Sing When You're Winning
If you're tempted to smirk at Robbie Williams's hip-factor-free approach to music, you are too late; he's already beaten you to the punch. OnSing When You're Winning, the British megastar's self-parodying caricatures, filled with both bravado and deprecation, safely evade overearnestness in forms such as crickets chirping behind the love song "If It's Hurting You," and the unexpected orchestral string arrangement from Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" in "Supreme," a sermon for the aging broken-hearted.  "Kids," his rousing bubblegum-funk duet withKylie Minoguebursts into what can only be described as a full-out "musical number"; pop music hasn't seen such stare-down chemistry sinceSandy and Dannydeclared "You're the One That I Want" back in 1978. From the "One Night in Bangkok" tributary disco track "Rock DJ" to the lighter-igniting anthem "Let Love Be Your Energy," this is unadulterated, epic pop music, and Williams' smart, irresistible wit permits the listener to indulge guiltlessly in all the album's bombastic fun.--Beth Massa