Apparently compilations are always a big hit with the music buying public. No one wants full albums anymore of new material…nope. They just want the hits. Universal Music & Capitol Records are capitalizing on that and have a series called ‘Icon’. You might have seen one from Kiss, Megadeth, Limp Bizkit, even Billy Ray Cyrus. In 2013, Billy Idol was treated with his own ‘Icon’ greatest hits compilation.

Here is my thing with these releases. They are LAZY! No new edits, no unreleased tracks and only room for a handful of the hits. Not even all the good ones. This Billy Idol release is no different. It only draws from his biggest albums, the first three and one Generation X song. It is missing the good stuff from Charmed Life, Cyberpunk or even Devil’s Playground. However, what is here is good, great in fact. These songs are classics for a reason so I can’t complain about that, but it is still a safe collection. The songs are in chronological order which is also pretty damn lazy.

The albums first is the now classic, “Dancing With Myself”.  I say now a classic because this song failed to chart upon its release and didn’t really do much.  It wasn’t until Billy released it as one of his solo songs, but that is for another discussion.  The song was inspired by what the band saw while on tour in Tokyo.  They noticed at that dance clubs, the people were dancing more with their own reflections in the mirrored walls than they were with other people. The song is pure New Wave dance music with a slight punk edge…classic Billy Idol solo.  It is so melodic and catchy.  The guitars are a little louder on this version and not as much bass, but other than that it is the song you know.  A great way to start out the collection. This track is off the Generation X album ‘Kiss Me Deadly’.

One of the most recognizable Billy Idol songs ever is up next.  “White Wedding (part 1)” became a massive hit for Billy thanks to MTV.  With few videos to play in the early days, this one got on heavy rotation.  A song that is not about a happy wedding.  I have read different stories about what the song means.  One, it is not about his actual sister.  It is either about a “shotgun” wedding or about a woman he is in love with then marries someone else.  Either way it is great with that now classic Steve Stevens guitar riff. This one was off Billy’s debut, self titled album.

“Hot in the City” comes next and keeps the run of great tracks going.  The song is about Billy’s time in New York and his love for the city.  It is a slower dance track with some lovely ladies assisting with background vocals.  He uses some synthesizers on top of the fantastic bass and drum rhythm section.  It is really a stellar track and his scream of “New York” towards the end is epic. An easy choice for the compilation and another one from the debut solo album.

“Rebel Yell” is a scorcher of a song, high energy and attitude.  The opening of the song is all done with the guitar even though it sounds like both a guitar and a keyboard.  Steve is showing off right out of the gate.  Vocally, Billy is on fire and you can see his lip curling up while he is signing which is amazing as it is on vinyl.  “Rebel Yell” was actually inspired by the Rolling Stones according to Billy on VH1 Storytellers.  Billy was at a party thrown by the Stones and everyone was drinking Rebel Yell Bourbon Whiskey.  I guess he loved that whiskey (along with a lot of drugs at the time). Obviously, this is from the album ‘Rebel Yell’.

Thankfully another from ‘Rebel Yell’ was up next, “Eyes Without A Face”.  One of my favorite Idol songs.  The hand clap, the groove, the slow ballady feel all worked gloriously against a darker feel from the lyrics.  The song builds up in tempo and you get a fantastic little riff from Stevens and then some beautiful backing vocals by Billy’s girlfriend Perri Lister.  She is singing in french “Les yeux sans visage”  which means eyes with a face.  The phrase was also the title of a movie directed by Georges Franju which was the inspiration for the song.

“Flesh for Fantasy” is the 3rd ‘Rebel Yell’ track.  Hmmm, could this be about sex?  Yes, I think so.  It appears to be about going out and looking for love in all the wrong places and fulfilling any fantasy your little heart desires.  This song has a great bass line through out and is more new wave than rock and totally kicks ass.  Another of my favorite all time Idol/Stevens songs.

The only song Idol wrote by himself on ‘Rebel Yell’, “Catch My Fall”, seems to be autobiographical about his struggles with drugs.  His struggles with the fame and the relief from the drugs, but asking for help if he should hit rock bottom, which he does down the road.  This is another heavy bass song with the opening riff and a lot of synths on this one as well.  More upbeat with a great hook and some saxophone thrown in for good measure.  Another great track.

The first single from ‘Whiplash Smile’ 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.

The second single from ‘Whiplash Smile’ and another classic song was “Don’t Need A Gun”. The song is filled with synthesizers and over the top production.  It is part rock, part hair, part new wave and full of fun especially when Billy screams out the album title “Whiplash Smile”.  It isn’t the best song as that goes to “Sweet Sixteen”, but is is by far the most fun and exciting.  And listen to the message…don’t play with firearms!!

The third single from ‘Whiplash Smile’ was an acoustic guitar heavy ballad called “Sweet Sixteen” with a nice bass groove added in. It might just be the best song on the album.  A nice change of pace and gave you a softer side of Billy.  The story behind the song is based on a true story about Edward Leedskalnin who was dumped by his fiancée Agnes Scuffs the day before their wedding. To try and win her back, he built a monument complete with furniture made of coral, in Homestead, Florida called Coral Castle.  Sadly, she still didn’t want him. Oh well, it is now a little tourist attraction…although quite weird.  Edward’s nickname for Anges was “Sweet Sixteen”.

“Mony Mony” (Live) is the version that made the song famous. The live version went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This version is fun, upbeat, danceable and Steve Stevens rips on the guitar. There is no extra remix crap it is a straight-up pop/rock song that you can move to. And I want to scream “Get Laid, Get Fucked” every time I hear it.

And there it is. The only reason I have this is that I collect Idol and this was very, very cheap! Otherwise, why would I buy something that had the same version of the songs I already own. It is the completist in me. Do I recommend this to anyone, No, not really. He has better, more complete greatest hits compilations out there so look for those. But if you are extremely broke, on a tight budget and really drunk, then get it. My Overall Score is only a 2.0 out of 5.0 Stars as it is a lazy, unimaginative money grab compilation from the record company not from Billy. Skip it and get any of his other compilations with some interesting song choices. But the songs that are on here are good as I have said.

Now, if you want to check out the full reviews of the entire Billy Idol Series, click on any and all of the links below…

THE BILLY IDOL SERIES:

1. Generation X – ‘Generation X’
2. Generation X – ‘Valley of the Dolls’
3. Gen X – ‘Kiss Me Deadly’
4. Gen X – “Dancing With Myself” 12″ Single (Bonus Edition)
5. Generation X – ‘The BBC Transcription Disc Series No. 126 1978’ (Bootleg)
6. Billy Idol – Don’t Stop E.P.
7. Billy Idol – Billy Idol
8. Billy Idol – “White Wedding” – 12″ Single (Bonus Edition)
9. Billy Idol – Rebel Yell
10. Billy Idol – “Rebel Yell” – 7″ Single (Bonus Edition)
11. Billy Idol – “Eyes Without A Face” – 12″ Picture Disc (Bonus Edition)
12. Billy Idol – “Eyes Without A Face” – 7″ Single (Bonus Edition)
13. Billy Idol – Whiplash Smile
14. Billy Idol – “Sweet Sixteen” – 7″ Single (Bonus Edition)
15. Billy Idol – To Be A Lover – Single Review
16. Billy Idol – Vital Idol
17. Billy Idol – “Hot In the City” – 7″ Single (Bonus Edition)
18. Billy Idol – “Mony Mony Live” – 12″ Maxi-Single (Bonus Edition)
19. Billy Idol – Charmed Life
20. Billy Idol – “Cradle of Love” – 7″ Single (Bonus Edition)
21. Billy Idol – Cyberpunk
22. Billy Idol – “Speed” (song from the Speed Soundtrack)
23. Generation X – K.M.D. Sweet Revenge
24. Billy Idol – VH1 Storytellers (Live)
25. Billy Idol – Devil’s Playground
26. Billy Idol – Happy Holidays
27. Billy Idol – The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself
28. Billy Idol – Icon
29. Billy Idol – Kings & Queens of the Underground
30. Billy Idol – BFI Live (#RSD 2019)
31. Billy Idol – Revitalized
32. Generation X – Your Generation (7″ Record Store Day Release)
33. Generation X – Generation X Deluxe Edition
34. Billy Idol – Rebel Waltz: Live (Bootleg)
35. Billy Idol – Rebel Calling: Live (Bootleg)
36. Generation X – ‘Demos 1977’ (Bootleg)
37. Billy Idol – The Roadside E.P.
38. Billy Idol – The Cage E.P.
39. Billy Idol – The Albums Ranked From Worst to First