The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 400

Number 400

Robbie Williams

"Let Me Entertain You"

(1997)

399

..........Genre: Pop Rock...........

401

art by Taracon

The Dean Martin of our time? Look, I'm like you guys, 90% of what comes out this mans mouth is rubbish, musically that is .. but 10% is pure pop genius and this song featured proves the 10% i am talking about. Robbie Williams is no slouch or prima donna either for example... he appears in the list of the all-time Top 100 biggest selling albums in the United Kingdom six times. It is also estimated he is currently the best selling non-Latino artist in Latin America at the moment with over 3 million sold. Robbie obviously has the goods but one gets the feeling he's been shoved in the wrong direction, i think if he was left alone to his own accord, he would be big as any star [including Elvis or Lennon] that has ever graced the music stage. Guess it's up to him.
entertain this

Out of all the members of Take That, Robbie Williams never really seemed to fit in. Roguishly handsome where his bandmates were merely cute, Williams was tougher and sexier than the rest, which made him more distinctive. He also fought regularly with the other members and their management, primarily because he was occasionally adverse to being so heavily packaged. So it didn't come as a surprise that he was the first to leave the band, departing early in the summer of 1995 to pursue a solo career (by some accounts, he was fired from the group). Although he was the first out of the gate, it took Williams awhile to get started. For most of 1995, he attempted to boost his credibility by tagging along with Oasis, hoping that Noel Gallagher would give him a couple of songs. He never did, but all of his time with Oasis launched Williams into a world of heavy partying, drinking, and drugging. Over the course of 1996, he was only heard from in gossip columns, and every published picture indicated he had put on considerable weight. Occasionally, he was quoted as saying his new music would abandon lightweight dance-pop for traditional Brit-pop, but his first single was a cover of George Michael's "Freedom '90." Released late in 1996, the single was a disaster, but his second single, 1997's "Old Before I Die," was more in the vein of his early pronouncements, featuring a distinct Oasis influence.

Its written all over me face

Williams finally released his first solo album, Life Thru a Lens, in 1997. The album became a big hit in Britain, prompting his second, I've Been Expecting You, in 1998. (The Ego Has Landed, a U.S.-only compilation designed for breaking Williams to American audiences, was released stateside in the spring of 1999.) Sing When You're Winning followed in late 2000, gaining success with the video hit "Rock DJ," while a big-band album of standards (Swing When You're Winning) appeared a year later. During 2002, Williams celebrated an enormous new contract with EMI (rumored to be upwards of $80 million dollars), but suffered the loss of his longtime production partner, Guy Chambers. Escapology, the fifth Robbie Williams album (and the last including Chambers' input), sold millions of copies in Europe, though it failed to persuade American audiences. As a result, the 2003 concert record Live at Knebworth wasn't released in the States.

mmmmph!

He introduced a new musical partner, Stephen Duffy, with a pair of songs from his compilation Greatest Hits, then reappeared in 2005 with Intensive Care. Although the album topped charts in Europe and Williams set an impressive concert record -- his 2006 world tour sold over 1.5 million tickets in one day -- a certain creative atrophy was setting in, despite the new input of Duffy. Within a year, he had recorded and released Rudebox, a dance album recorded with half a dozen outside producers, some featured guests, and several covers instead of self-penned material. Rudebox hit number one across Europe soon after release. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, after being voted as the Greatest artist of the 1990s ~ [Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide]

5th Member of Kiss?

oh shit

"Let Me Entertain You" is a song written by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers. Released as the fifth and last single from Williams' debut album, Life Thru A Lens. It has no connection to the songs by Queen or Shakespears Sister carrying the same title. In March 1998, the track became a top three hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number-three, and is probably williams' most popular song. The chord structure (F, Ab/F, Bb/F, F) and in particular the piano riff is almost identical to the Rolling Stones' song "Sympathy for the Devil", the difference mainly being in tempo. The song became Williams' concert opener for most of his shows throughout his career. The song became a hit in the United Kingdom staying inside the top ten for a month, and being ceritified Silver, for sales over the 200,000 copies. Either intentionally or not, through the lyrics the singer addresses the listener as 'mon cher', which is French for 'my dear' when speaking to a male. This song was heavily featured in PC football game Actua Soccer 3 - and, aside from the classic piece played in the opening video, is the only song featured in the game. It was also featured in a music video for the Sega Dreamcast. ~ [Source: Wikipedia]

For Oasis see Number 574

For Dean Martin see Number 430 & #870

For Elvis see Number 443, #501 & #840

For John Lennon see Number 492, & #639

For more Robbie Williams see MM Vol 1 #126

For George Michael see Number 450 & #821

For Queen see Number 539, #747, #799, #805 & [with Bowie] #513

For Rolling Stones see Number 689 & #767

For Kiss see Number 733

What does R Stone think of Robbie?

Über-pop star Robbie Williams enjoyed his first round of mega-success as one-fifth of Take That, Britain's most popular boy band since the Beatles. His solo career began in 1995 when the rest of Take That -- a rather straight-arrow bunch -- parted ways with the drinking-and-drugging Williams. The playboy's revenge came in the form of two #1 U.K. albums: his debut, 1997's Life Thru a Lens, and its followup, 1998's I've Been Expecting You. Those two discs were combined to make The Ego Has Landed, a delicious guilty pleasure that served as Williams' official introduction to American ears. Standouts here include the pop trinkets "Lazy Days" and "Millennium" and the swoon-inducing ballad "Angels" -- expected fare from a boy-band alumnus. But within the album's fluff lurks plenty of cheek: The sing-songy "Strong" is an exercise in self-deprecation, while "Let Me Entertain You" -- quintessential Williams -- sees the singer both reinventing and promoting himself as the human embodiment of show business. ~ [Source: Rolling Stone - From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]

For Beatles see Number 489, #587, #894 & #947

Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '400th Song of all Time' was "Kicks" by Paul Revere & The Raiders. Paul Revere & The Raiders has not appeared in The Definitive 1000.

Other songs with reference to Robbie Williams #447, #754, #943

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (C'mon, he British for Gods sake) and the Album ranked at (Not like he was in a famous band .... oh wait)

This song has a Definitive 1000 rating of 78.5 out of 108