Half a century after Take That, one of Manchester’s great sons emerges from his artistic vegetative state. With the previously released single “Lost” the celebrations of the 25th anniversary as a solo artist begin. The opus is appropriately called “XXV”.
The new song “Lost” was recorded with successful producer Guy Chambers and studio partner Richard Flack in the studio estate in London. In an accompanying trailer published via Twitter, Williams says in a self-critical style: “‘Lost’ is about the times in my life when I ran from myself and behaved very inconsiderately”.
“XXV” will be released on September 9th (Columbia Records) and is available for pre-order now.
Old songs in a new guise
According to the information letter, Robbie Williams is celebrating “his” quarter of a century with a deep dive into his own hit box. He lets “completely newly instrumented versions shine in new splendor,” it says there. The studio cracks involved besides Chambers (with whom the young Robbie Williams once had his greatest successes…) are Jules Buckley and Steve Sidwell.
The classics are orchestrated and re-recorded by the “Metropole Orkest” from the radio town of Hilversum in the Netherlands, which is also well known in the pop scene.
The record will be available on CD (standard and “deluxe” versions) and vinyl; Additionally, the “Deluxe” edition includes three more original tracks: “Disco Symphony”, “More Than This” and “The World And Her Mother”. “XXV” is understood as the keystone of an exceptional career, which was recently overshadowed by crashes and VIP scandals.
Many years of success for Robbie Williams
Nevertheless, his merits for contemporary pop music are undisputed. Six of the top 100 best selling albums in British history are by Williams. He has sold a whopping millions of albums worldwide and released 14 number one singles. With 18 BRIT Awards, he is the uncrowned king of UK music trophies.
His almost forgotten highlights also include the swing cover album “Swing When You’re Winning” or the 2016 released “The Heavy Entertainment Show” and/or the 2019 Christmas album “The Christmas Present.
Last but not least, Robbie Williams has released 17 number one albums as a solo artist and with boy band Take That. The 48-year-old is also a bank on the German music market. Twelve of his solo albums climbed to number one in the local Mediacontrol charts, most recently the gingerbread and vanilla croissant concoction “The Christmas Present”.