I've Been Expecting You

Robbie Williams is the only ex-Take That-er to have achieved both major sales and widespread credibility, but his second album I've Been Expecting You is a mixed bag. With the singles "Millennium", "Strong" and "No Regrets", the album is unashamedly Life Thru a Lens Part Two. Full of self-parody ("My breath smells of a thousand fags/and when I'm drunk I dance like me dad"), the cheeky chappie's personality shines through on every track. His voice has improved no end since, and the album includes his finest moment to date: "No Regrets", which features backing vocals by the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon and Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant, and is not alone in playing on that James Bond-alike thing. In fairness it has to be said that there are some duff tracks ("Jesus in a Camper Van"), but these are easily outweighed by the likes of loud and noisy "Karma Killer", with full orchestral arrangement. In a typically audacious manner, "You Win Some You Lose Some" opens with the voice of ex-girlfriend Nicole Appleton. The nation as a whole seems to be in love with Robbie, and it is this fascination, this desire for him to be good, that makes his music work as well as it does. --Ronita Dutta