Robbie Williams 'Reality Killed The Video Star' (EMI) Released 09/11/09

In this age of the cult of celebrity, it’s nothing short of ironic that Robbie Williams chose a recent episode of reality television show “The X Factor” to announce his long-awaited comeback. That his appearance would end up being more memorable for the confused mannerisms and fake sense of bravado rather than any musical virtuosity probably speaks volumes about the public perception of Williams nowadays. High profile battles with his weight, prescription drugs and constant jibes about his sexuality have usurped any musical achievements in recent years, and even the uber-successful return of his former colleagues in Take That appears to have taken its toll, Williams reportedly citing it as the main cause of his low self esteem as recently as last year.

All a far cry then from the ego that landed a decade ago, fresh from his tenure as boy band member and then associate of the Gallagher brothers among others. It’s been something of a turbulent ride ever since and despite his wealth and fame, he’s never really attained the credibility as an artist he so desperately craves. Certainly the halcyon days of ‘Angels’ and ‘She’s The One’ seem to be a thing of the past, largely due the breakdown in his relationship with and subsequent sacking of songwriting partner Guy Chambers. For all Williams’ claims of being hard done by, that one ill-advised piece of egocentric decision-making could arguably be pinpointed as the catalyst to the last seven years of failure and inactivity. His last two long players, ‘Intensive Care’ and ‘Rudebox’ didn’t win him any new fans or do him any favours in the long run, and for many the name Robbie Williams has become little more than a spent force synonymous with ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and its anyone-can-be-a-star cultural philosophy.

It’s no surprise then that for ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’, his eighth studio album, Williams has hired a selection of heavyweights to oversee proceedings. As well as the erstwhile Chambers, who makes his return on ‘Blasphemy’, oddly enough one of the weaker, and lyrically cringeworthy tracks here, esteemed producer Trevor Horn is given the mantle to polish this dog’s turd of a record into something worthwhile. Even the title itself, a pun on Horn’s biggest hit as Buggles back in 1979, speaks volumes about Williams fascination with – in debt to even – the Saturday night television audience that probably makes up the majority of his record buying public these days. Sure, there are moments here where Horn’s orchestral studio dynamics work wonders – forthcoming single ‘You Know Me’ potentially rivalling ‘Strong’ as one of Williams most potent ballads to date and the electro-tinged ‘Difficult For Weirdos’ being two of ‘Reality…’’s most shining examples.

Unfortunately, for the most part, ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’ is a record showered with self-pitying references to Williams’s bruised ego that for a bloke who’s just purchased a £7 million mansion in rural Wiltshire will find no sympathetic ears among the working class audience he so vehemently targets. Barely a minute into faux-sentimental opener ‘Morning Sun’ Williams is whining “the world don’t love you anymore”, while by the Ian Brown-aping ‘Bodies’ midpoint he’s decided “I want perfection”. This continues throughout ‘Reality…’ for the most part, making it little more than a bewildering charade that doesn’t quite know what it or its maker’s real intentions are.

Sure, it’s a better effort than either of its two more recent predecessors, but at thirteen songs long feels like an overcooked turkey on Christmas morning, and in 2009’s climate where pop music has germinated into a multi-generic beast, seems like a wasted opportunity from an increasingly desperate man.