To me, a "hit" is something which gets into the Top 40. Clearly, Robbie and his record company have decided otherwise. While this album contains most of the singles he's had out in the UK since going solo, 4 tracks are missing. What a disappointment.
Anyway, here is a track-listing of what IS on the album. The good thing is that at least the songs are in chronological order.
1. Old Before I Die 2. Lazy Days 3. Angels 4. Let Me Entertain You 5. Millennium 6. No Regrets 7. Strong 8. She's The One 9. Rock DJ 10. Kids 11. Supreme 12. Let Love Be Your Energy 13. Eternity 14. The Road To Mandalay 15. Feel 16. Come Undone 17. Sexed Up 18. Radio 19. Misunderstood
Track One "Old Before I Die" reached number 2 in the charts and it's a rock/pop track which is great to sing along to. It's still my favourite.
Track Two, "Lazy Days" reached number 8 if I remember rightly, and again it's a mid-tempo rock ballad. A rather anthemic feel.
Track Three, the rock ballad "Angels" needs little explanation. It was in the charts for weeks and weeks from December 1997. For some reason, despite having 3 singles released from it already, the "Life Thru A Lens" album wasn't doing very well, until this single was released. Then, more people started buying the album off the back of this song. What did they expect to find on it, 4 singles into the campaign? Very strange, in my opinion but that's pop for you!
Track
Four, "Let Me Entertain You", is a rock track, reminscent of "Pinball Wizard" and it reached number 4 in the charts. It was also the last track to be taken from Robbie's debut solo album. "Shake your ass, come over here now scream", are just some of the unashamedly populist lyrics. Here is a song about someone wanting to entertain, in fact, he's almost pleading with you. It's not art, it's entertainment. And remember the Kiss-like scary video!
Track Five, "Millennium" was out in 1998. It features heavy samples and hell knows what it's actually about. A good pop track but the album version was better, with more lyrics.
Track Six is "No Regrets" and it's one of my favourites. It only reached number 14 in the charts. Maybe the self-pity and the fact that it was more of a pop song put Robbie's new fans off. Maybe the fact that he was slagging off his old Take That mates put Robbie's old fans off. Who knows why it didn't so so well. I love it though and Neil Tennant and Neil Hannon do a good job on backing vocals. I think some of this song sounds a bit like "Baker Street".
Track 7, is "Strong". It's a very Oasis-like pop guitar track. It's about how Robbie isn't someone to be looked up to and how the fans shouldn't latch on so much. Hm.... It's great live and it's very anthemic. It reached number 10 in the charts, if I recall correctly.
Track 8 is "She's The One". It was a huge number 1 hit and it's a cover version of a rock ballad. A beautiful song and it shows off Robbie's range. Due to smoking, his voice will never be as good as it was when he was younger but this song reminds us how good he can be.
Track 9, "Rock DJ" was a huge number 1 in the summer of 2000, after Robbie had had a bit of rest from the UK charts. It's a very odd song that's not quite pop, not quite dance and not quite rock.
"Kids" is track 10 and it's a duet with Kylie Minogue. I have no idea what it's about but it's pure rock 'n' roll.
Track 11, is "Supreme" and it's another pop song which contains lots of samples (which I believe we used without permission!). It's based on the strings on "I Will Survive" and the lyrics are strange. It's like they were put together purely because they rhymed. The only telling line is "all the lonely hearts in London caught a 'plane and flew away". An insight into Rob's state of mind at that time?
Track 12 is "Let Love Be Your Energy". It's a bland mid-tempo rock track which reached number 10 in the charts.
Track 13 "Eternity", is a lovely ballad and it was apparently written during the summer when Robbie and Geri spent a lot of time together. The piano is superb and Rob's vocals are great.
"The Road To Mandalay" is track 14 and it was a double A-side with "Eternity". A pretty forgettable song.
Track 15, is "Feel" which is quite a sad pop/rock track. Rob is emptying his heart again but this also makes me think about myself.
Track 16, is another bland rock ballad. Not one of my favourites.
Track 17, is "Sexed Up". It was reportedly written about Guy Chambers but Robbie has since said it's about an ex-girlfriend. It's quite a spiteful little song but I like the use of the words "sexed up". They've been in the news a lot of course!
Track 18, is "Radio" and it's a 1980s patische. It was written with Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy and it's went to number 1.
The final track "Misunderstood" is rather boring and Robbie's singing isn't great on it. I expect it to be a hit anyway and I think it's on the soundtrack to "Bridget Jones 2".
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As I said earlier, 4 tracks are missing from this CD.
"Freedom", which reached number 2 in 1996 is missing. Perhaps Robbie wants to forget about that period of his life but this really was a good cover version of the George Michael track. The Happy Mondays style backing track added a lot to the song and George even claimed in an interview he'd like to re-record the song using Robbie's track. It hasn't happened yet but I wish it would.
"South Of The Border" a catchy little rock/pop song is missing. It reached the Top 20 and it was on "Life Thru A Lens". It was quite a rock 'n' roll song, with references to cocaine and the whistling made it hummable. It's a shame it's missing from this collection.
"Somethin' Stupid", Robbie's duet with Nicole Kidman isn't on here. It's not especially a favourite of mine but I think this should be a comprehensive collection.
Finally " Something Beautiful" which was quite a big hit is missing. It's almost a show tune in its style and it was apparently a dig at the industry and how they try and make instant stars.
The album is available on CD only, with a choice of 2 covers. The inlay card has excerpts from Robbie's official biography and all the usual writing credits. I'm slightly disappointed that the album isn't out on vinyl or cassette and I think the design is rather boring. However, it's a must-buy for any fan. I like Robbie's music though I find him as a person rather irritating at times.
The album cost me £9.99 from Woolworths.
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Please note that this album comes in two alternative sleeves, which will be randomly ... more
assigned.Greatest Hitschronicles the remarkable journey of Mr Robert Williams, from being the "fat dancer from Take That" (c. Noel Gallagher) to the multi-million poun...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Please note that this album comes in two alternative sleeves, which will be randomly ... more
assigned.Greatest Hits chronicles the remarkable journey of Mr Robert Williams, from being the "fat dancer from Take That" (c. Noel Gallagher) to the multi-million pou...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
After five studio albums and nineteen singles, this greatest hits collection brings ... more
together nineteen classic Williams moments for the first time. It features his first UK number one 'Millennium', and the hugely popular 'Angels'. Also included are two ...
Advantages: An awesome album full of Robbies hits, with a thick inlay of brilliant photos Disadvantages: Might have been better as a DVD of videos, or an interactive CD with a couple of his vids.
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