Life thru a Lens explained

Life thru a Lens
Type:studio
Artist:Robbie Williams
Cover:Life thru a Lens cover.png
Alt:Robbie Williams stands surrounded by a group of photographers and interviewers attempting to interview him or take a picture of him.
Released:29 September 1997
Recorded:1996–1997
Studio:
  • Battery, London
  • Maison Rouge, London
Genre:
Length:52:46
Label:Chrysalis
Next Title:I've Been Expecting You
Next Year:1998

Life thru a Lens is the debut solo studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was Williams' first solo album following his departure from Take That. Released on 29 September 1997 through Chrysalis Records, it is influenced by Britpop, a departure from the poppier tone of the music Take That employed. The album's working name was The Show-Off Must Go On.[5]

The album's first three singles, "Old Before I Die", "Lazy Days" and "South of the Border" (the only single to miss the top 10), were all moderate successes, but it was the fourth single "Angels" which catapulted Williams to international fame as a solo artist. Peaking at number 4, it has sold over 1 million copies in the UK and is his biggest-selling single to date. Fifth and final single "Let Me Entertain You" reached number three, becoming the album's third top-5 hit. "Freedom," Williams' first solo single, a cover of George Michael's 1990 hit, is not featured on the album.

Life thru a Lens debuted at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart and initially remained in the lower regions, but, upon the chart success of "Angels", it began steadily climbing and finally reached number one in April 1998, five months after its release. Though never selling more than 60,000 copies in a single week, the album has sold over 2,094,000 copies as of November 2013, making it Williams' fourth-best-selling studio album and fifth-best-seller overall.[6]

The album cover art, a photograph of Williams at the centre of a crowd of photographers, was created by Andy Earl.[7]

Recording and music

After trying hard to find his own sound during a period of personal upheaval, Williams began recordings for the album at London's Maison Rouge studios in March 1997, shortly after his introduction to Guy Chambers. The title track, "Life thru a Lens" was written about his then-girlfriend Jacqueline Hamilton-Smith who was a socialite. It is often mistakenly attributed to Tara Palmer-Tompkinson, but they did not date until 2006. "Ego a Go Go" was written about Gary Barlow, "South of the Border" discusses Kate Moss, and "Baby Girl Window" was inspired by Samantha Beckinsale and her late father, actor Richard Beckinsale. "One of God's Better People" and "Angels" were inspired by Williams' mother, Jan. Hidden track "Hello, Sir" is a poem that takes a dig at one of Williams' former teachers. Williams reprised part of the poem on the 1 Giant Leap song "My Culture".

The sound of the album is influenced by Britpop, especially bands such as Oasis, a direction his former Take That bandmate Mark Owen had also chosen to pursue on his debut album Green Man (1996). John Bush of AllMusic said that Life thru a Lens "continually betrays overt influences from Oasis and other Britpop stars, but triumphs nevertheless due to gorgeous production, Williams' irresistible personality, and the overall flavor of outrageous, utterly enjoyable pop music."

Critical reception

Writing for Melody Maker in October 1997, Robin Bresnark gave Life thru a Lens a negative review; "There's nothing here... sure, Robbie Williams is as fascinating a hapless goon as we're ever likely to come across. But this album feels more like a press release than an album – and that's not what I call music."[8] However, John Bush of AllMusic was very positive in his four and a half stars out of five review, calling the album "excellent" and "one of the best U.K. debuts of the '90s".

Q ranked the album at number 43 in their 2004 list of "The 50 (+50) Best British Albums Ever" and in their unordered 2005 list of the "Ultimate Music Collection". Record Collector included the album in their unordered 2000 list of "10 Classic Albums from 21 Genres for the 21st Century", whilst Robert Dimery included the album in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[9]

Commercial performance

Life thru a Lens was released in October 1997, not long after Williams's stint in rehab. It was launched with his first live solo gig at the Élysée Montmartre in Paris. At first, the album was slow to take off, debuting at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart, and falling to 104 not long after release, having sold a little over 30,000 copies.[10] It reached the number one position after spending 27 weeks on the chart, as a consequence of the huge success of the "Angels" single, boosting the album's sales to 300,000.[11] The album spent a total of 218 weeks on the chart and two weeks at number one, becoming the 58th best selling album of all time in the UK with sales of 2.4 million copies.[12] Despite its success in Williams' homeland, the album failed to make a bigger impact in the international market. However, in Argentina, it reached the top ten in early 1998. Life thru a Lens has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide and has been certified as 8× Platinum in the UK.

Singles

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1997–98)Peak
position
Argentine Albums (CAPIF)[15] 9
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 2*
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 34
Irish Albums (IRMA)[18] 6
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[19] 37

Year-end charts

Chart (1997)Position
UK Albums (OCC)[22] 96
Chart (1998)Position
UK Albums (OCC)[23] 4
Chart (1999)Position
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 33

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ronan – Ronan Keating. Fawthrop . Peter. AllMusic. 14 February 2021. while Robbie Williams went all out with an egocentric rock album and became a British landmark.
  2. Book: Robert Dimery. Michael Lydon. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. 23 March 2010. Universe. 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  3. https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a810161/ranking-the-top-10-robbie-williams-albums-from-life-thru-a-lens-to-swings-both-ways/ Ranking the top 10 Robbie Williams albums from worst to best
  4. Book: Robert Dimery. Michael Lydon. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. 23 March 2010. Universe. 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  5. Web site: Southall . Nick . Robbie Williams – Greatest Hits – Review – Stylus Magazine . Stylus Magazine . 14 May 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091002104200/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/robbie-williams/greatest-hits.htm . 2 October 2009 . 5 November 2014 . dead .
  6. Web site: By the numbers: inside Robbie Williams' albums career. Sutherland. Mark. 9 May 2016. Music Week. 9 May 2016.
  7. Web site: New Book Chronicles Rock Photographer's Best Shots . https://web.archive.org/web/20240107172946/https://www.mtv.com/news/nicxzp/new-book-chronicles-rock-photographers-best-shots . dead . 7 January 2024 . 29 December 2000 . 7 January 2024 . MTV.com.
  8. Robin . Bresnark . Review: Robbie Williams – Life Thru A Lens, Chrysalis . . 4 October 1997 . 51.
  9. Book: Robert Dimery. Michael Lydon. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. 23 March 2010. Universe. 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  10. Web site: Scott . Paul . Heaven-sent hit that gave Robbie solo wings – Scotsman.com News . News.scotsman.com . 2011-09-28.
  11. Web site: Life Thru a Lens. RobbieWilliams.com.
  12. Web site: Certified Awards . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130124005813/http://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards.aspx . 24 January 2013 .
  13. Web site: Robbie Williams, "South of the Border" . Rtl.musicbrigade.com . 2011-09-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150626202205/http://rtl.musicbrigade.com/templates/ArtistPage____7326.aspx?View=4&ArtistID=5156 . 26 June 2015 . dead .
  14. http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=27952 BPI Certification for "Angels"
  15. Web site: Discography – Album – Life Thru a Lens. RobbieWilliams.com.
  16. Web site: IFPI – Robbie Williams: Life Thru a Lens. IFPI.
  17. Web site: Tous les Albums de l'Artiste choisi. InfoDisc. 12 June 2017.
  18. News: Billboard: Hits of the World (Page 59). Billboard. 1998-05-09. 2017-06-12.
  19. Book: Salaverri, Fernando . Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 . 1st . September 2005 . Fundación Autor-SGAE . Spain . 84-8048-639-2.
  20. Web site: Official Top 100 vinyl albums . Official Charts Company. 1 October 2021 . 1 October 2021 .
  21. Web site: Robbie Williams: Life Thru A Lens . 9 December 2022 . 17 January 2023 .
  22. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1997. Official Charts Company. 28 March 2021.
  23. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1998. Official Charts Company. 28 March 2021.
  24. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1999. Official Charts Company. 28 March 2021.

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