Rudebox
| Rudebox | ||||
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| Studio album by Robbie Williams | ||||
| Released | 23 October 2006 | |||
| Recorded | November 2005 – August 2006, Los Angeles | |||
| Length | 73:31 | |||
| Label | Chrysalis | |||
| Producer |
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| Robbie Williams chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Rudebox | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| BBC Music | (favourable) |
| The Guardian | |
| Mojo | |
| musicOMH | |
| NME | 8/10 |
| NOW | |
| The Observer | |
| PopMatters | 7/10 |
| Yahoo! Music UK |   |
Rudebox is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released on 23 October 2006 in the United Kingdom.
The album features collaborations with William Orbit, Mark Ronson, Soul Mekanik and two collaborations with Pet Shop Boys: "She's Madonna" and "We're the Pet Shop Boys". Lily Allen provides backing vocals on the songs "Bongo Bong and Je ne t'aime plus" and "Keep On". Williams covers five songs on the album: "Louise", a 1984 hit for The Human League, "Kiss Me", the biggest hit for Stephen Duffy, "Lovelight" by Lewis Taylor, "We're the Pet Shop Boys" by My Robot Friend, and "Bongo Bong and Je ne t'aime plus", by Manu Chao.
Williams himself spoke fondly of the album upon its release; "It has become something on which I've found myself. This is the right direction for me personally, this is what it is. I saw the whole Robbie thing coming to a close as it was, I couldn't make another album like the ones I'd made, and this has just opened up a thousand other doors. What I am excited about now is making more music. I love all the stuff on the album, I love Rudebox, it's a favourite song of mine. I don't know what's gonna happen now, I'm excited about getting it out there, but I'm more excited about making more."
The album is a mixture of covers and new tracks, in addition to 'Summertime', a song originally written when Williams left Take That and which appeared in the credits of Mike Bassett: England Manager'. Receiving a mixed reception from critics, the album reached the top position in fourteen countries including United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Italy and Finland.
"She's Madonna" was the centre of a tabloid storm after Ashley Hamilton claimed that he came up with part of the song with Williams. Hamilton has claimed he wishes to take the matter to court as he is not credited as a co-writer on the album.
Further controversy arose over the track "The 90s", part of which implies that Williams was ripped off by Take That's manager Nigel Martin-Smith after the band failed to make a profit from a European tour. The song raised the ire of Martin-Smith, who demanded that the song be removed from the album. The omitted lyrics were rapped during the break before the second verse.
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Wikipedia