Though everyone's favourite scallywag can still move truckloads of albums and sell out infinite Knebworth's in a heartbeat, it is fair to say things have been going slightly downhill since Robbie signed his multi-million dollar album deal in 2002.

His studio albums since then, Escapology and Intensive Care, were both pale imitations of mega hit Sing When You're Winning, not helped by writing partner Guy Chambers disembarking shortly after Escapology dropped. All this was compounded even further by failing to do any decent business in the States. A shame but some territories just don't warm to certain artists (see: Dave Matthews Band trying to crack the U.K.).

Now onto the nasty concern that is the song 'Rudebox'. A dog of a track all said and one which doesn't bode well for an album by the same name. An album, which must be stated from the get go, doesn't contain any anthems. Is that the main problem? Not really, for the writing was on the wall long ago that a change was coming. Robbie's fascination with 80s electro-pop was evident on 'Radio' a single from his Greatest Hits release and the extremely catchy 'Tripping' on last year's Intensive Care.

Here he only hits the target about half the time which is troublesome but considering the album goes for far too long (at least 5 songs should have been culled) the poor hit rate is grossly inflated. So what goes well? Definitely second single 'Lovelight' is by far the best thing on the disc. A cover of the Lewis Taylor track that was criminally ignored when Taylor released it a few years ago, 'Lovelight' is a funky piece of soul-lite (good to hear N'Dea Davenport again on backing vocals) that immediate recalls peak period George Michael. Cue strutting supermodels.

Speaking of covers there a few here including a take on The Human League's 'Louise' and current collaborator Steven Duffy's 80s hit 'Kiss Me' but the strangest adaptation is French/Spanish artist Manu Chao's 'Bongo Bong'. With backing vocals courtesy of Brit Hip-Pop star Lily Allen, 'Bongo Bong' comes off like a Gorillaz tune. Allen herself seems an inspiration on the rather silly 'Good Doctor' which chronicles Robbie's love of painkillers. Self-deprecation has always been his strong point.

Regardless of 'Good Doctor's' shortcomings, it is a fun track and fairs far better than tracks like 'Keep On' (sample lyric: "But I think with my dingaling-aling default.htm Wing chang with the ching ching/ting-tong's tong ting), the futuristic Western 'Viva Life On Mars' and the plain dreary 'Burslem Normals'. The less said about the twin autobiographical tunes 'The 80's' and 'The 90's' the better.

Amidst the rubble you do fine promising signs to come with the aforementioned 'Lovelight'. 'The Actor' is a cool piece of pop that continues Robbie's love-hate relationship with Hollywood while 'She's Madonna' sees Williams team up with his idols The Pet Shop Boys. The production team Soul Mekanik also produce the goods on 'Never Touch That Switch'.

Rudebox already has, and will continue to, ship a lot of units but don't be surprised if it doesn't go as well as previous releases. On its own Rudebox is a bit of a mess though if seen from a career perspective it is a significant turning point, provided he gets the right mix of co-writers and producers next time around.