At least I like to think so. I've read some reviews from some critics and they bash this..why? I'm not sure. Probably because this album is actually more upbeat and much more better than his last two albums.

The British music industry is such a weird thing, I think if something doesn't sound like Oasis or Coldplay (you know, the melancholy crap they prefer to like) then they either immediately diss it or ride it off as a failure. Now mind you there have been exceptions to this rule, with the likes of acts like the incredible and beautiful Girls Aloud and Craig David, that prove that Brit Pop doesn't have to be full of Beatles-wannabes and boring and mediocre alt-rock acts. I think Robbie Williams wanted to go in a fresh direction with Rudebox but the British public don't seem to have grasped it for some reason.

But like I said before this album probably is his most quirkiest and coolest since his 2000 album Sing When You're Winning. He embraces everything here from club beats to his trademark melodies. There are some great great tracks on this!

My favorite tracks on the album would be:

"Rudebox"-Hey, I like to hear Robbie rap. He sounds too cool. I have nothing against this track unlike some of the music lovers back in his home country.

"She's Madonna"-This song grows on you. It's got a nice ambient type of beat and Robbie's vocals work great here!

"Viva Life On Mars"-This track is one of the catchiest songs on the album. When he gets to the chorus...."Viva Life On Mars I'm calling, sending my frequency to the galaxy so you can see, people down here."...is when he shines and shows why he's loved back home in the UK, Europe and Latin America.

"Never Touch That Switch"-It's got a great beat. What more can I say? Again, Robbie sounds so cool on this track. If it weren't for his English accent, you could assume this was a track straight from a rapper from 1980's hip-hop scene.

"Kiss Me"-My favorite track on the album. This one delves into a synthesized beat fest perfect for the likes of the best clubs in Europe. A great chorus in this one as well.

"Summertime"-William Orbit adds his magic production skills to this great ballad. What a good song to chill back to in the summer sun.

"The 90's"-Robbie raps and sings about his life in the early 90's and all his turmoil and misery he endured while in Take That as well as talking about what it's like to be famous.

Other great tracks include "Keep On" and "Lovelight".

I can't say enough great things about this album and it ranks among his best. Go snag it!

For some reason Rudebox has gotten a ton of awful press, and its sales were nowhere near the lot of Robbie's previous efforts but to me he has finally done what I wanted him to do - he made a record that I will play just as much as Sing When You're Winning. Not that Robbie's last two CDs were bad it's just that they were familiar, they were just extensions of what he has done before, but with Rudebox it seems he's headed to a newer dimension, a starkly dark yet thrilling disco where you can both shake your rudebox and do the rudebox all at the same time. The opening title cut is just plain dance fun silliness though so is most of the album, yet it's all together quite catchy - "Viva Life On Mars" with it's 'uh huhs' reminds me of a ten different songs all great, and the Lily Allen pseudo duet "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'aime Plus" is just fun as hell. I'm a tad confused over "She's Madonna" no matter how many times I hear it, I can't tell if he's telling his girl he has to leave cause Madonna wants him or it's just some strange fantasy, Madonna makes another appearance in "The Actor" which breaks down in the middle to list a ton of actors working a la Miss M's "Vogue", "We're The Pet Shop Boys" with the actual Pet Shop Boys is all very, well, Pet Shop Boys, and his two autobiographical takes "The 80's" and "The 90's" are better than I expected. All in all, Rudebox is a much welcome addition to Robbie's post Guy Chambers albums and I think he's finally having some fun.

I am guilty of completely overlooking Robbie. It took Jessica's Angels cover to get me to notice. I herd about Madonna being mentioned a couple of times on this disc so I bought it. Right on Robbie, it has not left my CD player yet. Anyone who grew up in the Eighties will love this record. Madonna, Pet Shop Boys, Human League, Run DMC and Beastie Boys are all paid homage. My favorite William Orbit is one of the producers, very cool!

Hope this helps sway you 'cause when you buy it He'll get you to shake your Rude Box, Michael

I am a new fan of Robbie Williams as until recently I had only owned the Greates Hits cd. I thought this collection of dance music was great! I enjoyed every song from the first to the last! I don't know why Robbie isn't bigger in the US. And apparently he is a BIG fan of Madonna Ritchie as he mentions her in two songs! This album is a must for all Robbie Williams fans.

'Rudebox' was almost Robbie Williams's Waterloo; it was a massive commercial flop that seriously damaged his recording career, coming at a time when his popularity and cultural influence was at its height. Some four years later, a postmortem analysis reveals a rather interesting, if misguided album.

The title track, although a fairly big hit in Latin America, quickly disappeared from most other radio markets, and subsequent singles "She's Madonna" and "Lovelight" performed respectably but at nowhere near the levels of Robbie's previous hits. The new sound of the album (part electro, part rap, part alt-country) did not sit well with his core audience, who wanted of course another "Angels". When this didn't happen, the album quickly faded from the charts (and surplus copies reportedly ended up in China as landfill).

One gets the feeling when listening to 'Rudebox' that this may indeed be the real Robbie, or at least the kind of music he really listens to. He seems quite energized on the rap tracks ('Keep On, "Good Doctor", and especially the autobiographical "80s" and "90s"). Certainly the haunting "Burslem Normals" is his ode to his hometown (and his childhood), and is quite moving.

The electro experiments ("She's Madonna", "We're the Pet Shop Boys", "Lovelight") did tap into a certain segment of his fanbase, but probably did much to alienate the album from the general public. It simply was not the sound people wanted from him, although as dance/pop tracks, they are top-notch.

Only a star of this magnitude could have issued such an experimental record on a major label, and yet in hindsight much of it probably should have stayed in the vaults (or been released under the guise of a side project). As it stands, 'Rudebox' is the runt of the litter in Robbie's recorded canon, and yet sometimes comes across as his most interesting and personal album (barring a few decidedly weak tracks). If you're a fan (or perhaps better yet if you're not), this is definitely worth hearing.

(P.S. The final hidden track is certainly worthy of a "Parental Advisory" sticker, although being a UK release it doesn't come with one).