Customer Reviews

Life Thru a Lens

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Robbie may have gone on to make better (or at least more consistently satisfying) albums, but 'Life thru a lens' will always retain pride of place in the hearts of us Robbiephiles, when, what could have been a self-pitying play for sympathy (especially after that misjudged first single, the cover of 'Freedom'), turned out not to need any excuses whatsoever.

At the time, cred-building Robbie was finding succour in then-popular Oasis, and their baleful influence can be seen on songs like 'Lazy Days' and 'South of the Border', although he brings his own alchemical ingredients, like 'imagination' and 'wit', though, sadly, not 'melody'. There are a couple of lovely ballads here ('One of God's better people', 'Baby Girl Window'), and 'Clean' is an amusingly self-mocking take on the pop star misbehaving in public (Robbie's lyrics are so endearingly naive in their confessional literalism they frequently become clever and truthful).

It is, of course, the magnificent singles that sustain 'Lens', all using Robbie's 60s/70s/showbiz fascinations with intelligence: the speedpop ranting title track; the pubrock humility of 'Old Before I die'; the simultaneously arrogant and gracious 'Let me entertain you', a Kiss-tribute rock dazzler that easily out-pummells its source. Oh, and a trifle called 'Angels', a song of staggering (emotional) maturity, a ballad whose poignancy arises from the recognition that happiness, never mind perfection, is an ungraspable dream: it is, quite simply, one of the ten best songs ever written.

I just got my copy of Life Thru a Lens. After wearing out I've Been Expecting You, I decided I had to hear some of Robbie's earlier stuff.

It took a bit of getting used to because I've grown accustomed to the more mature and sophisticated sound of Expecting You. But Lens is still all Robbie and in no time at all I was totally into it.

Angels, the classic is there in all its glory. The outrageous and totally infectious "Let Me Entertain You" makes you want to grab a hairbrush and pretend you have a crowd of thousands screaming at your feet.

But the real surprises here are the ones that weren't as popular. I love the groovy sound of "South of the Border" and "Killing Me" is so haunting but grabbing that sometimes I just play that track on repeat. And as someone who has lost a parent, I find the ballad "Baby Girl Window" comforting and reassuring.

"Ego a Go Go" is hilarious especially when you know the story behind it and the rivalry between Robbie and his former bandmate, Gary Barlow. It's a preview of the harder and more vindictive "Karma Killer" (on Expecting You) which was an angry memo from Robbie to his former manager the now notorious Nigel Martin Smith.

On a whole, Lens is but a preview of the extrodinary artist Robbie Williams has become and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

I remember when I first heard of Take That. It was in a video for a song called "It Only Takes A Minute". They were still a brand new boy band in the footsteps of New Kids On The Block but they were british. Out of the five members, Robbie Williams stood out. He was the funniest, cheekiest member and he seemed to have more personality than the others. At the end of the video, there was Robbie pointing his finger up and crooning the line 'Just one minute...'. It was funny. 4 years later, Robbie left Take That and the future didn't seem too bright for the lad. He made several public appearances afterwards, one being as a host of the MTV Europe Awards in the fall of 1996. Prior to that Robbie had done a cover version of George Michael's Freedom. Not too impressing work there and more of a mockery of his boy band image. But Robbie struggled to change that. He hung out with Oasis, grew a goatie for a brief time, and began venturing into Rock music.
Old Before I Die was the first non-pop song Robbie came out with that was an original song that he wrote along with an unknown, Guy Chambers. Highly influenced by Britain's biggest rock band, Oasis, Robbie wanted if not needed to get into the new mainstream since boy band music became a joke. After months of slacking, but not really slacking, Robbie returned with a full length album titled 'Life Thru A Lens' in September of 1997. I think i was the only guy who bought that CD at a Music store in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. And for some crazy reason, i felt like i really wanted to love this album since it felt weird just to hear Robbie on his own and see what he can prove. I was impressed, no...more, I was taken completely by every song on the CD!

The opener struck a chord with me, 'Lazy Days' is a song about depression. A very Oasis-esque tune with the right lyrics. 'Life Thru A Lens' the title track is a fun tune about life in the public eye. 'Ego A Go-Go' is a personal attack from Robbie to his rival and former bandmate Gary Barlow, and manager. 'Angels' is the biggest ballad ever heard or written since Wonderwall. Not only did it spark the light of Robbie in the british conscience, but it had people take Robbie extremely seriously. This is a fine love song. The chorus, each verse, the music all speak for themselves. To this day, Robbie's best song. 'South Of The Border' is another rocker in the influencial direction of Oasis. 'Let Me Entertain You' can easily be viewed as Robbie's signature song. He is here to entertain us. He's good at it. He's been doing it since 1992, the difference is that he used to do it along with four other guys, now he's entertaining on his own but outweighing the entire Take That installment.
'Killing Me' is the most open Robbie song. It's an essential song about Robbie most intimate feelings of insecurity and unhappiness. The depression he began having as a member of Take That and how he escaped it through pretending to be the joker of the group. Reminds you a lot of the way John Lennon was with the Beatles. In fact, Killing Me is in the same league as Isolation from Lennon's debut album 'Plastic Ono Band'. 'Clean' is another fun track where you hear Robbie rhyming 'I'm Clean' with 'Charlie Sheen' and talking about kicking his addictions to the evil substances. 'Baby Girl Window' is a touching song and a beautiful album closer.

Robbie became much bigger, musically and artistically only a year later when he released I've Been Expecting You and finally getting praise in America.

Highly Recommended.

A

Being the proud owner of "The Ego Has Landed" and "Angels Rarities", I was eager to get my hands on more CDs from Britian's latest export. I heard much ado about his 2 albums in the UK and some questioned why he didn't release them individually Stateside. Was he not proud of some of the songs on both his albums? Keeping that in the back of my mind, I cautiously bought "Life Thru a Lens" (I decided on his 1st album, because I wanted to follow the progression of his music). I now feel it my duty to tell anyone who had any doubts about the songs not released on Ego can lay those doubts to rest. If you dug Ego, then you'll dig Life. Obviously, I can't speak for Robbie on whether or not he's proud of the songs he left off Ego, but I found them to be quite delicious. Even songs like "Clean", with its Beatles meet Seasme Street melody, seems not much unlike an exersize in sophisticated irony by having such a sweet little ditty be about such a heavy and adult subject. Every song is a gem. I can't wait to get my hands on "I've Been Expecting You" to see what other hidden treasures he's been keeping from us here in the States.

This is one of the most exciting rock albums that I have heard in a while. I am shocked that Robbie has not caught on with teeny-boppers. However, I do have a theory as to why. His songs say too much. The boppers just want to hear, to paraphrase Sir Paul, "silly love songs." Robbie does not write love songs. His songs are more personal. His music is to the Backstreet Boys what John Lennon's music was to Paul McCartney's music. Since John Lennon is my all time favorite musician, being compared to him is a huge compliment.

This is a fantastic album, listen and enjoy.

I Got this yesterday, and have listened to it, and it is a great album! The upbeat songs Lazy Days, Life Through A Lens, Ego A Go Go, and Let Me Entertain You(my favorite), are great, and very funny. The Ballads Baby Girl Window, Killing Me, and Angels(my other favorite) are nice. This is a great album and very well made, like Sing When Your Winning, and The Ego Has Landed.

I Got this yesterday, and have listened to it, and it is a great album! The upbeat songs Lazy Days, Life Through A Lens, Ego A Go Go, and Let Me Entertain You(my favorite), are great, and very funny. The Ballads Baby Girl Window, Killing Me, and Angels(my other favorite) are nice. This is a great album and very well made, like Sing When Your Winning, and The Ego Has Landed(American Album).

Recently, a friend of mine got me listening to Robbie Williams by sending me this CD. I think it's AWESOME!!! Robbie Williams is very talented, versatile...and has a fanstastic voice. The songs are varied and appeal to many different musical tastes. Angels is a very beautiful and melodic song. You really get an idea of what a musician goes through with the public. Make sure you listen to the tongue-in-cheek poem at the end of the cd. It's a bonus you don't even know is there unless you just let the cd run.

This is the best cd I have ever bought! Every single song on this album made me feel so happy and joyfull. it made me want to jump up and down except angels which made me feel so sad even though it is the best song ever made.

This is by far Robbie's best - a CD that can be listened to time after time after time. This Brit boy is finally getting the recognition he deserves after his hard slog. Listening to the words in his songs tell you of what an honest man he is - he will be around for years and years to come.