Rudebox (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Professional reviews
Rudebox

Studio album by Robbie Williams
Released	October 20, 2006 (NL, GER) October 23, 2006 (UK)
Recorded	Los Angeles California, 2006
Genre	Pop, Hip Hop & Dance
Length	73:35
Label	Chrysalis/EMI
Producer(s)	Several (See Article)
All Music Guide link NME 8/10
Robbie Williams chronology
Intensive Care (2005)	Rudebox (2006)	Let's Swing Again (2007)

Rudebox is the name of Robbie Williams' tenth solo album, and seventh studio album, released on October 23, 2006 in the UK. It was originally scheduled to be called 1974, the year Williams was born. The album features collaborations with William Orbit, and two collaborations with the 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".

Getting a mixed reception from critics, the album reached the top position in the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Italy and Finland, among many others.

The album debuted at #2 on the United World Chart selling 378,000 copies in its first week.^[1]

The album has so far moved 600,000 units in the United Kingdom and almost 3.5 million worldwide. ^[2]

Japanese editions of the album feature "Lonestar Rising" as the bonus track, instead of "Dickhead".^[3]

1 Track listing
2 Special edition
3 Critical opinion
4 Album sales
5 Singles
6 Controversies
7 American sales
8 Peak position and certification
9 Notes
10 External links

[edit] Track listing

#	Title	Songwriters	Producers	Duration
1.	"Rudebox"	(R. Williams, B. Laswell, B. Collins, C. Aiken, R. Shakespeare, S. Dunbar)	Soul Mekanik	4:44
2.	"Viva Life on Mars"	(R. Williams, D. Spencer, K. Andrews)	Soul Mekanik	4:51
3.	"Lovelight"	(L. Taylor)	Mark Ronson	4:02
4.	"King Of The Bongo/Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus"	(M. Chao)	Mark Ronson	4:48
5.	"She's Madonna" (with Pet Shop Boys)	(R. Williams, N. Tennant, C. Lowe)	Pet Shop Boys	4:16
6.	"Keep On"	(R. Williams, C. Heath, S. Duffy)	Juan Gabriel	4:19
7.	"Good Doctor"	(R. Williams, J. Meehan)	Mark Ronson	3:16
8.	"The Actor"	(R. Williams, B. Christy, C. Russo)	Brandon Christy & Craig Russo	4:06
9.	"Never Touch That Switch"	(K. Andrews, D. Spencer)	Soul Mekanik	2:47
10.	"Louise"	(J. Callis, P. Wright, P. Oakey)	William Orbit	4:46
11.	"We're the Pet Shop Boys" (with Pet Shop Boys)	(My Robot Friend)	Pet Shop Boys	4:57
12.	"Burslem Normals"	(R. Williams, D. Spencer, K. Andrews)	Soul Mekanik	3:50
13.	"Kiss Me"	(S. Duffy)	Joey Negro	3:18
14.	"The 80's"	(R. Williams, J. Meehan)	Jerry Meehan	4:18
15.	"The 90's"	(R. Williams, J. Meehan)	Jerry Meehan	5:34
16.	"Summertime"	(R. Williams, A. Genn)	William Orbit	5:41
17.	"Dickhead" (UK bonus track)	(R. Williams, J. Meehan)	Jerry Meehan	4:09

[edit] Special edition

A special edition of the album was released along with the regular edition, presented in a special package and design including an exclusive DVD featuring the 30-minute documentary "We Are Not Alone", plus "Rudebox" Live at Roundhay Park in Leeds and the Trailer of Robbie's new DVD "And Through It All - Robbie Williams Live 1997-2006".

[edit] Critical opinion

The album got a very mixed reception from critics in the UK. Top Music magazine NME, praised the record, saying it was the best album of William's career and a great pop album, giving it 8/10. It received further praise from other rock magazines such as Mojo and Uncut, along with the likes of Music Week.

However, the greatest British tabloids were not as kind and many of them including the Mirror newspaper slammed it. Williams himself said in an interview that he was delighted to get such praise from magazines who usually dont rate him.

[edit] Album sales

In the United Kingdom the album sold 54,667^[4] copies on its first day in stores, taking the number-one slot on the albums chart midweek. By Wednesday the album had sold over 75,000 copies.^[5] The album debuted at #1 on the Official UK Albums Chart selling over 147,000 copies on its first week^[6] Despite reaching the number one spot, sales were far below what was expected by his label EMI, and overall sales were overtaken by his former band Take That's Beautiful World. The fallout of the album's failure lead to the firing of two music executives responsible for the album's development.^[7]

The album was released in the Netherlands on October 20, 2006, on the same day the album was certified platinum as a result of pre-order sales of over 70,000.^[8]

In Belgium the album sold 50,000 copies and went Platinum. It was released on October 23, 2006 in Australia and debuted at #1 achieving Platinum status in its first week.^[9]. It has since been certified 2x platinum (140,000). Since October 20th 2006 the album has sold nearly 3.5 million copies and has reached number one in 14 countries around the globe.

On November 8th 2006, IFPI certified the album 2x Platinum in Europe with sales of over 2 million making it the fastest platinum selling album of 2006.^[10]

On November 20th 2006, the album reached #1 in Mexico becoming his first number-one album in that country on the main Top 100 Chart.

Rudebox was the 18th best selling album of 2006 worldwide according to the IFPI. Outside the US, it was 2006's best selling album by a solo artist.

[edit] Singles

Rudebox
Lovelight
Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus (Limited international release)
She's Madonna

[edit] Controversies

"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.[1]

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 rose the ire of Martin-Smith, who demanded that the song be removed from the album.[2]

The omitted lyrics were rapped during the break before the second verse.
"Now I'm managed by a prick and I'm 16 and chubby. Told me to lose 20 pounds and you're not Rob, you're Robbie, and if I see you with a girl, then you're gonna be sorry and if you don't sign this contract, get your bags from the lobby. He's such an evil man, I used to fantasize of taking a Stanley knife and go and play with his eyes. I pray to the Lord he won't have any children. He didn't spot Elvis leaving the building."

[edit] American sales

Though not widely released in America, new copies of Rudebox have been found in select stores as an import (imported CDs have higher prices). For instance, the Borders store in Tacoma, Washington lists Rudebox at a price of $22.99 plus tax (most newly released CDs in America are sold at $14.99). The album was a relative success on the Digital charts, reaching the top 15 on iTunes. It also peaked at #7 on the Canadian iTunes.

[edit] Peak position and certification

Chart	Provider(s)	Peak position	Certification	Sales
Australian Album Chart	ARIA	1^[11]	2x Platinum^[12]	140,000+
Austrian Album Chart	MediaControl Europe	1^[13]	Platinum^[14]	30,000+
Danish Album Chart	IFPI / Nielsen	1^[15]	Gold^[16]	15,000+
European Album Chart	IFPI	1	2x platinum	2,000,000+
Finnish Album Chart	GLF	1^[17]	Platinum	30,000
German Album Chart	Media Control	1^[18]	3x platinum^[19]	600,000+
Italian Album Chart		1^[20]	Platinum	100,000
Mexican Album Chart	APROFON	1^[21]	Platinum	100,000+
Swiss Album Chart	Media Control Europe	1^[22]	2x Platinum^[23]	60,000+
UK Album Chart	BPI/The Official UK Chart	1	2x Platinum^[24]	600,000+
Greece International Albums Chart	IFPI	2^[25]
Netherlands Album Chart	Megacharts/NVPI	2^[26]	Platinum	70,000
Swedish Album Chart	GLF	2^[27]	Gold	30,000+
Belgium Album Chart	IFPI	3^[28]	Platinum	50,000+
Czech Album Chart	IFPI	3^[29]
French Album Chart		3^[30]	Silver^[31]	91.800+
Norwegian Album Chart	VG Nett	8^[32]
Estonian Album Chart	Pedrobeat	8	Gold	5,000+
New Zealand Album Chart	RIANZ	14^[33]
United World Chart	MediaTraffic	2		3,300,000