Album · 1997

Life Thru a Lens

Life Thru a Lens is a 1997 pop rock album by Robbie Williams. It runs 11 tracks across 53 minutes on Universal-Island Records Ltd.. Riffiter listeners rate it 3.5/5 from 3 ratings.

Pop Rock · Rock · Britpop

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3.5 /5
3 ratings: 78 /100
8 critics: 11
Tracks: 53 min
Runtime: 137 bpm
Tempo: D major
Key

1 finished it

Ratings

3 ratings · avg 3.5

0.5★5★

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chicory3.5★Sep 30
agnesj2.5★Aug 1
brunoz4.5★Jun 27

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Critics

8 publications

Music Week5/5
AllMusic4.5/5
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music4/5
Smash Hits4/5
NME7/10
The Great Rock Discography7/10
Paste7/10
The Guardian3/5

Scores collected from the English Wikipedia ratings box (CC BY-SA). Ratings belong to the publications; follow a link to read the review.

Life Thru a Lens album cover

The Life Thru a Lens cover was photographed by Andy Earl and art-directed by Mat Cook.

Photography: Andy Earl
Art direction: Mat Cook

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Tracklist

11 tracks · 53 min

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Every pressing below shares this page's rating and reviews — they are the same record.

Life Thru A Lens (25th Anniversary Edition)Anniversary edition · 2022 · 63 tracks
1. 1Lazy Days
2. 2Life Thru A Lens
3. 3Ego Agogo
4. 4Angels
5. 5South Of The Border
6. 6Old Before I Die
7. 7One Of God's Better People
8. 8Let Me Entertain You
9. 9Killing Me
10. 10Clean
11. 11Baby Girl Window
12. 12Hello Sir
13. 13Freedom (Full Length Version)
14. 14Better Days
15. 15Average B Side
16. 16Making Plans For Nigel
17. 17Kooks
18. 18Teenage Millionaire
19. 19Falling In Bed (Again)
20. 20She Makes Me High
21. 21Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
22. 22Lazy Days (Original Version)
23. 23Cheap Love Song
24. 24Walk This Sleigh
25. 25Karaoke Overkill
Life Thru A Lens (25th Anniversary)Anniversary edition · 1997 · 63 tracks
1. 1Lazy Days
2. 1Freedom (Full Length Version)
3. 1Let Me Entertain You (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
4. 1Freedom (Ambient Mix)
5. 2Better Days
6. 2I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
7. 2Freedom (New Sound Dub)
8. 2Life Thru A Lens
9. 3Ego Agogo
10. 3Clean (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
11. 3Average B Side
12. 3Hey Little Girl (Axis Studios Demo, October / November 1996)
13. 4Making Plans For Nigel
14. 4South Of The Border (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
15. 4Angels
16. 4Clean (Axis Studios Demo, October / November 1996)
17. 5Average 'B' Side (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
18. 5Kooks
19. 5Old Before I Die (Crescent Moon Studios Demo, October 1996)
20. 5South Of The Border
21. 6Baby Girl Window (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
22. 6Teenage Millionaire
23. 6Lazy Days (Tower Studios Demo, January 1997)
24. 6Old Before I Die
25. 7One Of God's Better People (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
26. 7One Of God's Better People
27. 7Falling In Bed (Again)
28. 7Angels (Tower Studios Demo, January 1997)
29. 8She Makes Me High
30. 8There She Goes (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
31. 8Red Lights (Tower Studios Demo, January 1997)
32. 8Let Me Entertain You
33. 9Average B Side (Westside Studios Demo, February 1997)
34. 9Killing Me
35. 9Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
36. 9Killing Me (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
37. 10Life Thru A Lens (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
38. 10Lazy Days (Original Version)
39. 10Clean
40. 10Teenage Millionaire (Rehearsal Recording, Spring 1997)
41. 11Baby Girl Window
42. 11Cheap Love Song
43. 11South Of The Border (Rehearsal Recording, Spring 1997)
44. 11Teenage Millionaire (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
45. 12Lazy Days (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
46. 12Hello Sir
47. 12Walk This Sleigh
48. 12Killing Me (Rehearsal Recording, Spring 1997)
49. 13Karaoke Overkill
50. 13Life Thru A Lens (Rehearsal Recording, Spring 1997)
51. 13Ego A Go-Go (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
52. 14South Of The Border (Mother's Milkin' It Mix)
53. 14Old Before I Die (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
54. 14Get The Joke
55. 15Angels (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
56. 15Let Me Entertain You (The Bizzarro Mix)
57. 15Angels (Acoustic)
58. 16Angeles (Spanish Version)
59. 16Back For Good (Live At The Forum, London, UK / 1998)
60. 17Let Me Entertain You (Full Length Version)
61. 18Medley From "The Full Monty" (Live From London Arena, U.K./ 1998)
62. 19I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind Of Thing
63. 20I Am The (Res)Erection

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About

Life Thru a Lens is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was Williams' first solo album following his departure from Take That. After trying hard to find his sound during a period of personal upheaval, recordings for the album began at London's Maison Rouge studios in March of that year, shortly after his introduction to Guy Chambers. Writing for Melody Maker in October 1997, Robin Bresnark gave Life Thru a Lens a very negative review; "There's nothing here... sure, Robbie Williams is as fascinating a hapless goon as we're ever likely to come across. But this album feels more like a press release than an album - and that's not what I call music." The title track, "Life Thru a Lens" was written about Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, "Ego A Go Go" was written about Gary Barlow, "South of the Border" discusses Kate Moss, and "Baby Girl Window" was inspired by Samantha Beckinsale and her late father actor Richard Beckinsale. "One of God's Better People" and "Angels" were inspired by Williams' mother Jan. "Hello Sir" is a poem that takes a dig at one of Williams' former teachers. Williams reprised the part of the poem on the 1 Giant Leap song "My Culture".

The album was released in September 1997, not long after Williams's stint in rehab. The album was launched with his first live solo gig at the Elysee Montmartre Theatre in Paris, France. At first, the album was slow to take off, debuting at #11 on the UK Albums Chart, and falling to #104 not long after release, having sold a little over 30,000 copies. The album first reached the number-one position after spending 28 weeks inside the charts, going on to spend a total of 218 weeks on the chart, becoming the 58th best-selling album of all time with sales of 2.4 million copies. Despite the album's success in Williams' homeland, it failed to make a bigger impact in the international market. However, in Argentina, the album reached the top ten in early 1998. The album has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide. The album has been certified as 8x Platinum in the UK.

In brief

Is Life Thru a Lens good?: Riffiter listeners rate Life Thru a Lens 3.5/5 from 3 ratings.
When was Life Thru a Lens released?: Life Thru a Lens was released in 1997 on Universal-Island Records Ltd..
How many tracks are on Life Thru a Lens?: Life Thru a Lens has 11 tracks, with a runtime of 53 minutes.
What genre is Life Thru a Lens?: Life Thru a Lens is catalogued under Pop Rock, Rock, Britpop.
What BPM is Life Thru a Lens?: Life Thru a Lens runs at a median tempo of 137 BPM across its tracks, most often in D major, measured from audio analysis.
What albums are similar to Life Thru a Lens?: Listeners of Life Thru a Lens also rate A Head Full of Dreams by Coldplay, Black Holes and Revelations by Muse, Songs of Innocence by U2.

Life Thru a Lens at a glance

Label: Chrysalis Records
Produced by: Guy Chambers

Facts from Wikidata (CC0).