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Rudebox | 
| Artist: Robbie Williams
Label: EMI Europe Generic
Category: Music
List Price: $15.98
Buy New: $0.09
You Save: $15.89 (99%)
New (25) Used (28) from $0.08
Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 76251
Format: Enhanced, Explicit Lyrics, Import
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 377044
UPC: 094637704424
EAN: 0094637704424
ASIN: B000HC2MFC
Release Date: October 30, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Rudebox | | • | Viva Life on Mars | | • | Lovelight | | • | Bongo Bong/Je Ne T'Aime Plus | | • | She's Madonna - Pet Shop Boys, , Robbie Williams | | • | Keep On | | • | Good Doctor | | • | Actor | | • | Never Touch That Switch | | • | Louise | | • | We're the Pet Shop Boys - Pet Shop Boys, , Robbie Williams | | • | Burslem Normals | | • | Kiss Me | | • | 80's | | • | 90's | | • | Summertime | | • | Dickhead [CD-ROM Track] |
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| Editorial Reviews:
From Amazon.co.uk Review
With the help of producer/songwriters William Orbit, Mark Ronson, Jerry Meehan, Joey Negro and Soul Mekanik (plus guests as diverse as The Pet Shop Boys and Lily Allen), Robbie Williams has achieved a most radical transformation. Gone is the slick, pop-rogue of yesteryear: in his place is a new Robbie that raps, embraces club beats and (mostly) favours personal indulgence over cheesy, universal pop. Recent single "Rudebox", all electronic riddims and slack-rap vocal delivery, was just the start of this transition. The rest of Rudebox completes the remarkable overhaul with several eclectic covers - from Manu Chau's "Bongo Bong" and Lewis Taylor's underground classic "Lovelight," to subversive takes on The Human League ("Louise"), My Robot Friend ("We're The Pet Shop Boys") and Stephen Duffy ("Kiss Me") - and tracks such as "Keep On", "Good Doctor" and "Dickhead", which confirm his quite bewildering quest to becoming a comedic, Staffs-accented version of The Streets. Slightly more serious are his attempts at what he describes as 'wonky pop'. Songs like "Viva Life On Mars", his odd ode to Madonna ("She's Madonna"), the dark "The Actor" and catchy club-hit-in-waiting "Never Touch That Switch" all feature innovative production and interesting arrangements. Toward the end, we get "The 80s" and "The 90s", two more amusing "rap"-tracks that cover the singer's adolescence and his Take That years respectively; these underline the nostalgic, end-of-an-era feel of the LP. Audaciously eclectic and admirably upfront, Rudebox is overtly a form of personal catharsis. Not all the experiments work, but they're better than you might think, and now they're off his chest it'll be interesting to see where the new Robbie Williams heads to next.--Paul Sullivan
Album Description
Japanese pressing of Robbie Williams' highly anticipated and much talked about 2006 album. Rudebox sees Robbie collaborating with an array of musical mavericks. These include his heroes Pet Shop Boys, king of ambient William Orbit, fellow Stoke natives Danny Spencer & Kelvin Andrews (AKA Soul Mekanik), Disco-House icon Joey Negro and NYC-based DJ cum-Ueber producer Mark Ronson. There are both new original compositions and covers of some of his favorite tracks by artists as diverse as Manu Chao, The Human League, My Robot Friend, Lewis Taylor and old friend Stephen Duffy. Through its 16 tracks, Rudebox marks out and charts Robbie's musical loves and life. EMI. 2006.2006
Album Details
Williams' 2006 Album Includes Collaborations with the Likes of the Pet Shop Boys, William Orbit, Mark Ronson and a Host of Others, on Both Original Compositions and Covers of Some of his Favourite Tracks. This is Perhaps the Most Definitive Robbie Williams Opus to Date, Where his Truest Personal and Musical Inspirations Collide to Create an Intimate and Explorative Sound that Will Surprise Some, but after Eight Albums, It's the Sound of Robert Peter Williams, Born 1974 in Stoke on Trent, UK.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
His most accessible album in ages December 29, 2006
T.E. (New Mexico,USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
At least I like to think so. I've read some reviews from some critics and they bash this..why? I'm not sure. Probably because this album is actually more upbeat and much more better than his last two albums.
The British music industry is such a weird thing, I think if something doesn't sound like Oasis or Coldplay (you know, the melancholy crap they prefer to like) then they either immediately diss it or ride it off as a failure. Now mind you there have been exceptions to this rule, with the likes of acts like the incredible and beautiful Girls Aloud and Craig David, that prove that Brit Pop doesn't have to be full of Beatles-wannabes and boring and mediocre alt-rock acts. I think Robbie Williams wanted to go in a fresh direction with Rudebox but the British public don't seem to have grasped it for some reason.
But like I said before this album probably is his most quirkiest and coolest since his 2000 album Sing When You're Winning. He embraces everything here from club beats to his trademark melodies. There are some great great tracks on this!
My favorite tracks on the album would be:
"Rudebox"-Hey, I like to hear Robbie rap. He sounds too cool. I have nothing against this track unlike some of the music lovers back in his home country.
"She's Madonna"-This song grows on you. It's got a nice ambient type of beat and Robbie's vocals work great here!
"Viva Life On Mars"-This track is one of the catchiest songs on the album. When he gets to the chorus...."Viva Life On Mars I'm calling, sending my frequency to the galaxy so you can see, people down here."...is when he shines and shows why he's loved back home in the UK, Europe and Latin America.
"Never Touch That Switch"-It's got a great beat. What more can I say? Again, Robbie sounds so cool on this track. If it weren't for his English accent, you could assume this was a track straight from a rapper from 1980's hip-hop scene.
"Kiss Me"-My favorite track on the album. This one delves into a synthesized beat fest perfect for the likes of the best clubs in Europe. A great chorus in this one as well.
"Summertime"-William Orbit adds his magic production skills to this great ballad. What a good song to chill back to in the summer sun.
"The 90's"-Robbie raps and sings about his life in the early 90's and all his turmoil and misery he endured while in Take That as well as talking about what it's like to be famous.
Other great tracks include "Keep On" and "Lovelight".
I can't say enough great things about this album and it ranks among his best. Go snag it!
Back to Britpop October 31, 2006
Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana)
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
The crossover is over, and Robbie Williams has returned to his roots with this album. It may take repeated listening to get into it, as it's full of Eurodance and Britpop tracks, and sounds more like the Pet Shop Boys (who produce two of the tracks), than the Robbie Williams of the last few albums.
First single "Rudebox" is produced by Soul Mekanik, and is a fun dance track that sets the tone for the album. Soul Mekanik also produce two other tracks, including another good electro-dance track "Never Touch That Switch" where Robbie sings lyrics like "there's a schism in the time mechanism".
Second single "Lovelight" is a track where he covers the Lewis Taylor original and sings in falsetto, and is followed by the outrageously funny cover of Manu Chao's "Bongo Bong" (or King of the Bongo) in "Bongo Bong/Je Ne T'Aime Plus". The two Pet Shop Boys tracks are "She's Madonna" which is a tribute to the always controversial singer, and "We're the Pet Shop Boys" which you won't be able to differentiate from a PSB original.
Other tracks are produced by Mark Ronson, Jerry Meehan, William Orbit, and others, and include a cover of "Louise" by Human League. I thought he could have done a bit more with "The 80s" and "The 90s" and was looking forward to more samples. Rapping is not his strong point, and neither is falsetto, but when he turns on his cheeky, rude, bad boy charm you can't help but like him anyway.
Amanda Richards, October 31, 2006
 Change in musical direction. March 13, 2007
bollywood
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
It is strange that such a forceful pop personality as Robbie Williams should be mired in an ongoing creative identity crisis but, while he can still pack out those stadiums, he continues to have trouble with albums.
"Rudebox" is another change of musical direction into the realms of anonymous electro pop, to which he applies the usual mindless cultural reference points and blatant sonic thievery.
The main problem is that he has not produced a truly great pop song since "Feel", and "Rudebox" fields no new candidates.
The best track is the throwaway pastiche "We're the Pet Shop Boys" (featuring the actual Pet Shop Boys on backing vocals) which, along with a cover of The Human League's "Louise", suggests that melancholy synth pop could be an interesting direction for him to pursue, if only he could drum up some worthwhile material.
A scant handful of highlights aside, the album is packed with half-baked ideas, bad jokes, music that any other star of Williams' stature would be terrified of the general public hearing.
Perhaps that's the point...
If nothing else, "Rudebox" is a sharp reminder that Robbie Williams is unique.
Why All The Fuzz April 11, 2007
Bradley Jacobson
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
For some reason Rudebox has gotten a ton of awful press, and its sales were nowhere near the lot of Robbie's previous efforts but to me he has finally done what I wanted him to do - he made a record that I will play just as much as Sing When You're Winning. Not that Robbie's last two CDs were bad it's just that they were familiar, they were just extensions of what he has done before, but with Rudebox it seems he's headed to a newer dimension, a starkly dark yet thrilling disco where you can both shake your rudebox and do the rudebox all at the same time. The opening title cut is just plain dance fun silliness though so is most of the album, yet it's all together quite catchy - "Viva Life On Mars" with it's 'uh huhs' reminds me of a ten different songs all great, and the Lily Allen pseudo duet "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'aime Plus" is just fun as hell. I'm a tad confused over "She's Madonna" no matter how many times I hear it, I can't tell if he's telling his girl he has to leave cause Madonna wants him or it's just some strange fantasy, Madonna makes another appearance in "The Actor" which breaks down in the middle to list a ton of actors working a la Miss M's "Vogue", "We're The Pet Shop Boys" with the actual Pet Shop Boys is all very, well, Pet Shop Boys, and his two autobiographical takes "The 80's" and "The 90's" are better than I expected. All in all, Rudebox is a much welcome addition to Robbie's post Guy Chambers albums and I think he's finally having some fun.
 Have not taken this out of my box! April 5, 2007
Michael (Roslyn, New York USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I am guilty of completely overlooking Robbie. It took Jessica's Angels cover to get me to notice. I herd about Madonna being mentioned a couple of times on this disc so I bought it. Right on Robbie, it has not left my CD player yet. Anyone who grew up in the Eighties will love this record. Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, Human League, Run DMC and Beastie Boys are all paid homage. My favorite William Orbit is one of the producers, very cool!
Hope this helps sway you 'cause when you buy it He'll get you to shake your Rude Box, Michael
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