for a hard time which I can understand, but it highlights the abscence of co-writer Guy Chambers massively. He is definitely one half of Robbie's success.Read full review
*************************Escapology is a great cd, love all the tracks, not one bad song, one of robbie's best albums******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************.
There was not a song on there that I didn't like. There are some real belters - Monsoon and Come Undone being my absoloute favourite Robbie tracks of all time. This CD gets played at least twice a day in my car without fail !!
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best-selling in CDs
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on CDs