'Escapology' Isn't a Star-Maker
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On paper, Robbie Williams seems unstoppable. He's a boy
band refugee with an acid tongue, a brainiac smarty-pants masquerading as a
himbo, and after signing a much-ballyhooed $150-million deal with EMI last
year, a clever artist rolling in dough.
On record, though, he is clearly stuck in a rut. Williams' latest album,
"Escapology" (Virgin), is supposed to make him a star in the United States, but
it won't. It's not a bad album; it simply doesn't pack enough punch to push
him to the next level. To launch his career in America, Williams needed a
breakthrough - one on the same level as his underrated first U.S. album, "The
Ego Has Landed," in 1999. Instead, he offers more of the same slick, slightly
arty pop that failed to win over many American fans twice before.
"Something Beautiful" shows Williams at his best, a broad anthem that sets
him up as a Generation X Elton John, matching his sly pop delivery with a
laid-back groove and a hip-hop piano loop. It's one of those rare songs that
sound timeless and timely at the same time. The first single, "Feel," falls
into the same category, a groovy Europop meditation on his desire for "real
love," delivered with come-hither crooner style. "Monsoon" shows off Williams'
sense of humor, delivering lines like "I'm glad that spending the night
guaranteed you celebrity" and "Yeah, I'm a star, but I'll fade" over an
accompaniment that could have been Night Ranger's follow-up to "Sister
Christian." It's all power chords and winking asides to the glammy hamminess of
it all, which is what Brits love about their Robbie.
Unfortunately, aside from those songs, "Escapology" indulges Williams' love
for big-sounding midtempo ballads that have little to back them up. "Love
Somebody" sounds big and desperate, coming across like a "Saturday Night Live"
skit of Neil Diamond's "Love on the Rocks." "Me and My Monkey" is a
seven-minute epic tale filled with Mexican horns and Britpop bombast that never
really goes anywhere. "Revolution" is a bland collection of cliches like "You
can't keep on keeping on" and "With love in your eyes and a flame in your
heart."
Williams is better than that, yet "Escapology" doesn't really show it. His
dreams of superstardom will have to wait. After all, as he sings in "Something
Beautiful," "You can't manufacture a miracle." He's right. ("Escapology,"
Grade: C, in stores today)
SONG OF THE WEEK: Never mind that he's part of the most successful band in
history. Ringo Starr is making the rounds like a newcomer - in-store
appearances, Regis, Conan, Carson Daly - to support his new single "Never
Without You," a gorgeous tribute to his friend George Harrison. The sentimental
track, which features Eric Clapton on guitar, is starting to get loads of
airplay for Starr, whose strongest solo album in years, "Ringorama," came out
on Koch Records last week. "That's something new for me," Starr told me last
week. "I didn't want to put it out as a single. I wanted to put out 'Eye to
Eye,' but [the record company] told me, 'It doesn't matter what you put out as
a single, they're going to play 'Never Without You.' Of course, they were
right. I like how it turned out. It's the song that George would have played on
if he was still here." Starr isn't really promoting the five-DVD "Anthology"
set, which hits stores today, but with the never-before-seen footage of Starr
jamming with Paul McCartney and George Harrison, combined with the exhaustive
documentary, no one really has to.
