Greatest Hits (Robbie Williams album)
2004 compilation album by Robbie Williams
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greatest Hits is a hits compilation released by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams on 18 October 2004. The album includes two new songs, "Radio" and "Misunderstood", which were both released as singles. The album is his seventh overall release in the United Kingdom.
| Greatest Hits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 18 October 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 1997–2004 | |||
| Length | 78:43 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Producer | Guy Chambers | |||
| Robbie Williams chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Greatest Hits | ||||
| ||||
Greatest Hits was one of the fastest-selling albums upon release in the UK, where it debuted at the number-one spot with first-week sales of over 320,000 copies. Certain versions of the album feature a picture of Williams in a pose exposing his pubic hair on the cover, and in the booklet is the Latin phrase "...si quid habet mammas vel rotas, res habebis difficiles aliquando", translating into "if it has tits or wheels, it makes life difficult." A special edition box set, containing all of Williams' singles, was released on the same day.[2]
Singles
Although Williams admitted on his website to being "perplexed at the prospect" of a greatest hits album, saying, "I rarely, if at all, look back over my career", he took the opportunity to also reveal two new songs he had been working on with his new collaborator, Stephen Duffy.[3] Both were released as singles. "Radio", the compilation's first single, was released in October 2004, debuting at number-one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Williams' sixth number-one hit selling 41,732 copies.[4] The song was also a number-one hit in Denmark and Portugal, and it hit the top ten around the world. The album's second single, the ballad "Misunderstood", was included on the soundtrack of the film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and hit the top ten around the world in December of that year.
Commercial performance
Debuting at number one, the album sold 320,000 copies in its first week, becoming the fastest-selling greatest-hits album ever released in the United Kingdom.[3] The album hit the top spot in 18 countries: France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the aforementioned United Kingdom, Argentina, Colombia, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland among others.[3] The album became the best-selling album of the year in the United Kingdom, becoming the 61st best-selling album in UK music history, with sales of 2 million copies, being certified 8× Platinum by the BPI.[5]
Greatest Hits also became the best selling album of the year in Europe, being certified 5× Platinum for over 5 million copies sold[6] worldwide. The album ended up selling slightly under 8.5 million copies, becoming one of Williams' best-selling albums ever. In Germany, the album debuted at number one and reached this position in total nine times non-consecutively, Williams' second album to do so, the other one being Swing When You're Winning. With 102 weeks on the German Albums Chart it's his second longest chart one, just behind Sing When You're Winning, with 106 weeks. By selling 900,000 copies and reaching 9× Gold, Greatest Hits is the 20th best-selling album of the decade 2000–2009 in Germany and his 5th album to reach a position in the top twenty of the best-selling album of the decade, the others being Swing When You're Winning (4th best-selling), Escapology (5th best-selling), Intensive Care (8th best-selling) and Live at Knebworth (19th best-selling).[7][8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Old Before I Die" | Life thru a Lens, 1997 | 3:53 |
| 2. | "Lazy Days" | Life thru a Lens | 3:54 |
| 3. | "Angels" | Life thru a Lens | 4:25 |
| 4. | "Let Me Entertain You" | Life thru a Lens | 4:22 |
| 5. | "Millennium" (Radio Edit) | I've Been Expecting You, 1998 | 3:46 |
| 6. | "No Regrets" (Radio Edit) | I've Been Expecting You | 4:43 |
| 7. | "Strong" (Radio Edit) | I've Been Expecting You | 4:19 |
| 8. | "She's the One" | I've Been Expecting You | 4:18 |
| 9. | "Rock DJ" | Sing When You're Winning, 2000 | 4:16 |
| 10. | "Kids" (with Kylie Minogue) | Sing When You're Winning and Light Years, both 2000 | 4:19 |
| 11. | "Supreme" | Sing When You're Winning | 4:18 |
| 12. | "Let Love Be Your Energy" (Radio Edit) | Sing When You're Winning | 4:06 |
| 13. | "Eternity" | Non-album single, 2001 | 5:00 |
| 14. | "The Road to Mandalay" (Radio Edit) | Sing When You're Winning | 3:18 |
| 15. | "Feel" (Radio Edit) | Escapology, 2002 | 3:43 |
| 16. | "Come Undone" (Radio Edit) | Escapology | 3:54 |
| 17. | "Sexed Up" (Radio Edit) | Escapology | 4:10 |
| 18. | "Radio" | Previously unreleased, 2004 | 3:52 |
| 19. | "Misunderstood" | Previously unreleased | 4:01 |
| No. | Title | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | "Angels" | 4:25 | |
| 3. | "Let Me Entertain You" | 4:22 | |
| 4. | "Millennium" | 4:07 | |
| 5. | "No Regrets" | 5:10 | |
| 6. | "Strong" | 4:39 | |
| 7. | "She's the One" | 4:18 | |
| 8. | "Rock DJ" | 4:18 | |
| 9. | "Kids" (With Kylie Minogue) | 4:46 | |
| 10. | "Supreme" | 4:18 | |
| 11. | "Let Love Be Your Energy" | 4:59 | |
| 12. | "Eternity" | 5:00 | |
| 13. | "The Road to Mandalay" | 4:03 | |
| 14. | "Better Man" | Sing When You're Winning | 3:22 |
| No. | Title | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2. | "Angels" | 4:25 | |
| 3. | "Let Me Entertain You" | 4:22 | |
| 4. | "Millennium" | 4:07 | |
| 5. | "No Regrets" | 5:10 | |
| 6. | "Strong" | 4:39 | |
| 7. | "She's the One" | 4:18 | |
| 8. | "Rock DJ" | 4:18 | |
| 9. | "Kids" (with Kylie Minogue) | 4:46 | |
| 10. | "Supreme" | 4:18 | |
| 11. | "Better Man" | 3:22 | |
| 12. | "Let Love Be Your Energy" | 4:59 | |
| 13. | "Feel" | 4:23 | |
| 14. | "Come Undone" | 4:38 | |
| 15. | "Sexed Up" | 4:21 | |
| 16. | "Something Beautiful" | Escapology | 4:48 |
| 17. | "Monsoon" | Escapology | 3:46 |
| No. | Title | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Angels" | 4:25 | |
| 2. | "Let Me Entertain You" | 4:22 | |
| 3. | "Millennium" | 4:07 | |
| 4. | "No Regrets" | 5:10 | |
| 5. | "Strong" | 4:39 | |
| 6. | "She's the One" | 4:18 | |
| 7. | "Win Some Lose Some" | I've Been Expecting You | 4:18 |
| 8. | "Rock DJ" | 4:18 | |
| 9. | "Kids" (with Kylie Minogue) | 4:46 | |
| 10. | "Supreme" | 4:18 | |
| 11. | "Let Love Be Your Energy" | 4:59 | |
| 12. | "Eternity" | 5:00 | |
| 13. | "Better Man" | 3:22 | |
| 14. | "Feel" | 4:23 | |
| 15. | "Come Undone" | 4:38 | |
| 16. | "Something Beautiful" | 4:48 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | "Angels" | 4:25 |
| 3. | "Let Me Entertain You" | 4:22 |
| 4. | "Millennium" | 4:07 |
| 5. | "No Regrets" | 5:10 |
| 6. | "Strong" | 4:39 |
| 7. | "She's the One" | 4:18 |
| 8. | "Angels" (Spanish Version) | 4:25 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | "Angels" | 4:27 |
| 3. | "Let Me Entertain You" | 4:22 |
| 4. | "Millennium" | 3:46 |
| 5. | "No Regrets" | 4:43 |
| 6. | "Strong" | 4:19 |
| 7. | "Angels" (Spanish Version) | 4:28 |
| 8. | "Rock DJ" | 4:16 |
| 9. | "Kids" (with Kylie Minogue) | 4:19 |
| 10. | "Better Man" | 3:21 |
| 11. | "Supreme" | 4:15 |
| 12. | "Let Love Be Your Energy" | 4:06 |
| 13. | "Eternity" | 5:00 |
| 14. | "The Road To Mandalay" | 3:18 |
| 15. | "Better Man" (Spanish Version) | 3:21 |
| 16. | "Feel" | 3:43 |
| 17. | "Come Undone" | 3:54 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Supreme" (French Version) | 4:18 |
The Best So Far
| The Best So Far | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 2 September 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 1997–2004 | |||
| Length | 58:47 | |||
| Label | Som Livre | |||
| Robbie Williams chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Best So Far is an updated version of Greatest Hits, released exclusively in Brazil to celebrate Robbie's Close Encounters tour. Even with Greatest Hits being released in Brazil, The Best So Far updates the track listing slightly, adding "Sin Sin Sin", "Advertising Space" and "Tripping", but removing earlier hits such as "Old Before I Die", "Lazy Days" and "She's the One".
- Track listing[9]
- "Sin Sin Sin" – 4:05
- "Advertising Space" – 4:37
- "Feel" – 3:43
- "Angels" – 4:25
- "Sexed Up" – 4:10
- "Millennium" – 3:47
- "Come Undone" – 3:54
- "Rock DJ" – 4:16
- "Supreme" – 4:15
- "Tripping" – 4:36
- "No Regrets" – 4:44
- "Radio" – 3:51
- "Misunderstood" – 4:02
- "Let Me Entertain You" – 4:21
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina (CAPIF)[63] | 7× Platinum | 280,000^ |
| Australia (ARIA)[64] | 8× Platinum | 560,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[65] | 4× Platinum | 120,000* |
| Belgium (BRMA)[66] | 2× Platinum | 100,000* |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[67] | Platinum | 40,000^ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[68] | Platinum | 40,367[68] |
| France (SNEP)[69] | Platinum | 300,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[70] | 9× Gold | 900,000^ |
| Hungary (MAHASZ)[71] | Gold | 10,000^ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[72] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[73] | Platinum | 80,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[74] | 2× Platinum | 30,000^ |
| Portugal (AFP)[75] | Platinum | 40,000^ |
| South Africa (RISA)[76] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Spain (Promusicae)[77] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Sweden (GLF)[78] | Gold | 30,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[79] | 3× Platinum | 120,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[80] | 8× Platinum | 2,400,000‡ |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[81] | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||