Escapology [Audio CD] Robbie Williams

Escapology finds Robbie Williams on the run from the nasty habits that plagued him in London. Williams wrote these songs during an extensive eighteen-month sabbatical in Los Angeles following a stint in rehab, and the British pop icon appears to have soaked up more than rays in sunny southern California; the result is two rather brittle paeans to the City of Angles and a bloated stadium anthem that could only have been inspired by the city's vainglorious rock past. The frenetic "Song 3" is an ambiguous love song to the place, while "Hot Fudge" is a mean-spirited slice of clichéd funk in which the singer declares over and over that "I'm moving to L.A." Williams reaches firm ground only when he returns to what he does best--those cheeky little slices of pop rock that have propelled him to the top of the British charts. "Monsoon" is one of those ironic gems; it's an autobiographical look inside the fishbowl of fame, with Williams confessing, "I'm here to make money and get laid / Yeah but I'm a star but I'll fade." He picks up that theme again on "Handsome Man," a perfect update of Mick Jagger's "Memo from Turner." Fey and witty, Williams boasts "I'm the one who put the Brit in celebrity." He's at his best when he allows his massive personality to run riot over a song, delivering his braggadocio with a sly, knowing wink. --Jaan Uhelszki