History YMMV / PaulWilliams

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The cover for his 1981 album ''...And Crazy for Loving You'' with its diner table full of booze hits a little bit too close to home nowadays, considering it was basically right before everything broke down for real.
* HarsherInHindsight: [[Film/PhantomOfTheParadise Swan]]'s rampant drug abuse and paranoia is even more disturbing now that it's been revealed to be pretty close to reality.

* TastesLikeDiabetes:
** Williams makes no secret of his status as a "card-carrying sentimentalist" of the Hallmark variety. However, he himself feels he slipped into sentiment for sentiment's sake midway through the '70s.
** For all that Paul's "Rainbow Connection" duet with Willie Nelson is a perfect way to open ''I'm Going Back There Someday''... he sandwiches in the words "That's what happens when you [[WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} wish upon a star]]" right at the end. ...Yeah, basically.
** "Somebody's Hero Tonight" has the guts to use the line "We'll love all our troubles away."

* AccidentalInnuendo: There's this one suspect line in "Sunday".

* HarsherInHindsight: [[Film/PhantomOfTheParadise Swan]]'s rampant drug abuse and paranoia becomes even more disturbing now that it's been revealed to be pretty close to reality.

** Williams makes no secret of his status as a "card-carrying sentimentalist" of the Hallmark variety, however, he himself feels he slipped into sentiment for sentiment's sake midway through the '70s.

** Also, he has a bit of a following in Japan, where his old albums have been re-released before they ever were in the west. He even recorded a live album in Japan.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The cover for ''Crazy for Loving You'' with its diner table-ful of booze unintentionally gets a little bit too close to home, considering this is basically right before everything broke down for real.

** "Touch", his collaboration with Music/DaftPunk from ''Music/RandomAccessMemories'', is one of the saddest pieces of music he's ever been associated with.
*** Doubly so now that Daft Punk used it to announce their breakup.

** "When the River Meets the Sea" from ''Literature/EmmetOttersJugBandChristmas'' is gorgeously poignant, even moreso when it was performed at Creator/JimHenson's memorial service.

* HarsherInHindsight: [[Film/PhantomOfTheParadise Swan]]'s rampant drug abuse and paranoia becomes a little more disturbing now that it's been revealed to be not that far off from reality.

* AccidentalInnuendo: There's this one suspect line in "Sunday" that is either this or GettingCrapPastTheRadar.

** For all that Paul's "Rainbow Connection" duet with Willie Nelson is a perfect way to open ''I'm Going Back There Someday''... he sandwiches in the words "That's what happens when you [[Disney/{{Pinocchio}} wish upon a star]]" right at the end. ...Yeah, basically.

* EarWorm: "Someday we'll find it, the Rainbow Connection..."

** [[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1956594/ Believe me]], Paul Williams is feeling fantastic, and he's [[{{VideoGame/Portal}} still alive]].

** "Touch," his collaboration with Music/DaftPunk from ''Music/RandomAccessMemories'', is one of the saddest pieces of music he's ever been associated with.
** "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday", one of his other songs for ''Film/TheMuppetMovie'', has this effect on many listeners/viewers of said film. To quote [[https://muppetmindset.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/120-awesome-muppet-songs-part-5/ this article]], "The hauntingly beautiful lyrics, the emotionally gripping music, Gonzo’s soul-searching movements and emotions… every single thing about this song is perfect." Not that Rachel Yamagata's cover is any less of a tear jerker.
** "When the River Meets The Sea" from ''Literature/EmmetOttersJugBandChristmas'' is gorgeously poignant, even moreso when it was performed at Creator/JimHenson's memorial service.

* AwesomeMusic: [[AwesomeMusic/PaulWilliams Has his own dedicated page to his works]], because of course he does!

* AwesomeMusic: His recorded output until about the mid-'70s is almost unanimously thus. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub0J8ZdaKE8 You're welcome]].
** As for his own opinion, he considers the ''Film/PhantomOfTheParadise'' soundtrack to be the best thing he ever did.

** "Touch," his collaboration with Music/DaftPunk, is one of the saddest piece of music he's ever been associated with.

** "Touch," his collaboration with DaftPunk, is one of the saddest piece of music he's ever been associated with.

* AcclaimedFlop: ''Someday Man'' was adored by critics from the day it was released, and has seen increasing praise throughout the years, but it never sold well.

* AwardSnub: "Rainbow Connection" lost to "It Goes Like It Goes" from ''NormaRae''. Critics and fans alike let the Academy hear it. And who even remembers the other song anymore?

* CriticalDissonance: ''Someday Man'' was adored by critics from the day it was released, and has seen continued praise throughout the years, but it never sold well.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: ''Phantom of the Paradise'' became ''huge'' in Winnipeg (and basically, only in that one city). When Williams later held a concert there, the reception he got (particularly from women and young girls) was likened to Music/TheBeatles during the height of Beatlemania (only on a... smaller scale, literally). When Phantompalooza was held there some thirty years later, Williams' reception was certainly not much less enthusiastic.

* HilariousInHindsight: "Roan [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTVSpecials Pony]]".

* TastesLikeDiabetes: Williams makes no secret of his status as a "card-carrying sentimentalist" of the Hallmark variety, however, he himself feels he slipped into sentiment for sentiment's sake midway through the '70s.

* TastesLikeDiabetes: A common complaint lodged against his music, starting roughly around 1974 with the release of ''A Little Bit of Love''. Williams himself acknowledges this.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: ''Phantom of the Paradise'' became ''huge'' in Winnipeg (and basically, only in that one city). When Williams later held a concert there, the reception he got (particularly from women and young girls) was likened to TheBeatles during the height of Beatlemania (only on a... smaller scale, literally). When Phantompalooza was held there some thirty years later, Williams' reception was certainly not much less enthusiastic.

* AwardSnub: "Rainbow Connection" lost to "It Goes Like It Goes" from ''Norma Rae''. Critics and fans alike let the Academy hear it. And who even remembers the other song anymore?

* TheWoobie: When in the thrall of his addiction.

** As for his own opinion, he considers the ''PhantomOfTheParadise'' soundtrack to be the best thing he ever did.
* DorkAge: His work from the mid-'70s to his musical hiatus in the early '80s. Except where soundtracks were involved.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: ''Phantom of the Paradise'' became ''huge'' in Winnipeg (and basically, only in that one city). When Williams later held a concert there, the reception he got (particularly from women and young girls) was likened to TheBeatles during the height of Beatlemania. When Phantompalooza was held there some thirty years later, Williams' reception was certainly not much less enthusiastic.
** Also, he has a bit of a following in Japan, where all of his old albums have been re-released before they ever were in the west. He even recorded a live album in Japan.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: ''Phantom of the Paradise'' became [[{{Understatement}} HUGE]] in Winnipeg (and basically, only in that one city). When Williams later held a concert there, the reception he got (particularly from women and young girls) was likened to TheBeatles during the height of Beatlemania. When Phantompalooza was held there some thirty years later, Williams' reception was certainly not much less enthusiastic.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: By way of the DracoInLeatherPants effect of portraying Swan in, he has become very popular with Canadian women, a following that exists to this day.