Robbie Williams – Rudebox

He’s back and this time with an extremely new sound. One may go so far to say that its very un-Robbie. For the first few songs I didn’t even realize that it was him singing. I even found myself checking the cd a few times to make sure I had put the right one in. In his new album, Rudebox, Robbie seems to have taken some notes and indeed sounds from an unlikely source – The Pet Shop Boys (PSB). Starting with the first track carrying the same name as the album, Rudebox has the (PSB) signature all over it. A few tracks down and one can hear the equally similar sounding “We’re the Pet Shop Boys”, just in case his fans never got the hint that there was a connection. But aside from those two space-age-looking artists, Manu Chao has also managed to slip in at track 4 with “Bongo Bong and Je Ne T’aime Plus”, and a good cover it is by former Take That member. I’m sure that Robbie fans the world over are gonna enjoy this new album. Perhaps he will even pick up some new ones.