Black and white, light and dark -- punked out and smooth as glass. A heaping helping of superlative showmanship drives Robbie Williams' mirror image rarities compilation. Whether cloaked in the guise of dance floor wizard, or draped languorously as a sexy lounge bard, Williams wears both faces with a kid-glove-ease that, for most, is awfully hard to come by. Angels [Rarities] proffers a glimpse into both sides of that looking glass.

Although, arguably, Williams is at his best when leaving the disco divas to do their own thing, the inclusion of robust dance classics "South of the Border" and "Let Me Entertain You [Stretch & Vern's Rock & Roll Mix]"will surely separate those who groove hard from those who prefer the absolutely stunning "Let Me Entertain You" in its purest form, here over five-minutes long in it's full-length glory.

Capitalizing on the heavy hitting "Angels" to keynote the content, Angels [Rarities], meanwhile, yields its finest nugget halfway through, with a powerful acoustic version of said song. Its emotion so much surpasses the original that it will probably be the high point of the album for most Williams' fans. Elsewhere, Williams powers through the pure pop of "Cheap Love Song," wears the snarl of punked-out rocker on an eagerly anticipated live version of Take That's "Back for Good," and, reprising a show-stealing duet at the Brits Awards, cavorts with the loungiest lizard of them all, Tom Jones, on a montage of songs from {#The Full Monty}. Yummy.

And while a more straightforward compilation, like The Ego Has Landed, would be better-suited for the more casual fan, Angels remains a fine example of why Williams is one of this modern era's superlative performers. Across genre and style, he proves himself a true showman, rare in these days of cookie cutter gratuitousness, and this set lets us in to see a few of the faces he wears. ~ Amy Hanson, All Music Guide