Reality Killed the Video Star

Personnel: Stephen Hague, Chuck Norman (programming).
Recording information: Capitol studios, Los Angeles, CA; Sarm Studios, London; Sarm West Coast, Los Angeles, CA.
Photographer: Julian Broad.
Robbie Williams' Rudebox was one of the most enjoyable records of his career, but it wasn't a commercial success. Its follow-up, Reality Killed the Video Star, attempts to right the ship, and as such, it becomes everything its predecessor was not. The album is given an MOR blockbuster production by Trevor Horn, with arrangements by his longtime co-writer Anne Dudley. As such, it certainly has the sound it needs to succeed with Williams' aging audience and also clean up on BBC Radio 2. Williams remains an excellent ballads singer, well-suited for this grandiose backing. The album is front-loaded with quality, beginning with "Morning Sun," the best and most deeply felt song on the album. Apparently written after the death of Michael Jackson, it begins with a classic example of the taken-two-ways lyric: "How do you rate the morning sun." ~ John Bush