Robbie Williams - Live At The Albert DVD

For one night only the Robbie Williams showcase Live At The Albert is a fantastic testament to what was a very special evening. The concert offered tracks from his Rat Pack covers album Swing When You're Winning an album that finally gave him across the board appeal from nostalgic Grannies to hormonally imbalanced teenagers. With the average ticket price well into three figures and the likes of Tara Palmer-Tompkinson, Bob Geldof and Nicole Kidman in the stalls, this was no ordinary Robbie concert. Backed by a full swing band, accompanied by a slew of glamorous dancers,... compered by Rupert Everett and featuring duets with John Lovitz, Jane Horrocks, the scene-stealing Jonathan Wilkes and even Old Blue Eyes himself Frank Sinatra (albeit in video form), Robbie takes centre stage and performs like never before. Classic track follows classic track--from "The Lady is a Tramp" (which Robbie dedicates to his last three girlfriends), to "Mr Bojangles" to "My Way", each and every one of them is instantly recognisable, even to most of the younger members of the audience. Directed by Hamish Hamilton (the man behind the spectacular U2 Elevation DVD) this is a great up close and personal view of an intimate gig. On the DVD: The disc is lovingly put together in glorious 5.1 surround sound. The DVD also features the documentary "Well Swung" which follows Robbie all the way to Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, where he recorded some of the tracks for the album with members of Frank's original band. There is also a gallery of luscious shots of Robbie on location and at the Capitol Studios. At times it does tend towards the schmaltzy, with Robbie fighting back the tears when the video footage of Frank singing booms out across the Albert Hall, but this is scant criticism. All in all this is a fantastic performance from a legend in the making. --Helen Marquis [show more]

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