The Robbie single: your questions answered
Story filed Thursday, 03 September 2009
robbie2009coat.jpgYesterday we asked Popjustice's Twitter followers if there was anything they fancied knowing about Robbie's 'Bodies' single. Here are their (/your) questions with some answers. karrade asks: robbie single.. is it beautifully written and produced but the vocals are cheap sounding?
No.
andrewastewart asks: Is it as good as Rudebox?
Yes.
miss_julia asks: what percent do you say "yes" to it? 100, 200 or 1,000,000%?
82%.
textsterSound like a Trevor Horn record!?
Not any specific one (although the middle eight did remind us a bit of Seal's 'Crazy'.)
ptm71 asks: Is it Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat?
No, not really, no.
RazorMouse asks: Is it any good?
Yes.
JanVH asks: Is the new Robbie danceable or does it need a Freemasons remix?
It's not danceable, a Freemasons remix probably wouldn't work.
tidusin asks: it will have a Stuart Price remix?
Don't know.
MRobDC asks: does it suck as much as his past few singles?
His last single was 'She's Madonna' so your question makes no sense, sorry.
joao92 asks: like most robbie williams songs does it suck?
See above.
dillangandhi asks: Should he have bothered?
Yes.
RandyFr asks: Does it sound like classic Robbie Williams cr*p or rather like classic Robbie Williams amazingness?
People who like classic Robbie Williams crap will probably like it but people who like classic Robbie Williams amazingness will probably like it too.
sodthemachine asks: is it a navel gazing whine about how he can't settle down and find love?
Not really.
JamieTrendy asks: is it as shit as anything on his last 4 albums?
It's not as shit as 'Sin Sin Sin'.
boroboy1982 asks: is it as shit as rudebox?
'Rudebox' the song? No, it's not that shit. (The album wasn't shit, obv.)
mryvieburnett asks: rudebox or angels?
The bit in the middle.
TreatYourself asks: is there any chance of a freemasons remix?
See above.
cosmicpinay80 asks: Is the single good?
Yes.
tommylaad asks: is it shit??
No.
coxyine17 asks: Is it donkable?
Where there's a will there's a way.
TheFunkyJunkies asks: does he sound all vunerable in it?
No.
pettis asks:: Tempo-wise, how does it compare to She's Madona?
It seems about the same.
taliaagrace asks: question bout robbie's single: why cant he be as good as diana vickers?:(
Everybody needs something to aim for.
faustshausuk asks: Was the Robbie single produced by DJ Jazzy Jeff?
No.
BozliMusic asks: - how shit is it?
7% shit.
I_Am_Sailing asks: given it is called "Bodies", is it co-written by Max Beesley and Keith Allen?
No. (Actually it might be but probably not.)
MicrofilmMusic asks: will it be as good as Rudebox?
The album? TBC.
hot_burrito asks: Is it shit?
No.
TomKei asks: How 80s does it sound 1-10? 1 being N-Dubz, 10 being La Roux, with Gaga somewhere in the middle.
2.5.
patrickdevit asks: is it more Rock DJ or more Misunderstood in terms of amazingness?
More 'Rock DJ'.
milo2020 asks: shit?
No.
nastyposition asks: what's the genre?
Mid-tempo Big Orchestral Robbie.
landdupont asks: is the new Robbie single better or worse than "the '90s"?
Not quite as good.
MW_Jimmy asks: Does he rap on it?
No.
NicolaRobertsUK asks: A question? Hmmm, does he sing/rap about shopping at Tesco in it?
No.
pixieonline asks: is his new single epic as his old old stuff?haha
Quite epic.
CassLowe asks: what's the obligatory 'Cheeky Robbie' line in it?
"I got laid on a leyline."
rob_fitzpatrick asks: how long is it
In CD form, five inches.
gems2712 asks: Will he make any money?
Yes.
alexneedham74 asks: Why did Pete Burns record I Promised Myself with a clothes peg on his nose? (To hold it on, perhaps)
Alex we've moved onto the Robbie single now, sorry.
gribiche asks: how shit is it?
Not very at all.
orchestrajb asks: who wrote it?
Robbie and someone else probably (we don't know).
LadyMeeks asks: How is it? Like "Rudebox"? Like "Angels"? Like "Let me entertain you"? Like "Me and My Monkey"? Like "Feel"? hahaa
Like a bigger version of 'Supreme'.
Ebschen asks: is Robbie single any good. Is it about aliens??
No.
VonBear asks: Is he still fat, and does this affect his ability to sing like a has-been pop star still?
He is not fat.
FeelingFan asks: Is it the right choice for a big comeback single?
Yes.
XxxxYvonnexxxX asks: what's it like I can't wait to hear it
It's literally quite good.
EdwardNeon asks: Compare Robbie's single to other song which sounds like it.
Something big with lots of strings in it.
Linn_SayItPR asks: Is it any good?
Yes!
ifitsnotlove asks: is it any good?
Yes!!
justanactor asks: any good?
Yes!!!
Fweebs asks: do you like it?
Yes!!!!
djmikepeters asks: is it any good? On a scale of Lovelight (brilliant!) to Radio (drivel)
We quite liked 'Radio'.
jdl0301 asks: Current song Robbie' single sounds the most like?
None.
crablin asks: if you had to review it by buying Robbie a present, what would you buy him?
A nice cake.
Poptastic asks: what's the best lyric in it?
A brilliant bit in the song's closing moments - "Jesus didn't die for you - what are you on?".
jonapd asks: will it be his last?
No.
josieallchin asks: Does it feature a mandolin?
No.
AllyFarrell asks: Is it of Escapology calibre?
Is this a trick question?
So there you go.
.
Robbie Williams' new single: is it any good?
Story filed Wednesday, 02 September 2009
Basically yes. It's a confident, dignified comeback single with a big chorus.
A Robbie Song 'Bodies' Is Better Than: 'Let Me Entertain You'.
A Robbie Song 'Bodies' Is As Good As: 'Rock DJ'.
A Robbie Song 'Bodies' Is Not As Good As: 'Feel'.
For what follows to make proper sense you need to accept the fact (and it is fact) that 'Rudebox' was a brilliant album. NO WAIT COME BACK - it was five (maybe six) songs too long and it was accompanied by the wrong run of singles but it was Robbie's best album since 'I've Been Expecting You'. Tragically as we all know it was a bit of a shitshow reception-wise, meaning that Robbie was perceived to have gone down the dumper. This idea of Robbie having fallen on hard times was very convenient for The Evil Media due to the successful reappearance of Take That.
The two worst things Robbie could have done after 'Rudebox'
1. Record a rubbish 'rock' record as per The Demands Of The British Public Who Don't Really Know What They Want and/or another 'Swing When You're Winning' (aka One Of The Worst Albums Of The Last 15 Years).
2. Rejoin Take That (which would have been briefly amazing but mildly shameful immediately afterwards - a bit like an elaborate wank).
Fortunately Robbie has done neither of those things, both of which would have amounted to some sort of apology (when of course there was nothing to apologise for). What 'Bodies' represents - and we say this in the context of the five other songs we've also heard from the new album, but it also makes sense considering 'Bodies' in isolation - is someone refusing to retreat or apologise. Instead it sounds like someone confidently storming ahead. Ultimately there are hints of 'Rudebox', particularly in the verses, but the song's also strongly connected to some of Robbie's bigger, more traditional moments - 'Supreme', for example.
'Bodies' is not a comeback single that takes many chances - it is, career wise, Robbie's most important single since 'Angels' and there's obviously a certain amount of brand rebulding needed. But nor is it a comeback single that attempts to pretend the last three years haven't happened. It starts off with some spooksome Gregorian-style chanting over an 'Ain't Nobody'-esque backing, continues through its first verse with a lot of "I got laid on a leyline" lyrical business then totally explodes into a massive chant-along chorus of "all we've ever wanted is to look good naked, hope that someone can take it / God save me rejection from my reflection, I want perfection". It's mid-tempo with fluttering strings and, in its closing moments, turns into a huge ad-libbing gospel choir romp.
'Bodies' sounds like Robbie and Trevor Horn bringing out the best in each other - in this case 'the best' equalling a big comeback single from Britain's best male popstar. It's also a grown up pop song which might disappoint anybody hoping for Robbie to throw himself further in the direction of 'Rudebox', although from what we've heard from the album those hopes won't be totally dashed - one track is a massive cosmic electro disco number that sounds like a 2010 reimagining of 'Left To My Own Devices'.
Other data:
» There is a bit with handclaps or stamping feet or perhaps both (or neither). (It's at the 2'17" mark.)
» Robbie shouts "yeah!" twice.
» It's not the (rather good) backing track from that video on Robbie's website the other week. Perhaps that is an album track?
Robbie's debuting the song on Chris Moyles' Radio One breakfast show on Friday morning so you can all listen to it and go, like you always do, 'oh it's not as good as Popjustice said it was' (even though it will be precisely as good as we've said it is and you know it).
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