Album Review: "Intensive Care" by Robbie Williams

British brat Robbie Williams released his latest offering about one month ago. After a few listens, I'm of mixed opinions on it.

In similar fashion to his last disc, "Escapology", there are about two outstanding tunes and two decent ones, with the rest being fair to middling. Highlights on this album include "Tripping", "Please Don't Die", "The Trouble With Me" and "King of Bloke and Bird". However, the similarities end there. This disc sounds far less urgent than Robbie's earlier work. I wouldn't say that he has mailed in his performance, but think of Genesis' "Mama" compared to Phil Collins' later tripe like "You'll Be In My Heart" and you'll get a good picture of how Williams is in grave danger of making his way to adult contemporary bliss.

Sonically, the production on this album is sparkling yet inoffensive at the same time, which shows that the cheeky monkey act we saw with "Rock DJ" and "Let Me Entertain You" is fading. Whether one chalks that up to maturity or just a different style is best left to the individual listener.

As for breaking through in the States, I don't think this album is the one to do it, which I think suits Williams, if not his record label, just fine. However, a "special guest" slot on a Coldplay tour or a co-headlining tour with, say, a healthy Kylie Minogue of venues in major North American markets could help the cause.

I would recommend that if you're jonesing for some new Robbie Williams, just get the tracks I mentioned above online and instead, plop your cash down on his fantastic "What We Did Last Summer" DVD.

Overall, I give this disc a rating of 5.5/10. I wish I could rate it higher.