Robbie Williams - Intensive Care (Japanese 1st Press) (2005) CD-Rip

Stoke's favorite son's sixth studio album marks a new stage in the career of Mr. Robert Peter Williams, Britain's favourite popular entertainer. Severed from his former right-hand man, songwriter Guy Chambers, Intensive Care sees him forging a new partnership with former Lilac Time stalwart Stephen Duffy. The result is his most complete album to date, free from the gimmicky fillers--like "Me and My Monkey" and "Jesus In A Camper Van"--that tended to drag previous efforts down. Never short of cocksure bravado, Robbie starts proceedings off with a modest declaration--"Here I stand victorious, the only man who made you come," but for once he's got the tunes to back up the posturing. There are plenty of classic Robbie tracks, from the ballad-tastic "Advertising Space"--which should see "Angels" relegated to the backbenches--to the public confessional of "The Trouble With Me"; plus some daring departures in between, from the '80s pop fun of "Sin Sin Sin" to the Rolling Stones-like "A Place to Crash", via the Oasis-lite of "Make Me Pure" and the Smiths-esque guitars on "Your Gay Friend." You can't help but feel that Mr. Williams has a point to make with this album, to all the people who said he'd be nothing without Guy Chambers; if that is the case, he couldn't have gone about it a better way than by serving up the best album of his career to date. -- Melanie Wilkin