Back in April 2019, the family took a trip to Paris and I found a lot of records while shopping in a few really cool French Record Shops. This particular one, which I am not sure why I didn’t include in the Billy Idol series in the timeline it belongs, was nothing really special. It didn’t have any thing I didn’t already have, but I didn’t have it. That was the only reason I bought it. I guess the really cool thing it has is this French price sticker in the upper right corner of the back cover.
The single is a 12″ Max-Single of the single “To Be A Lover” off the album ‘Whiplash Smile’. Now this also has two other songs. A remix of the single as well as another song off the album called “All Summer Long”. Let us get in to the music.
SIDE ONE:
“To Be A Lover” (Mother of Mercy Mix) opens it up and this should really be called the Sex Mix with the woman practically orgasming with her sultry, seductive voice throughout. Damn!! A total blast. This is the version you can find on the 1987 album ‘Vital Idol’ along with 7 other re-mixes of Idol’s hits up to that point. This was not on the UK version released 2 years earlier as ‘Whiplash Smile’ album was not out yet.
SIDE TWO:
This was the first single of the album ‘Whiplash Smile’ and it was a cover of William Bell’s “To Be A Lover” which was co-written by Booker T. Jones back in 1968. Billy completely modernized the song and turned it in to a dance track. It has some great soulful female backing vocals and fancy piano riffs and an all around fantastic track. The song is actually quite poignant in that with his longtime girlfriend leaving him since he “forgot to be a lover” with his drug use and sexcapades with other women. It felt like he was confessing that he screwed up.
Then comes “All Summer Single” which has too many effects and no substance. It is plain and dull for me and I never connected to this one. It feels lonely like Billy was without his girlfriend Perri…so sad.
And there you have it…a little bonus edition of the Billy Idol Series. We have one more coming up soon on the Deluxe Edition of the Generation X the band’s debut album.
Now, if you want to check out the full reviews and the entire Billy Idol Series, click on any and all of the links below…
- Generation X – ‘Generation X’
- Generation X – ‘Valley of the Dolls’
- Gen X – ‘Kiss Me Deadly’
- Generation X – ‘The BBC Transcription Disc Series No. 126 1978’
- Billy Idol – Don’t Stop E.P.
- Billy Idol – Billy Idol
- Billy Idol – Rebel Yell
- Billy Idol – Whiplash Smile
- Billy Idol – To Be A Lover – Single Review
- Billy Idol – Vital Idol
- Billy Idol – Charmed Life
- Billy Idol – Cyberpunk
- Billy Idol – “Speed” (song from the Speed Soundtrack)
- Generation X – K.M.D. Sweet Revenge
- Billy Idol – VH1 Storytellers (Live)
- Billy Idol – Devil’s Playground
- Billy Idol – Happy Holidays
- Billy Idol – The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself
- Billy Idol – Kings & Queens of the Underground
- Billy Idol – BFI Live (#RSD 2019)
- Billy Idol – Revitalized
- Generation X – Your Generation (7″ Record Store Day Release)
- Billy Idol – The Albums Ranked From Worst to First
2 Loud 2 Old Music 
The EP may not have any thing different John but its your story on where you picked it up which is cool.
Great stuff.
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I agree, I love how I got it. But I am still perplexed why I didn’t do it in the series as I was going along. I think because I was sticking with studio albums only. With Coverdale, I am doing studio, some live and anything I have in my collection and I have enjoyed that so much more as it shakes things up a little.
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Paris Record shop. Nice.
For Billy, I can see his whole history covered.
i don’t really remember anything after “Speed”. Love that Steven Stevens riff and the solo in that song. I will check out your best to worst series and see what I’ve missed post that.
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He has some great stuff after that song. Check it out.
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I like “To Be a Lover”. I don’t think it really captivated me back then, but I like it today/
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I appreciate it all so much more now then I did back then. But I am that way with a lot of bands and songs.
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Even if the music was awful, I’m sure it would still be listenable, as being reminded of a trip to Paris with the family would probably make any EP sound good!
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It has almost been a year and I still miss Paris. Best trip ever! Or at last tied with our New York City family trip the year before. Both so special.
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I can imagine it would be tough to choose between those 2 fine cities!
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Great find John.
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Thanks
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Billy feeling the ghost of Elvis.
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Big time.
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I really like that tune.
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