Sing When You're Winning [Import]

Robbie Williams | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 28, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: EMI Europe Generic
• ASIN: B00004WGEI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #562,626 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Let Love Be Your Energy

2. Better Man

3. Rock DJ

4. Supreme

5. Kids

6. If It's Hurting You

7. Singing For The Lonely

8. Love Calling Earth

9. Knutsford City Limits

10. Forever Taxas

11. By All Means Necessary

12. The Road To Mandalay

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Could you be a Robbie Williams fan? Take the following test., September 29, 2000

By 

Pat Kelly (Here, There & Everywhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sing When You're Winning (Audio CD)

1. Name three hits by Kylie Minogue.

If you answer includes "Better The Devil You Know" and "Spinning Around" score 10. If you answer includes "The Locomotion" score 5. If you answer what's a Kylie Minogue, score zero.

2. In the song "Strong", Robbie says "my breath smells of a thousand fags". What does he mean?

If you answer too much smoking, score 10. If you answer anything else score zero.

3. The game shown on the cover of this album is..?

If you answer Football, score 10. Soccer, 5. Anything else, 0.

4. The end of this album contains a 17-minute gap of recorded silence, then, instead of a hidden track, Robbie announces that he doesn't feel like recording one this time. What's your reaction?

If you roll on the floor laughing, score 10. If you just don't get it, score 2. If you want your money back, score zero. If you immediately play the track again, score 100.

Personally, I love Robbie Williams music. I was championing him two years before his CD came out on this continent. But I just doubt that he's going to ever really become BIG in America. There are many reasons for this, label apathy, radio's reluctance to play anything by anyone over 20 these days, but most importantly Robbie steadfastly refuses to do things in an American way.

He is witty without dumbing down, vulgar without anger, self-effacing when most artists brag, and relentlessly, proudly British. His humour, his references, and his music are styled by a country that is these days as foreign to America as Khurdistan.

Yes, he's also one of the best live artists I've ever seen in my life, but not many have seen him live over here.

I wish Robbie the best, but I'm not holding my breath that this will be his breakthrough album.

But if you score above zero on the test, buy the CD.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robbie's best album yet - fame, love, sex sex sex..., September 6, 2000

By 

J. F Malysiak "macafferty" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sing When You're Winning (Audio CD)

The master singer/songwriter/provocateur/rock n' roll bad boy has produced an album that I believe will prove to be one of the greats of 2000. It's an album that increasingly grows on you with each listen. The lyrics this time around are especially revealing, hinting at a Robbie that perhaps we had always suspected was there but is only now coming to light.

On tracks such as "Better Man", "If It's Hurting You", "Love Calling Earth", and "The Road to Mandalay" Robbie reveals a vulnerability that may (or may not) lie beneath the raucous in-your-face veneer that seems to be his trademark.

"Kids" a particularly funky, hard-driving duet with Kylie Minogue is another highlight with a terrific rap ending. The hit single "Rock DJ" is just a great tune.

My favorite track, however, is the disco anthem "Supreme" that takes Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" to new epic - though desolate and plaintive - heights. The Studio 54 orchestrations belie the song's rather downbeat lyrics:

"When there's no love in town This new century keeps bringing you down All the places you have been Trying to find a love supreme A love surpreme"

The song leaves you with the realization that such an idealized, all-encompassing, love is ephemeral. The baroque arpeggiating strings that open the song and continue throughout the song add the appropriate drama.

An album with no regrets, Robbie sings without inhibition about the topics that seem to most affect his life - fame, the quest for love, and (oh yeah) sex in all its dangerous and ambiguous glory.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Once Again, Almost Perfect., September 19, 2000

By 

Ian D. Smith (Bangor, ME United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sing When You're Winning (Audio CD)

Sing When You're Winning: charming, contemplative, fun, funny, raunchy, introspective, forgettable, groovy, bland, exciting. In other words, a mixed bag. Robbie Williams' third album has its triumphs and its disappointments, much like any other album. The reason this is a bit disappointing to me personally is because I found his first two albums to be close to flawless - with only one or two tracks apiece that I didn't care for. Here it's the same, but several tracks veer closer to mediocrity. But why am I beating that around so much? There's much to like about this latest effort from one of Britain's brightest pop stars. A track by track review."Let Love Be Your Energy": my personal favorite of the lot. A well-composed, energetic piece, sometimes reminiscent of the Beatles, Oasis and Williams' own "Lazy Days". The song uses a variety of musical elements ranging from trademark background vocals to an array of sound effects, blended together into a symphonic, almost epic sounding composition. "Better Man": the best ballad on the CD. A memorable song with emotional lyrics. A worthy successor to "Angels"."Rock DJ": probably the catchiest track. The lyrics are nonsense, the rap is silly, and the video is outrageous. But it gets to you - the pervasive beat, the undeniably engaging chorus... The fact that it is Robbie Williams singing the song is what ultimately sells it though. "Supreme": a solid, if unremarkable song. "Millennium" made better use of a well-known tune, in this case "I Will Survive." But again, the lyrics are good, and the chorus memorable."Kids:" This song starts off a little surprisingly ("Me no bubbletious! ") - I must admit it was a little painful to hear Robbie spouting off his lines in such a high-pitched voice (it's hard to tell which singer is the woman at some points), but the song gets better with each verse, and the rap and ad lib at the end is great fun. A duet with Kylie Minogue (who is kept fairly restrained, and thus sounds quite good), this song is quite different from most of Robbie's previous songs, and a fairly good direction to take at that."If It's Hurting You:" Quiet and thoughtful.. Very good lyrics, with nice use of an electric banjo. It's not incredibly memorable, but it is a beautiful, mature song."Singing For the Lonely." Not terribly diverse, but also a fine song. Again coming with lyrics that give even more insight into Williams' mind ("I'm so sick of people's expectations/Leaves me tired all the time")."Love Calling Earth." Forgettable. Emotional, pleading lyrics make it read quite well on paper, but as a song it's in need of a bit more polish."Knutsford City Limits." The quintessential pop song. Not incredibly original as such, but it's very fun to play and Williams' lyrical style adds a lot. It's got all the prerequisites to become a pop hit - a catchy chorus, good use of sound effects, a memorable tune to accompany the verses and a rousing breakdown. Love it."Forever Texas." When I first heard this song a year ago I was happy with it, but this strikes me as more of a filler song, which probably would have ended up as a glorified B-side had this album not needed more in the fast-paced music department. Very raunchy lyrics, fun use of the harmonica."By All Means Necessary." The weakest song. Lacking in energy, a memorable chorus and interesting lyrics. Definitely in need of a retooling, definitely better suited as a B-side."The Road to Mandalay." Very personal, sad, well-written and even funny (the chorus). This song captures Robbie Williams' personality quite well - it's a bit depressed, longing and insecure in its lyrics, but at the same time it's charming. I can imagine Nicole Appleton's eyes might have watered when she heard this song, apparently written to her. As a finale, it's a bit lacking, but it's still a solid work of music.So this album has a little of everything. Hip-hop, ballads, bombast, lyrics that range from non-sensical to fascinating and highly affective. As usual, Robbie borrows heavily from a wide variety of artists, but he moulds them together into pleasing forms that are sure to be popular singles in the U.K. Some songs are a bit too repetitive, others feel slightly stale or unpolished. But for the most part, this is a very good CD to own. Special note must be made of the fantastic booklet depicting a World Cup tournament won by a team of Robbie clones, celebrated by a nation of gleeful Robbies. It's a laugh riot.The U.S. market is impossible to figure out, so it's anyone's guess how well it'll be received in the States, but in the U.K. it's a big hit, and since so many of the very best and most popular musicians have come from the British Isles, I know it's only a matter of time until Robbie catches on. It's a pity in a way - I really like being part of a small circle of fans - almost makes me feel a bit smug.Standout Tracks: Let Love Be Your Energy, Better Man, Kids, Knutsford City Limits