Music Reviews

Robbie Williams – Life Thru A Lens (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

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Chrysalis Records

Release Date: December 2nd 2022

Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre

Robbie Williams – Life Thru A Lens (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

Disc 1:

  1. Lazy Days
  2. Life Thru A Lens
  3. Ego A Go Go
  4. Angels
  5. South Of The Border
  6. Old Before I Die
  7. One Of God’s Better People
  8. Let Me Entertain You
  9. Killing Me
  10. Clean
  11. Baby Girl Window
  12. Hello Sir (hidden track)

Disc 2:

  1. Freedom (from ‘Freedom’, CD Single 1, July 1996)
  2. Better Days (from ‘Old Before I Die’ , CD Single 1, April 1997)
  3. Average B-Side (from ‘Old Before I Die’ , CD Single 1, April 1997)
  4. Making Plans For Nigel (from ‘Old Before I Die’, CD Single 2, April 1997)
  5. Kooks (from ‘Old Before I Die’, CD Single 2, April 1997)
  6. Teenage Millionaire (from ‘Lazy Days’, CD Single 1, July 1997)
  7. Falling In Bed (Again) (from ‘Lazy Days’, CD Single 1, July 1997)
  8. She Makes Me High (from ‘Lazy Days’, CD Single 2, July 1997)
  9. Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye (from ‘Lazy Days’, CD Single 2, July 1997)
  10. Lazy Days (Original Version) (from ‘Millennium’, CD Single 2, September 1998)
  11. Cheap Love Song (from ‘South Of The Border’, CD Single 1, September 1997)
  12. Walk This Sleigh (from ‘Angels’, CD Single 1, December 1997)
  13. Karaoke Overkill (from ‘Angels’, CD Single 2, December 1997)
  14. Get the Joke (from ‘Angels’, CD Single 2, December 1997)
  15. Angels (acoustic version) (from ‘Angels’, CD Single 2, December 1997)
  16. Angels (Spanish Version) (from ‘The Ego Has Landed’ (South America Editions). April 1999)
  17. Let Me Entertain You (Full Length Version) (from ‘Let Me Entertain You’ CD Single 2, March 1998)
  18. Medley Of Songs From The Motion Picture Soundtrack ‘The Full Monty’ (from ‘Let Me Entertain You’, CD Single 1, March 1998)
  19. I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind Of Thing (from ‘Let Me Entertain You’, CD Single 1, March 1998)
  20. I Am The (Res)erection (from ‘Let Me Entertain You’, CD Single 1, March 1998)

Disc 3:

  1. Freedom (Ambient Mix) (July 1996 Promo Release)
  2. Freedom (New Sound Dub) (July 1996 Promo Release)
  3. Hey Little Girl (Axis Studios Demo, October / November 1996)
  4. Clean (working title Mr. Sheen) (Axis Studios Demo, October / November 1996)
  5. Old Before I Die (Crescent Moon Studios Demo, October 1996)
  6. Lazy Days (Tower Studios Demo, January 1997)
  7. Angels (Tower Studios Demo, January 1997)
  8. Red Lights (Tower Studios Demo, January 1997)
  9. Average B-Side (Westside Studios Demo, February 1997)
  10. Teenage Millionaire (Rehearsal Recording, Spring 1997)
  11. South of the Border (Rehearsal Recording, Spring 1997)
  12. Killing Me Rehearsal (Rehearsal Recording, Spring 1997)
  13. Life Thru A Lens Rehearsal (Rehearsal Recording, Spring 1997)
  14. South of the Border (Mother’s Milkin’ It Mix)
  15. Let Me Entertain You (The Bizzaro Mix)

Disc 4:

  1. Let Me Entertain You (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  2. I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind Of Thing (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  3. Clean (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  4. South Of The Border (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  5. Average ‘B’ Side (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  6. Baby Girl Window (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  7. One Of God’s Better People (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  8. There She Goes (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  9. Killing Me (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  10. Life Thru A Lens (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  11. Teenage Millionaire (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  12. Lazy Days (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  13. Ego A Go Go (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  14. Old Before I Die (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  15. Angels (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)
  16. Back For Good (Live at The Forum, London 3 June 1998)

‘…I’m glad we lived in a time when we were kings for many different reasons: The record industry was classic, stars were stars and records were physical. Even with CDs, there was a journey to be made to acquire things that made them very special! Running alongside with this there were artists that were eccentric, odd, out of the ordinary. They were allowed to get things wrong, to get things right, to be obnoxious, to be sweet or difficult. This made the landscape exotic and interesting and I think it lifted people above the ordinary. Now you are not allowed to have an opinion, to get something wrong. There are new rules that now make you be on the wrong side of history and it’s appalling, it’s beige, it’s boring! I would say that (before the pendulum swings back the other way because it will) there is a death of creativity because we are not allowed to free think anymore. We have a hive mind and if you are not thinking with the hive mind, you’re going to get cancelled; you won’t be allowed to make money as a public figure. It is very scary and I’m glad that I have lived in a time when that did not exist because it was way more fun!…’ Robbie Williams has been in and around the music industry for the better part of 2-3 decades (inclusive of his time in the group Take That), as he has now become one of Britain’s reigning solo male artists in…well, history? Maybe second to Elton John? Dunno the exact stats, but knowing how Robbie’s been in the music industry during the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and now the 2020s, well, it’s almost assumed that he’d come in second to Elton, right? Robbie’s been around for a long time, and not too long ago, we as a site wrote about Robbie’s music and his impact and influence in a blog, highlighting songs like ‘Feel’, ‘Better Man’, ‘Angels’, ‘Let Me Entertain You’, ‘Rock DJ’, ‘Millennium’, ‘Kids’, ‘Bodies’ and ‘The Road to Mandalay’, to name a few. We were reminded that someone like Robbie could cross musical genres quite well, from rock and pop, to quasi-inspirational (see songs like ‘Better Man’ and ‘Angels’), blues and swing (albums like Swinging When You’re Winning and Swings Both Ways showed us that Robbie could create music a la Michael Buble; and do it quite well). Robbie has also unveiled to us his highly successful 2019 Christmas album The Christmas Present, alongside the album XXV, a re-orchestrated and re-recorded album of 29 radio hits across his whole discography. Now in 2023, Robbie has once again released something ‘new’ to us all- on the 25th anniversary year (2022) of his first album Life Thru A Lens (the debut album released in 1997), Robbie released Life Thru A Lens (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) in December last year, a 4 disc exclusive album release complete with his full-length first studio album, an album full of B-Sides & bonus tracks, an album full of bootleg demos and incomplete recordings, as well as a last disc of live material as well.

Let me just say that over the years, there’s been countless reviews of Robbie’s first album, floating around the internet. I’m not going to rehash whatever has been said. And it’s plain to see, know and understand, that Robbie’s first album is a classic for the 1990s and the ages. It’s a decade-defining album, and Robbie’s biggest radio hit to come from that album, ‘Angels’, is now synonymous with the 1990s itself, and a reminder that someone who has departed from a group can still be just as big (if not bigger) when they’re venturing out solo, by themselves. The same is true of when Ronan Keating released solo material while simultaneously juggling his time between that, and the Boyzone band, or when Phil Collins decided to go solo, while still taking time to invest in the band Genesis as well. Sometimes artists don’t always have a ‘great’ solo career compared to when they were in the band (look at the sales of Brian Littrell’s solo album- which is a good album, by the way; compared to anything the Backstreet Boys have ever done); but all in all, and in the case of Robbie himself- what happened post-Take That, for Robbie himself, is…well, the sales numbers speak for themselves, right? Robbie is a legend in his own right. His ability to craft and create songs that strike a chord with listeners around the world, is why he’s still standing in the 2020s, still making music, and still delivering songs that speak to us all, years upon years later from whence he started his solo career in 1997 with his album Life Thru and Lens, all through till now.

Robbie’s impact, on not only British music, but music full stop, is certainly something that needs not to be denied (I mean, I’m sure blind freddy could even see and know that Robbie’s impact and influence on music, full stop, is evident). His impact in music is certainly unparalleled, while it’s been said that Robbie’s sold more albums in the UK than any other solo British artist in the history of music itself, and that he’s won more BRIT awards than any other artist…surely that and that alone would be reason enough to rate this four-disc 25th Anniversary album 5/5, right? To be honest, I haven’t really listened to much of this 4-disc album, just a few songs (10 – 12, out of the whopping 63) here and there. I just know that this album is nevertheless iconic, and to unveil 4 discs full of demos, bootlegs, b-sides, bonus tracks and live material, is a feat in and of itself. It’s an ode to fans, and a great way to remind us, of the relevance, poignancy and the compelling nature of this album, 25 years on from whence Robbie unveiled it to the world initially. Well done Robbie for this 4 disc offering, and a great way to remind fans, that 1990s music still matters in the 2020s, and that just because an album is ‘old’ by the standards of today, doesn’t mean that it still can’t be relevant. It sure can, and Life Thru A Lens (25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) is evidence enough, for this.

5 songs to listen to: Let Me Entertain You, Angels, Freedom 90, South of the Border, Back For Good (Live)

Score: 5/5

RIYL: Take That, Gary Barlow, Ronan Keating, Westlife, Boyzone

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