By Robbie Williams, 2002

Followup to the UK superstar's 2001 album, 'Swing When You're Winning', which has sold more than five million copies. 12 of the 15 tracks (including hidden track) were co-written with longtime collaborator Guy Chambers, who also co-produced. Chrysalis.

It may be an overstatement to suggest that Escapology gives us Brit singer-songwriter Robbie Williams in his pensive phase. But there's no doubt that the tone of the album is less mercurial and irreverent than the Williams of old. That's not a bad thing--the anti-celebrity sentiments expressed in "Monsoon" are commendable for their frankness.

When Williams sings, "I'm here to make money and get laid/ Yeah, I'm a star but I'll fade," you get the sense he's been doing more in L.A. than chasing tail around the Standard Hotel. Williams is positively pessimistic in the should-we-or-shouldn't-we-break-up song "Sexed Up" and the heavy hearted "Love Somebody." The winding, storybook saga of "Me and My Monkey"--with its myriad pop culture references and dreamscape imagery--cries out for video treatment, as directed by Gus Van Sant. Elsewhere, the cheekiness of old appears in the L.A. anthem "Hot Fudge." Still, even when he's lyrically downcast, Williams's heavily manicured pop-rock draws stealth from orchestration and outstanding playing all around.

Could this be bad-boy Williams all grown up?Only his therapist knows for sure. --Kim Hughes

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