Life Thru a Lens by Robbie Williams
Life Thru a Lens is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was Williams' first solo album following his departure from Take That. After trying hard to find his sound during a period of personal upheaval, recordings for the album began at London's Maison Rouge studios in March of that year, shortly after his introduction to Guy Chambers. Writing for Melody Maker in October 1997, Robin Bresnark gave Life Thru a Lens a very negative review; "There's nothing here... sure, Robbie Williams is as fascinating a hapless goon as we're ever likely to come across. But this album feels more like a press release than an album - and that's not what I call music." The title track, "Life Thru a Lens" was written about Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, "Ego A Go Go" was written about Gary Barlow, "South of the Border" discusses Kate Moss, and "Baby Girl Window" was inspired by Samantha Beckinsale and her late father actor Richard Beckinsale. "One of God's Better People" and "Angels" were inspired by Williams' mother Jan. "Hello Sir" is a poem that takes a dig at one of Williams' former teachers. Williams reprised the part of the poem on the 1 Giant Leap song "My Culture". The album was released in September 1997, not long after Williams's stint in rehab. The album was launched with his first live solo gig at the Elysee Montmartre Theatre in Paris, France. At first, the album was slow to take off, debuting at #11 on the UK Albums Chart, and falling to #104 not long after release, having sold a little over 30,000 copies. The album first reached the number-one position after spending 28 weeks inside the charts, going on to spend a total of 218 weeks on the chart, becoming the 58th best-selling album of all time with sales of 2.4 million copies. Despite the album's success in Williams' homeland, it failed to make a bigger impact in the international market. However, in Argentina, the album reached the top ten in early 1998. The album has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. The album has been certified as 8x Platinum in the UK.
There was never been doubt that Robbie Williams had the voice and charisma for a solo career. Who knew he had the songcraft too though? Assisted by writing partner Guy Chambers, he sheds his boyband skin by conjuring infectious pop skewed by indie-rock topspin (“Lazy Days”, “South of the Border”) as well as producing two ’90s pop classics: “Let Me Entertain You”’s thrilling, hungry pomp-rock and Angels, a wintry ballad that resolves into an almighty last-orders singalong.
