Robbie Williams - The Ego Has Landed (1999)

Robbie Williams was a teenage pop star in the U.K. as a member of Take That (think New Kids on the Block); his first solo album, Life Thru a Lens, tanked--until the single "Angels" was released and became a mega-hit. His follow-up album, I've Been Expecting You, spawned more hits--"Millennium," "Let Me Entertain You"--and, somewhat unexpectedly, transformed Williams from prefab pop star to artist. The Ego Has Landed, his U.S. debut, collects songs from his two prior British releases and lives up to the hype. Though he's still somewhat prefabricated, borrowing wholesale from Oasis (whose Liam Gallagher was an idol of Williams's), George Michael, the Pet Shop Boys (whose Neil Tennant cowrote and sings backup on "No Regrets"), and even Tom Jones, Williams injects plenty of his own personality--brash and bold but rarely bratty. He's a born entertainer, plain and simple--"Let Me Entertain You," which would fit in well on Tommy, is plenty campy but only somewhat tongue-in-cheek, and he makes no apologies for it. The one caveat here is that the album is front-loaded, with all of the hits coming in the first half--but there's also a good chance that you won't mind. --Randy Silver