The Ego Has Landed

The Ego Has Landed
Compilation album by Robbie Williams
Released	4 May 1999
Recorded	1997 – 1998
Genre	Britpop, pop rock
Length	70:14
Label	Chrysalis, Capitol
Producer	Guy Chambers, Steve Power
Robbie Williams chronology
I've Been Expecting You (1998) The Ego Has Landed (1999) Sing When You're Winning (2000)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

The Ego Has Landed is a compilation album by English pop singer Robbie Williams. After the success of Williams around the world, especially in Europe, Williams was signed to Capitol Records in the United States, which is a part of EMI, the album was released in May 1999 in the United States and Canada, and later issued worldwide.

The Ego Has Landed is not classed as one of Williams' own solo albums as it was a compilation of his first two albums. It was his American debut album, combining tracks from his two official UK studio albums at the time, Life thru a Lens and I've Been Expecting You. The title is a parody of the famous transmission, "The Eagle Has Landed", from the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon.

Track listing

1. "Lazy Days" – 3:53
2. "Millennium" – 4:04
3. "No Regrets" – 5:09
4. "Strong" – 4:37
5. "Angels" – 4:24
6. "Win Some Lose Some" – 4:19
7. "Let Me Entertain You" – 4:21
8. "Jesus in a Camper Van" – 3:38 (replaced by "Phoenix From The Flames" - 4:02)
9. "Old Before I Die" – 3:54
10. "Killing Me" – 3:57
11. "Man Machine" – 3:35
12. "She's the One" – 4:18
13. "Karma Killer" – 4:28
14. "One of God's Better People" – 3:35

• The album contains a hidden poem after track 14 called "Hello Sir".
• Latin-American editions of the album feature "Angels" (Spanish version) as the track 15.

Success

Williams embarked on a US Promotional Tour and when his first American single, "Millennium" was released, it peaked at No. 72 in the Billboard Hot 100. The album The Ego Has Landed was released in May 1999 in the United States and peaked at No. 63 in the Billboard albums chart, not having the success that he enjoyed in Europe. Despite this, Williams enjoyed good video airplay and received a nomination for the MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Male Video"; he did not win, but the exposure helped the sales of the album.

Capitol Records, trying to make Williams a bigger star, released a second single from the album, the ballad "Angels", for which Williams shot a new video. When it was released in the autumn of that year, the song became a somewhat bigger hit than "Millennium", charting at No. 41. However, this was not enough for Williams, so he concentrated on the rest of the world where he was already an established act. The album went on to sell 596,000 copies in the United States^[3] being certified Gold by the RIAA in November of that year.^[4]

The compilation was released worldwide (as a limited edition in Europe, pressings for the album are still going strong in Latin America, Asia and New Zealand to this day) and the album was a success in New Zealand, reaching No. 1 on the Official Albums Chart.^[5] It went on to sell 140,000 copies being certified 9× Platinum. In Australia, the album ensured platinum sales over 70,000 copies. The album was promoted in Latin America as well. Williams recorded a Spanish version of his hit "Angels" and it was included as a bonus track on the album and then released as a single (almost two years after its original release in English). The Spanish version was a substantial hit in most Latin American countries, but as the single had already been big in 1997, most video and radio outlets focused on the tracks from his album I've Been Expecting You. Despite this, the compilation proved to be a medium success giving him Gold sales in Mexico and Argentina. It has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Charts and certifications

References