Tag: Valley of the Dolls

The Collection: Ep. 19 – Generation X

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A few weeks back, we went through my Billy Idol Vinyl. I promised we would come back and do a walk through Billy’s first big band, Generation X. Here we are ready to tackle the Generation X collection. We go through all the vinyl I have and even throw in a few CDs and a cassette. If you like some Punk, then you’ll love Generation X. We start with a young lad name William Broad that turns in to the great Billy Idol and how he developed in to the superstar he would later become. I hope you enjoy!!

So go check it out as it is live now on June 24, 2024 at 8pm. Thanks for stopping by and please click “Like” and hit “Subscribe” as it helps out the site when you do.

Grant’s Rock Warehaus – Generation X featuring Billy Idol Discussion & Review

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Premieres Sep 8, 2023 @ 8PM EDT

Discussion & Review: Generation X featuring Billy Idol w/John T. Snow

Join Grant and John as they take a look at the band Generation X.

This was a lot of fun, if you want to know where Billy Idol started, then you will enjoy this walk through the Generation X Catalog. Check it out! And thanks to Grant Arthur for having me on the show.

Billy Idol – The Albums Ranked Worst to First (The Billy Idol Series)

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For the past 8 to 9 months, I have been reviewing the entire Billy Idol catalog from Generation X back in 1978 through his solo years and even a Generation X single released in 2019 on Record Store Day.  It has been such a fun journey and I hate it has come to an end.  To wrap it up, we are going to rank all the studio albums from his very worst (and it is bad) to his very best (which is sensational).

 

THE WORST – HAPPY HOLIDAYS (2006):

 

 

I am not sure what Billy was thinking, but this should have never been released and probably never recorded.  Hell, it is so bad that even Steve Stevens wasn’t involved with recording it.  That should tell you something right there!!  It is a rehash of classic Christmas songs that we are better off listening to the originals as these do not spark any Christmas cheer.

The original songs Billy wrote 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. My Christmas gift to you is to avoid this at any cost.

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Generation X – ‘Valley of the Dolls’ – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)

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After the moderate success of their debut album, the band went in to record their sophomore album with famed musician and producer, Ian Hunter.  Yes, the Ian Hunter from Mott the Hoople.  The album would come out just a few months later in January 1979.  Before the album was released, the record company, Chrysalis, came to the band and basically told them, the album better succeed or they were to be dropped from the label…no pressure.

The album was quite different than the first album.  It had some of the punk sound from the first album, but there were elements of some glam (thanks to Ian) and even more of an American sound ala Springsteen (or at least what they felt was like Springsteen). The songs were a little more complex than the first album and the writing was more mature, but I am not sure it was good yet.

The two writing contributors were Billy Idol and Tony James so everything was based around what they wanted.  Heck, in fact when promoting the debut album, it was only Billy sent to America to promote it.  That started putting thoughts in Billy’s head about what he could do on his own. However, on this album, most of the influence on the album seem to be coming from Tony (he even picked the producer).  It was the start of things to come.

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