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Great first album, a second album which had its moments but also a fair bit of filler and thereafter a long downslide into a parody of his older output. Yup, it's easy enough to mock Noel Gallagher but what of his old sparring partner from the Britpop years, Robbie Williams?
It's strange to think that in this age when he's largely regarded as a Sinatra karaoke goon with an ego the size of Jupiter that Robbie Williams was once popular with the "indie kids". Yet, as anyone who was at Uni circa 1998 will tell you, popular he most definitely was. And the most surprising thing is that his early songs haven't actually aged that badly from the Britpoppy "Lazy Days" and the cheeky pastiche of "Let Me Entertain You" to the tender "Angels". What's nice about them is (and this may take you by surprise) their honesty - just check out the quite uncannily good "Strong" where Bob seems intent on proving that even megastars have days when things fuck up for them.
Then, somewhere circa "Rock DJ" the ego takes over, Bob starts believing his own hype and it all rapidly descends into farce as his self-styled "wackiness" just gets more irritating than a particularly nasty dose of scabies. Only the barbed "Come Undone" really stands out from the second half of the album and some of the songs, especially the ludicrously overblown "Feel" are just annoying.
Like him or loathe him, it seems fair to say that Bob will be with us for some time yet but all that "Greatest Hits" really proves is that his solo career's been quite spectacularly hit and miss thus far. Still, probably a good Christmas present for your mum or teenybopper sister so I guess it does have its uses.
Rating: 5/10
Reviewed by Andy James
