I have done two posts already on the Best & Worst songs from every Judas Priest album, Cheap Trick and even Whitesnake. I really enjoyed doing those so I thought I would continue that process and this time we would go through every Billy Idol album and see what is the best song and the worst one off each album as well. Billy Idol has 8 studio albums to go through and we will throw in the 3 E.P.’s and the 2 Vital Idol remix albums for fun. So, sit back and take it all in. Let’s preface this with the fact that these are my choices and not necessarily yours as we can have different opinions. If you watched the show you will see that sometimes my worst song was their favorite so you never know what people like and we all like different things or this would be a very dull world. I hope you enjoy!!

‘DON’T STOP’ E.P. (1981)

BEST SONG – “DANCING WITH MYSELF”: The Gen X track, “Dancing With Myself”, was not re-recorded for this release.  Instead, they took the extended version of the original song which was over 6 minutes and remixed it down to under 5 minutes to change it up a bit.  It is still just as fantastic as the original cause it was still the original.  The song was released as a single, but didn’t do anything. I don’t know if it was bad timing or what it was as it is a great song.  It wasn’t until 2 years later when they released as a bonus track on the first full length album did the song finally blow up.

WORST SONG – “MONY, MONY”: The song is a cover of Tommy James & the Shondell’s #1 song, “Mony, Mony”.  The song was a really good cover, but it didn’t really do much on the radio.  Compared to what was to come later from this song when he released the live version years later, this version is a little flat and doesn’t have the sonics and feel of that version.  It is missing a little of that charm and energy.  It is not a bad introduction to Billy, just kind of missed the mark as I know the live version so well.

‘BILLY IDOL’ (1982)

BEST SONG – “WHITE WEDDING (PART 1)”: One of the most recognizable Billy Idol songs ever “White Wedding (part 1)”. It became a massive hit for Billy thanks to MTV and 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. Billy is tough and cool and really brings this one home vocally.

WORST SONG – “IT’S SO CRUEL”: My least favorite track is called “It’s So Cruel”.  Billy changes up the tempo on this one and slows it down to start.  It meanders along and I found it slightly boring. If I was to delete a song, this would be it.  It sounded too much like he was trying to do an Elvis song, but wasn’t a good idea.

‘REBEL YELL’ (1983)

BEST SONG – ‘EYES WITHOUT A FACE’: “Eyes Without A Face” is one of my favorite Idol songs ever.  The hand clap, the groove, the slow ballady feel all worked gloriously against a darker tone 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 at the time, 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.

WORST SONG – “THE DEAD NEXT DOOR”: The final song on the album is the most bizarre song on the album called “The Dead Next Door”.  It meanders along in this dark world that confuses me and bores me all at the same time.  After such a high energy song previously, to be pulled into this darkness really worked against me for this one. I missed what he was putting out on this one and don’t like it at all and I usually like darker toned songs.

‘WHIPLASH SMILE’ (1986)

BEST SONG – “SWEET SIXTEEN”: The third single from the album was an acoustic guitar heavy ballad called “Sweet Sixteen” with a nice bass groove added in. I think 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”.

WORST SONG -“ONE NIGHT, ONE CHANCE”: There are a bunch that are eligible for this spot and I ended up picking this one. “One Night, Once Chance” meanders along with no direction or purpose that I can feel.  It is disconnecting and lackluster.  Not a great way to end the album.  Not worth any more words.

‘VITAL IDOL’ (1987)

BEST SONG – “FLESH FOR FANTASY”: “Flesh For Fantasy” (Below the Belt Mix) kicks off Side 2 and kicks it off with a bang.  I truly love this version of the song.  I don’t know if I like it better or equally as much…I’m leaning towards better.  It really emphasizes the guitar and definitely makes the bass line notable.  A solid all around remix.

WORST SONG – “LOVE CALLING”: “Love Calling” (Rub a Dub Dub Mix) is a remix where you don’t get much on the vocals, but a lot of Rub a Dub Dub’s.  Where the other versions enhanced the original, this one did the exact opposite.  It made me like the song less which is a hard thing to do as it is originally a good song. This one has its moments, but is lacking a lot for me.

‘CHARMED LIFE’ (1990)

BEST SONG – “CRADLE OF LOVE”: One of Billy’s biggest hits, “Cradle of Love” was for the Andrew Dice Clay movie, ‘The Adventures of Ford Fairlane’. The song is about a whole slew of cradle-robbing rockers like Jerry Lee Lewis.  It is a classic Billy Idol song and has everything you know and love about his sound. It showed he could do it without Steve Stevens,  Hell, the song went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

WORST SONG – “MARK OF CAINE”: “Mark of Caine” is an unusual tune and quite different than everything else on this album.  The vocals are almost spoken at times.  It doesn’t ever really get going as it seems to build up to something, but never delivers.  It isn’t bad, but not my favorite on the album.

‘CYBERPUNK’ (1993)

BEST SONG – “TOMORROW PEOPLE”: “Tomorrow People” includes a very brief little Billy Rap right after a blistering guitar solo from Mark Younger-Smith.  And let me tell you, I love the little rap.  Billy belts out the lyrics with a little effect on the vocals along side a nice synthesized groove with all sorts of sound effects going off in the background as well as nice little guitar parts mixed in.  It is fantastic blend of sounds and styles.  One of my favorites on the album.

WORST SONG – “SHANGRILA”: “Shangrila” has its Indian musical influences and I am completely lost left feeling like what the hell am I listening to here.  For me, the song doesn’t fit in the context of everything else on this album. It is way out of place.  It is too experimental and misses the boat for me.

‘DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND’ (2005)

BEST SONG – “EVIL EYE”: “Evil Eye” keeps the darkness going as the album is a lot darker than normal Idol albums.  More heavy bass, a nice groove and a much more sinister theme than most of the album which lives up to the “Devil’s Playground” album title.  Steve Steven shines on this song as well as has some really cool guitar sounds as well some cool Synthesizer sounds and effects courtesy of Derek Sherinian,  Another one of my favorites on the album.

WORST SONG – “SHERRI”: A song that does sound so much like Billy of old as it is a more synth, dance track like a lot of his 80’s songs.  The song is called “Sherri” and not to be confused with “Cherie” which is later song on the album.  It isn’t a bad song, it has a great beat, but when compared to the other songs it is safe and sort of out of place.  I still like it though. The review of this album, there was no song I didn’t like so hard choice here.

‘HAPPY HOLIDAYS’ (2006)

BEST SONG – “YELLIN’ AT THE XMAS TREE”: The BEST Christmas song on this album isn’t on this album. There are no good songs on this album. However, On ‘Devil’s Playground’, Billy for some strange reason out an original Christmas song, “Yellin’ at the Xmas Tree”, on the album…not a bonus track or at the end…slap dab in the middle of the album.  Why not!!  Actually, it is a fantastic and realistic interpretation of Christmas.  Dad is drunk from Jack cursing out the tree and Momma is banging Santa upstairs…every family’s Christmas I am sure. So, sue me for cheating, but really, there is nothing good on this album.

WORST SONG – TIE!! – “HAPPY HOLIDAYS” & “CHRISTMAS LOVE”: The first is “Happy Holidays” and the second is “Christmas Love”.  And that is really all I have to say about them.  My mother always told me, If I can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.  Okay, I know, I never listened to my mother anyway.  Do the songs SUCK???  YES!!!  The album was painful to get through!  It also didn’t help that it was May and not around Christmas time. The songs throw every cliche in the book out as lyrics and they are sappy, crappy songs.  The best thing about “Happy Holidays” is that it is only 2 minutes.  The only good thing about “Christmas Love” is that it does eventually end.

‘KINGS & QUEENS OF THE UNDERGROUN’ (2014)

BEST SONG – “SAVE ME NOW”: The second single, “Save Me Now”, has become one of my all time favorite Billy tracks.  I know, that is a big statement, but I truly feel it is one of his best…if not his best!!  The song is a longing for a love to return and save him from his struggles in life.  He spills out his heart in telling her he needs her and can’t wait.  She needs to come right now and help save him because he can’t do it all by himself.  It is Billy singing with such passion and heart (especially on that chorus) that it draws you in and I connected with the song instantly.

WORST SONG – “LOVE AND GLORY”: With “Love and Glory”, I could have sworn it was going to be a Bad Company song.  I thought it was “Feels Like Making Love” with how it began.  That feeling didn’t last long as he got further in to the song, but I was fooled for a second.  It isn’t one of my favorites, yet it is saved by Steve’s guitar playing and some of the energy that the song gets towards the end.

‘VITAL IDOL: REVITALIZED’ (2018)

BEST SONG – “MONY, MONY”: The bonus tracks for the digital version kick off with the only Remix by Billy Idol and Steve Stevens.  They take on “Mony Mony” and give it more of a dance beat and with the chorus they add the “Hey Motherfucker, Get Laid Get Fucked” as is done in the live version.  It is another fun version and actually one of my favorites on the album.

WORST SONG – “EYES WITHOUT A FACE”: “Eyes Without A Face” is remixed by TropKillaz and the song is stripped of all it’s emotion and magic.  It is pure synth and is missing anything that made the original so special.  This one I could skip.

‘THE ROADSIDE’ E.P. (2021)

BEST SONG – “BITTER TASTE”: The song “Bitter Taste” was the first single from the E.P. and sees Billy getting all reflective as he looks back on his motorcycle crash from the early 90’s where he was seriously hurt. He almost lost his leg and basically had to learn to walk again. That crash saw Billy have a major turning point in his life. The young, crazy, irresponsible Billy was killed in that crash and a wiser, more caring, more mature Billy was born. Musically the song sounds a lot like Chriss Issak’s song “Wicked Game”, not with the singing, but purely musically speaking. A twangy, cool vibe and throw on Billy’s more mature vocals and it is quite the killer track. A slower, more thoughtful and meaningful approach and one of the best tracks he might have ever done. It is also the song that gives the E.P. its name as he was saying they should’ve left him by the roadside of his accident.

WORST SONG – “BABY PUT OUR CLOTHES BACK ON”: The final song is “Baby Put Your Clothes Back On” which is the complete opposite of the prior song on the E.P. where he wanted to get her clothes off and do the nasty. This time around he wants to take it slow as he really likes her and can see this going somewhere so doesn’t want to rush in to it. Now, he could be persuaded by a drink or two, but really wanted to make it special. Definitely a nice change in lyrics from the last one. Musically, this has the twangy guitar again like “Bitter Taste” and a little of the same vibe, but does have a more upbeat chorus. It is a little somber and yet heartfelt as he wants to go slow with her as I said. There is a nice little guitar break but no real deep in depth solo. It is a sweet song, but the lesser of the bunch. It can’t match the brilliance of “Bitter Taste”.

‘THE CAGE’ E.P. (2022)

BEST SONG – “RUNNING FROM THE GHOST”: If you think “The Cage” is the best song on the E.P., you’d be wrong. That belongs to the introspective “Running from the Ghost”. Lyrically, the song seems to be about Billy running from his demons all his life. He has seen some dark things in this life and his alcohol and drug addiction are a battle every day. The song starts off slow and then it explodes and the guitar work by Stevens is some of his best ever. That drum beat with it are powerful and engaging. It is a beast of a track and has such a mature and serious tone. You will be surprised by this one.

WORST SONG – “MISS NOBODY”: The last track is called “Miss Nobody” and it is an electronic, dance song. This one was produced by Butch Walker and co-written by Sam Hollander. It is a slick pop track about a down & out woman who still is kicking ass. It is not my favorite track on the album, but it has its merits as it is catchy and contagious and will get you moving. A little less on the guitars, but still feels like a Billy track.

And there you have it. My opinion on the best and the worst song on every Billy Idol studio album. Let me know some of your favorites and some of you least favorites…or even ones you hate. Thanks for hanging around so long and I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, maybe we will get more of these as this was a lot of fun to do. Have a great day.

And if you want to check all the reviews from the Billy Idol Series, just click away 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
40. Billy Idol – The Best and Worst Song From Every Album