Robbie Williams - Intensive Care
(2005)

Review by Sean Lynch

There are very few artists that can claim to be the biggest stars in the world. Bar super bands such as U2 and Coldplay who demand both worldwide acclaim and mass criticism, there are very few solo artists that can stand tall (apart from those with an average occasional number one hit -Nickelback, I'm looking at you!). Except of course, British born, sex sensation - Robbie Williams.

Since the release of 2000's "Sing When Your Winning", Robbie has been relatively untouchable in Australia. His tunes were catchy, his personality endearing and his fans completely rabid. His "Greatest Hits" and "Live At Knebworth" compilations broke sales records, at one point having numerous albums and DVD's in the Top 20 Sales Charts at the same time. But with great power comes great responsibility - so a certain superhero movie tells us - and it seems Robbie has decided to all but relinquish that responsibility with his latest and long awaited album "Intensive Care".

That's not to say that "Intensive Care" doesn't have some fantastic pop friendly tracks on it. Tripping was one of the most welcome and fresh songs to hit the radio waves in a long time, while Sin Sin Sin seems to be as catchy as an STD from one of Metallica's groupies. But sadly there seems to be something lacking from the normal Robbie mojo.

Much has been made of Robbie's departure from regular writing partner Guy Chambers (who penned the classics Angels and Let Me Entertain You, and more recently songs for the latest INXS comeback album), with this current album taking almost 2 years (and a new writing partner in Stephen Duffy) to complete. 

Sadly, it just seems that many songs have been created using new vocals over poorly produced karaoke tracks. There are a few glimpses of potential, however the songs never quite reach the level they should. Please Don't Die is a perfect example of this, a song which seems to beautifully build - yet heads to nowhere. The same can be said for Advertising Space and The Trouble With Me. While most tracks sound so cheesily cheap it is astounding (case in point A Place To Crash and Your Gay Friend).

One of the few saving graces for the album are William's trademark tounge-in-cheek lyrics. The best of which comes from the tenth track on the album which says "The trouble with me, is I've got a head full of fuck". Short, sharp and pretty accurate it seems.

The album has been so poorly received that a new album has already been scheduled for release less than a year after "Intensive Care". The first single Rudebox '79 has received mixed reviews - scaling from "Robbie's Worst Song Yet" to "His Finest Moment". 

Personally, I loved it. Much like Tripping or the much underrated Radio, Robbie's new and fresh approach to song writing is surprisingly catchy. In fact, if Duffy and Williams had created an album entirely of Rudebox's and Radio's, this review might very well have been far more positive.

I really did want to like this album having been a big fan of Robbie's for several years (which I blame my sister's for), but somehow like a Mc Happy Meal, it get's your stomach going - but never quite hits the spot.

RATING: 3 out of 5