Thursday 8 January 2015

Robbie Williams 'Lazy Days'

Chart Peak: 8
YouTube
'Lazy Days' smashed into the UK Top Ten in July, hot on the heels of 'Old Before I Die'... Releasing his first solo album and completing a UK tour this year, Robbie's career is set to go from strength to strength.
Side Four opens with the second consecutive track by a vocalist who also had a hit duet with Nicole Kidman.

It may just have been hype at the time, but that note was pretty vindicated wasn't it? It was  rather a brave prediction back then, with his early solo singles doing progressively less well and an initial 3-week chart run for his debut album. His next-but one single was to change things dramatically, but the seed was arguably sown with this, the first of his singles co-written by former Lemon Trees guitarist Guy Chambers. I seem to recall reading at one point that the song was indeed based on an unused track by that group, though Williams certainly did contribute the lyric.

'Lazy Days' was dismissed at the time as an Oasis wannabe, and there's more than a grain of truth to that, but there is a slightly lighter, more melodic side to this which reminds me more of The La's (who were of course also a much-cited influence on Oasis). I wouldn't even have contemplated liking this at the time but all these years later I can understand why this was released in the summer and I can almost understand why people liked it, apart from the irritatingly monotonous vocal. It's certainly much better than a lot of other Robbie Williams songs that are better-remembered these days.

Also appearing on: Now 34, 37, 39, 41, 42, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 51 (with Nicole Kidman), 52 (with 1 Giant Leap & Maxi Jazz), 54, 55, 56, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 66, 74, 75, 77 (with Gary Barlow), 83
Available on: Life Thru A Lens

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