Robbie Williams

Live at Knebworth (Chrysalis, UK)
by Michael McCarthy

Over 375,000 people saw Robbie Williams perform at Knebworth over the first three nights of August 2003, and many called the tour the biggest live event the UK has ever witnessed. Live at Knebworth (Chrysalis, UK) – entitled Live Summer 2003 outside of the UK, yet not released in the United States under any title – features the highlights of these performances, mixed by Steve Power. “Good evening everybody, my name is Robbie Williams, this is my band, and you are about to witness the best show in the world right now!” Robbie proclaims halfway through “Let Me Entertain You,” the perfect, energetic choice to open the show.

All three shows at Knebworth are said to have lasted over two hours. It’s a pity that only a single 14-track disc was released. To that end, one would ultimately expect Live at Knebworth to serve as a greatest hits live disc. To some degree, it is. However, the inclusion of the epic “Me and My Monkey,” the laid-back “Better Man,” and an energetic cover of “We Will Rock You” allows the collection to truly serve as a souvenir of the tour. (Odd that Robbie didn’t perform – or at least include here – “We Are the Champions” after “Will Rock You,” considering that he performed vocals on the track for Queen on the otherwise forgettable soundtrack to A Knight’s Tale.) What’s truly admirable about the disc isn’t the choice of songs – which also includes such hits as “Angels” and “Feel” – but the raw, live performances. If anything was re-recorded in the studio, it was a waste of time and money because the disc sounds like your typical soundboard bootleg, which is a good thing indeed. Sure, Robbie’s voice occasionally falters, but it’s during these moments that you most want to cheer with the audience – which can be heard quite loudly throughout most of the disc – in support of his enthusiasm. And his personality truly resonates in these performances. You can picture his facial expressions changing as his voice shifts from overly confident to self-deprecating within the context of a single song as he damn near sings himself to death on the ballad-esque ode to drug abuse that is “Come Undone.” If you loathe Robbie and his sarcastic ways, this disc won’t make a fan out of you, but if you’re already a fan or you’re on the fence, it’ll make you like him that much more.
(www.robbiewilliams.com)