Billy Idol - Greatest Hits (2001)

For a short while, I was a Billy Idol fan. I had the albums, saw him on tour, wore his pinbacks, even listened to stuff from Idol's early days with the UK punk band Generation X. He had the perfect combination of image and "punk rock lite" for early MTV, but faded fast after Rebel Yell by waiting 3 years to release another album and passing on the single Don't You (Forget About Me), co-written by Idol's producer Keith Forsey, which became a huge hit for Simple Minds. I quickly lost interest. This is a fairly strong compilation, mainly because Idol was more of a singles guy than an album artist.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #74

Tracks:

Song	Year	Hot 100	Rock
Dancing With Myself	1981	-	-
Mony Mony	1981	-	-
Hot In The City	1982	23	31
White Wedding (Part 1)	1982	36	4
Rebel Yell	1984	46	9
Eyes Without A Face	1984	4	5
Flesh For Fantasy	1984	29	8
Catch My Fall	1984	50	24
To Be A Lover	1986	6	2
Don't Need A Gun (single edit)	1987	37	10
Sweet Sixteen	1987	20	26
Cradle Of Love	1990	2	1
L.A. Woman (single edit)	1990	52	18
Shock To The System	1993	-	7
Rebel Yell (live and acoustic)	1993
Don't You (Forget About Me)	2001	-	-

The first 8 tracks, spanning the years 1982-84, are all top notch. This batch includes Hot In The City which might be Idol's best song and should have been a much bigger hit. The other 8 tracks are hit or miss. Hit: Cradle Of Love. Misses: Sweet Sixteen, a cover of L.A. Woman. Also included are a live "acoustic" version of Rebel Yell (which uses electric bass) and Billy's "too little, too late" version of Don't You (Forget About Me).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I still have my cassette of the 1983 EP Don't Stop which featured Dancing With Myself, a cover of Mony Mony, and two throwaway songs on side one and a poorly edited 13 minute "special" interview with Martha Quinn on side two.

I also still have a copy of Idol's debut LP (given to me by my friend Jim). I saved it because my copy has the original cover (left, below) instead of the sneering cover (right) used on later releases. The fact that I'm a record geek who keeps up with such minutiae should surprise no one.


Previously revisited for the blog:
Rebel Yell (1983)

Billy Idol - Rebel Yell (1983)

Note: My edition is not the 1999 reissue with 5 bonus tracks.

The sound of the sneer. This is a wonderful album that combines New Wave synths and hard rock guitar, courtesy of Steve Stevens. This album lives in the seldom-visited world between head-banging and technopop. I dubbed a copy of a friend's cassette of this album and it was played quite a bit during May and June of 1984, a period of time that included high school graduation and a two-week trip to Southern California. This is heavily produced and the hooks are plentiful. The music is fun and harmless and Stevens steals the show.

Press of the time:

• Record Mirror (+): "lame metal pop"
• Rolling Stone (★★★½): "a ferocious record"
• Smash Hits (8 out of 10): "stirring together rock, disco and punk elements without forgetting the importance of a good tune."
• Stereo Review: "exhilarating"
• Trouser Press: "another semi-serviceable piece of disposable commercial product"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #6
• Billboard Rock: #9
• CashBox: #8
• Rolling Stone: #6
• CashBox CD: #15

Tracks: To be honest, I usually listen to the first five tracks (Rebel Yell, Daytime Drama, Eyes Without A Face, Blue Highway, and Flesh For Fantasy) then call it quits.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Back on May 26, 1984, I saw Idol promoting this album with a concert at Astroworld (R.I.P.). Concert admission was included with park admission. I had graduated from high school the night before and had stayed up all night with friends going to parties at the beach and LeTulle Park. If we slept it wasn't for but a couple of hours before Scott, Roy, and I piled into a car and drove to Houston. After spending all day at the amusement park eating bad food and riding the rides (Greezed Lightnin' was a favorite), we saw Idol in a huge field in the back of the park. This was the year before Astroworld's performance venue, the Southern Star Amphitheater, opened, so the concert was general admission - about 10,000 people standing on dirt and grass in front of a stage. We stood about 50 yards from the stage, avoiding the crush up front. I don't remember an opening act. Probably because of exhaustion, I don't remember much about the concert except that Idol closed with Dancing With Myself and we did as we were told: we danced.