Avicii feat. Robbie Williams - The Days

Swedish producer/DJ Avicii has had many successes during these last few years. He is all set to release his new artist album Stories. The first single is a guitar-driven Dance/Pop song with vocals by British Pop singer Robbie Williams (of Take That fame) performing the vocals. Robbie's vocals are excellent, blending well with Avicii's production. This one has the potential to be another worldwide club and radio hit and could potentially re-introduce Robbie Williams to the U.S. He had several solo hits stateside in the late 90s and early 2000s but he has not released anything targeted towards that market.

Listen to the song here:


Grade: A

Robbie Williams - Last Days Of Disco

This is the latest U.S. single from his Reality Killed The Video Star album from last year. The original version is a bassline-driven dance/pop track. The song is more 80's synthpop sounding than disco, but it's fine. Robbie's vocals are restrained and smooth. There are remixes of this by Roger Sanchez, Black Van, Still Going, and Mighty Mouse. Roger's mixes are very energetic. The synths are really nice. The Black Van mix is in a similar direction as the original. The filtering and buildups are quite good. The Still Going mix has that familiar Giorgio Moroder "I Feel Love" type of sound. This one beautifully captures the vibe of the original while combining it with something else. The Mighty Mouse mix has a slight disco style. Overall, all the mixes are good, but the Still Going and Mighty Mouse ones are the best of the bunch.

Purchase the remixes: EP 1, EP 2 (iTunes)

Grade: A

Robbie Williams - Bodies

This is the first single off of his upcoming Reality Killed The Video Star album due in November. It is written by Robbie himself, Brandon Christy, and produced by Craig Russo. Trevor Horn, Guy Chambers and Mark Ronson. It marks an interesting change in Robbie's overall sound. Some of the styles and sounds he had experimented with over the years have found their way into this song. It's a nice mix of those. It has bits of Rock, Pop, Dance, and Disco. It all works quite well. The song is very catchy. Robbie sounds great as usual. The single will be released in the UK in October. The music video premieres in two days.

Listen here (YouTube)

Grade: A

Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys - We're The Pet Shop Boys

This tribute to the UK Electronic duo Pet Shop Boys was originally recorded by My Robot Friend back in 2002. The Pet Shop Boys recorded this themselves the following year. The song appeared as a B-side on one of their singles. And then in 2006, former member of Take That, Robbie Williams recorded this with the Pet Shop Boys for his Rudebox album. While this was not a single for the UK release, this one is being released to the clubs in the U.S. So far, "She's Madonna" and "Lovelight" have been released in the same fashion. Ralphi Rosario provides the remixes for this one. Ralphi has remixed two Pet Shop Boys singles in the past. The results are rather good. The production is hard-hitting, but accessible. The vocals float over the production. The sounds and style of the mix do call to mind what Ralphi did on PSB's "Minimal" last year. This one should be a success as well.

Grade: A

BWO - Let It Rain

After releasing a cover of the song "Save My Pride" originally recorded by fellow Swedes Alcazar, they are back with a mid-tempo followup called "Let It Rain." The overall vibe of the song calls to mind Robbie Williams' "Millenium", however, it works here. The simple lyrics and gentle vocal delivery are nice. Remixes of this would work well, however, no remixes have been planned. However, the followup single to this one, "Rhythm Drives Me Crazy" has plenty of remixes. Both singles from their 3rd studio album Fabricator will be released on August 22 in Sweden.

Grade: B+