It's been 20 years since Robbie Williams crushed hearts by leaving Take That and striking out on his own. And to think, the guy who started his solo endeavour with a cover of George Michael's 'Freedom' went on to become one of the biggest-selling UK male artists ever.
But if you think the 42-year-old is resting on his laurels, think again. Robbie has been very honest that he still has an unquenchable thirst to be the very best. There's absolutely no way he's going to accept that he should slip into the world of safe cover albums and a cushy X Factor judging job just yet.
And that's precisely why we love him. He actually cares about making the very best album he can. Trouble is, chasing bigger success can sometimes work against you…
Without further ado, here's our track-by-track review of The Heavy Entertainment Show.
1. 'THE HEAVY ENTERTAINMENT SHOW'
Never one to be the wilting flower, Robbie opens his 11th studio album with more theatrics than a Christmas Day episode of EastEnders. It bursts with dramatic brass before dropping with delicate strings, as he promises to "give it all and a little bit more". It's almost like he's opened his own Moulin Rouge and this is the big sparkling number to soundtrack all the mischief. So is this a sign of things to come on the record? Nope!
2. 'PARTY LIKE A RUSSIAN'
This is quite possibly the most bonkers pop song that will be released in 2016, let alone on this album. Lyrics of excess and glamour are commonplace on massive party anthems, but a sample of Sergei Prokofiev's 'Dance of the Knights' (better known as the Apprentice theme to most of the UK) isn't what you'd usually expect. Oh and it managed to piss off most of Russia. Only on a Robbie album, eh?
3. 'MIXED SIGNALS'
Easily one of the standouts on the album, 'Mixed Signals' has that kind of pulsing electric guitar undertone that pushes it towards '80s power-anthem status. There's a very good reason for that. It was written by The Killers. But Robbie has always had that frontman energy in his delivery, so the lovelorn lyric, pumping chorus and growling vocal will go down a storm at his live show.
4. 'LOVE MY LIFE'
The feel of this song is nearly as big as Robbie's ego. Nearly. See, although it's an epic stadium-sized mid-tempo track, co-written by the star with the Snow Patrol boys, the lyric features the classic deflating, tongue-in-cheek humour Robbie loves to employ. "I love my life / I am powerful / I am beautiful / I am free," he soars on the heartfelt chorus. Never change, Rob.
5. 'MOTHERF ** KER'
Robbie Williams has had a few high-profile feuds in his time (we're looking at you Oasis), so you'd think a song titled 'Motherf**ker' would be him calling out all his old foes. Well it isn't. This is the song Robbie wrote for his newborn son Charlton. It's a soaring pop-rock number co-written with long-time collaborator Guy Chambers that's packed with Rob's cheeky charm. "Motherf**ker" is used as badass praise, but we're not sure how the grandma is going to take being called a "fluffer", and how his wife Ayda feels about being labelled a "nutter".
6. 'BRUCE LEE'
The fact that an oriental-tinged rock blowout namechecking one of the greatest martial artists on the planet isn't the strangest moment on The Heavy Entertainment Show says it all really. 'Bruce Lee' swirls more like '60s psychedelia, but it almost feels like there's too much going on. It doesn't quite deliver the KO it most likely wanted to achieve.
7. 'SENSITIVE'
And just like that, Robbie switches up the style again. 'Sensitive' is a soulful love song with a funky bassline and tinned beats. Robbie has taken things to the bedroom and is most likely wiggling his hips in those famous tiger briefs to this. There's no denying this track is infectious, it just comes out of the blue considering everything else that has come before it.
8. 'DAVID'S SONG'
'David's Song' is the most poignant track on the album and is a tribute to Robbie's long-time manager David Enthoven, who sadly passed away this past summer. It's a soft, guitar-led lilt packed full of emotion and reflection. "Please, don't let me go / While they play the last song ever / The last chance to hold each other forever," he sings on the chorus. It's a beautifully tender moment.
9. 'PRETTY WOMAN'
Robbie practically begged Ed Sheeran for this song, and it certainly gives The Heavy Entertainment Show a kick. You can hear the flame-haired singer's plucky guitar throughout, as the Robster gets a bit Western with country beats and jangly percussion. You'll end up falling harder for this track's unapologetically catchy melody than Rob does for the titular Pretty Woman.
10. 'HOTEL CRAZY' ft. RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
Not content with pretty much covering the whole musical spectrum, Robbie has even chucked in a bit of hazy jazz with Rufus Wainwright. It's nice enough, but doesn't really go anywhere and ultimately feels like a bit of an offcut from his last album Swings Both Ways. "I'm a Big Mac short of a Happy Meal," is a fantastic lyric though.
11. 'SENSATIONAL'
This is an all-out tribute to his enthusiastic fans. Big brass, a full-on showman delivery and plenty of compliments to the millions of women (and some men) who flock to his shows year after year means this was written with one thing in mind: the next tour. You can already picture him winking at a fainting mother of two, or shaking his bum at a pair of 40-somethings in pink cowgirl hats.
CONCLUSION
There are plenty of great pop moments on The Heavy Entertainment Show that prove Robbie Williams is still someone worth paying attention to. Not that he'd let us ignore him anyway. It's a collection that glows with complete adoration for his family, pokes fun at his enormous ego, breaks hearts with moments of emotional loss, and retains his throne as the UK's premier entertainer.
But the problem is, it's all over the place. He hurtles through different styles of music, making sure to tick all the boxes. There's the single for the younger generation ('Pretty Woman'), the emotive ballad ('David's Song'), the stadium-sized pop-rock ('Mixed Signals'), and the extraordinarily bonkers one with controversial lyrics that'll grab those headlines ('Party Like a Russian'). None of it flows, and makes the overall experience a little too disjointed.
What The Heavy Entertainment Show does do, though, is line up enough big show tunes for the inevitable world tour. That is arguably where Robbie rules supreme these days, and by listening to the record it's abundantly clear which tracks are ready to burst stadium roofs off. And when that finally arrives it'll certainly live up to its boast of heavy entertainment. In the meantime, though, the album itself is just a bit too heavy on variety.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment and tech news? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.
