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Robbie Williams - Reality Killed The Video Star

VIRGIN/EMI

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BY Dave Morris   November 04, 2009 21:11

Editorial Rating:

Robbie Williams is too famous in the UK for anyone other than lowly music critics to tell him how much of a hindrance his lyrics are to his career. Reality Killed The Video Star’s cracking little glam-rock number called “Do You Mind?” works purely because Williams’ words stay out of the way, but clunky verbiage like “your Jesus really died for me / I guess Jesus really tried for me” only leaves skid marks on “Bodies,” with producer Trevor Horn’s immaculate, tightly controlled echo and swirling layers of session instruments. Williams is a charming rogue — who else would make a rococo stadium ballad whose lyrics make less sense than an L. Ron Hubbard book, and name it after a set of characters from Transformers (“Deceptacon”)? As much fun as it is to watch him get away with being downright weird, I’d rather see Williams reined in enough to make great records.

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