Robbie Williams
The Ego Has Landed
Capitol Records

Some might say that good pop music is an oxymoron. In order to be popular an artist usually must maintain verse-chorus-verse song structure, create short memorable melodies or riffs, and look pretty darned cute. Is it possible as an artist to use these tried and true methods for attaining popularity without compromising their art? Perhaps the Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls agonize over these philosophical questions while drinking mocha lattés in Prague. Somehow, I think not.

Before the Beatles came along and eccentric college professors proclaimed Sgt. Pepper's a masterpiece, the question of pop vs. art would have been considered silly. There was a time that popular music was considered merely entertainment. Every once in a while someone (Blondie, Madonna, or Prince for example) comes along and reminds us of that notion whenever we've become too artsy-fartsy about our music. Robbie Williams does just that, and he does it with style.

As former member of the mildly homoerotic British teen group Take That, the UK's response to the New Kids On The Block, Robbie Williams has a decidedly pop background. After leaving Take That, Williams started following Oasis around on tour, gaining weight and a reputation for excess. After an initial single release of George Michael's "Freedom '90", his solo work began to resemble the music of Oasis. He has since released two albums and a number of singles in Britain selections from which appear on The Ego Has Landed.

The thought of a cross between Take That's styrofoam soul and the lethargic Beatles rip-offs of Oasis could send chills down the spine, but Williams manages to take the melodicism of Oasis and the energy of Take That and create a music reminiscent of the Beatles themselves. Williams' voice more closely resembles Elton John's "Good-bye Yellow Brick Road" tenor than the falsetto of Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison. High points on the album include the funky cabaret number "Millennium", the sweet ballad "She's the One" (featured in last year's film The Big Hit), and the punchy raver "Let Me Entertain You."

If you are still reluctant to sample this excellent release due to Williams' boy group past, one look at the title of the album should tip you off that Robbie does not take himself very seriously. The best part about The Ego Has Landed is that, like all good pop music, it reminds us that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously either. Sometimes we just want to let someone entertain us.

— Nicholas Coleman (ncoleman@wesleyan.edu)