"Four Minute Warning" it is, and by all rights it should be atrociously bad. Chugging guitar. Harmonica. Earnest delivery. Lame lyrical gimmick about the number of minutes left in the song - perhaps he's listened to 21 Seconds too often, or perhaps 99 Bottles of Beer. Though on the radio edit the time sung doesn't line up with the time remaining - maybe it does on the album version. Narratives about some people - one per verse, and the last is about him, specifically about how, with 4 minutes left, he's used up 3 minutes, ostensibly singing his song. Pop references - this time to Blondie's Heart of Glass. The elements don't sound good.
Except it's actually quite lovable and engaging, much like Siobhan Donaghy's "Overrated". It's got genuine pop chops. Beats the pants of Robbie's last few singles. Actually, this might just be the best Take That-related single since "Back For Good".
― edward o (edwardo), Sunday, 3 August 2003 08:48 (twenty-two years ago)