The Christmas present

"At Robbie Williams udgiver sit første julealbum, kan ikke overraske nogen, da genren ligger lige til hans entertainergen (...) Ikke mindre end 28 numre sørger for, at du slipper for besværet med selv at lave en playliste til julen. Du får nemlig de fleste af klassikerne og nogle af hans egne juleagtige sange på The Christmas Present ... han er bedst som crooneren med big band, strygere og bjældeklang. I de klassiske julearrangementer er entertaineren sikkerheden selv, men det løber af sporet for ham med for mange fjollerier. Og så er det ikke for kønt at høre Slades klassiker 'Merry Xmas Everybody' i en jazzet udgave med Jamie Cullum, ligesom det bliver for plat i den smålumre 'Santa Baby' med Helene Fischer".

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"The Christmas Future finds Robbie loosening his tie and shaking off the strings, splitting his time between sincere ballads and impish novelties. Naturally, The Christmas Future is livelier than The Past, with Williams camping it up with Tyson Fury on the naughty "Bad Sharon" and then happily tweaking both sides of the political aisle with "Snowflakes." Williams may like to act like a bad boy, but at his heart he's a sentimental cornball and, ultimately, he winds up making mawkishness seem merry on The Christmas Present".

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"The Christmas Present may be the perfect outlet for Williams's wryly mawkish sensibilities, but it is still a gift few people will want to find under the tree".

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"We've heard these songs so often it would have taken a Christmas miracle for even a pop legend of Robbie's stature to make them new. Still, his longtime collaborator and co-producer Guy Chambers has brought a great deal of warmth to this collection - newbie `Time For A Change' comes on like `Strong' with bells and whistles on. You`d be a real Scrooge to deny 'The Christmas Present'".

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