The undisputed kings (and prince) of pop

Two recent EMI releases unintentionally exhibit just how far Pop music has come in 40 odd years. There’s Love, an excellent remastered CD of The Beatles’ tunes, as collaborated on for a Cirque du Soleil show by producer George Martin and his son, Giles. And there’s Rudebox, the definitive CD from the Archprince of Bad Boy Pop, Robbie Williams.

Love – The Beatles (EMI)

When Paul and Ringo, along with Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, were approached by Cirque du Soleil to make experimental mixes from their master tapes for a stage show Cirque would mount at the Mirage in Las Vegas, there was no other person to turn to but producer George Martin. Enlisting his son Giles. Love is the result; and it’s a CD that just shows how The Beatles’ music is really "one for the ages." The music sounds as fresh and possessed of vitality as it did when I first heard The Beatles in the late ’60s and early ’70s. No superlative is wasted in describing the album, because The Beatles’ sound has never come crispier – from Rubber Soul and Revolver, to Sgt. Pepper’s, the White Album, Abbey Road and Let It Be – the tracks come hard and fast, with no real chronological underpinning.

For the kids out there, the CD comes as a potent reminder of what The Beatles were all about, and how so much of what has followed really flows from the genius that imbued their music. And of course, for anyone who had heard the music in its original form or release, the sound quality alone of the recording, will drive one to head for the nearest salon and resurrect one’s moptop hairstyle... never mind if baldness has set in. It would be interesting to view the Cirque stageplay and see how inspiring the choreography would be. But for having made George and Giles Martin simply bring out the master recordings and do this remixing and remastering, we should be thankful to Cirque and to the surviving Beatles. There’s a 5.1 DVD Audio/DVD Video hybrid also available, even if it won’t carry a video component.

Rudebox – Robbie Williams (EMI)

Robbie Williams has never been anything less than self-indulgent. You either go for his cheeky, "I’m your favorite chap" routine, or you hate him for being what he is. His music has its ups and downs, but he’s never looked back on his boy band origins and has successfully mined the throne of Bad Boy and Prince of Pop all over Europe. Rudebox would have to be classified as his most definitive album; Robbie looking back at his career, and the music that has influenced him throughout the years. There are pure pop delights like his falsetto-driven Lovelight, and there are respectful nods to bands like the Pet Shop Boys.

The CD opens with Rudebox, and this is Robbie dabbling in electronica, while maintaining his British hip-hop posture. The lyrics are simplistic but downright cheeky: Sing a song of semtex, pocket full of durex, body full of mandrax, will you wear your knee socks. She’s Madonna has a chorus eerily reminiscent of The Beach Boys. And there’s no getting past the confessional tone of the two tracks entitled The ’80s and The ’90s. Collaborations with such diverse artists as Lily Allen, Soul Mekanix and William Orbit dot the landscape. There’s even a cover of Human League’s Louise. Less number of tracks may have made the CD stronger, but you can’t deny the earnestness of Mr. Williams to try and "come clean" with the CD.