When I was out to Noble Records 3rd Anniversary Record Drop, I found some great pieces for the collection. One that I had been wanting is the 12″ Single for Billy Idol’s classic, “White Wedding”. And sure enough, he had it and I bought it. One of the most recognizable Billy Idol songs ever is from his debut 1982 self titled album. “White Wedding” is on that album but it is listed as “Part 1”. Which means there must be a “Part 2”. What is cool about this 1982 release is that it includes both Part 1 and Part 2 of the song “White Wedding”. Side 1 actually has both Part 1 & Part 2 together as one song at over 8 minutes in length. Side 2 is exclusively Part 2.
“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. The song was written by Billy Idol and is a song that is not about a happy wedding. I have read different stories about what the song means. One, it is not actually about his sister. It is either about a “shotgun” wedding or about a woman he is in love with then she marries someone else.
It has that classic Steve Stevens opening riff and the bass line by Phil Feit is powerful and chugs along driving the song forward. Keith Forsey on drums is amazing as his fills are perfectly placed and the beats give the song a frantically charged feel to the song. Billy calmly sings at first with an almost eerie yet sinister tone. He gets more aggressive as the song goes and when it builds to a climax he starts screaming and his “woahs” are perfect. The song never made you look at weddings the same way again.
As I mentioned in the post last week on the Billy Idol bootleg “Rebel Waltz”, A few weeks back, Lunchbox records posted on Facebook that they got in a bunch of bootlegs from Duran Duran and Billy Idol. I will be honest, I don’t care about the Duran Duran bootlegs, but the Billy Idol peaked my interest. It was around 6:30pm on a Saturday night and I mentioned to my kids we should go to Lunchbox, but we didn’t go. We did go the next day on Sunday. We left a little after 12pm and arrived just before 1pm and they were closed (Duh Duh Duh – dramatic music insert).
We forgot to check if they would be open and with the virus going around, I wasn’t sure now if they would open at all. Lo and behold, they were going to open and that was going to be at 1pm which was in a couple minutes. We were the first ones in and those Billy Idol bootlegs were still there. Apparently, there are not of ton of crazies out there buying Billy Idol bootlegs…Who knew!!!
Unlike the last bootleg, this one was a little more advanced in its packaging. This time we actually get a picture on the album jacket on both the front and the back as opposed to a print out on a sheet of paper stuffed inside. I couldn’t find much information on the show as to which show it was at the Roxy in L.A. I know based on the track list it was in 1982 after the release of his self-titled debut album. There were 3 shows in L.A. at the Roxy. The first two were in August on the 11th and the 12th. The next was on November 13th. I couldn’t find a setlist at all so now way to match. But I am guessing one of these shows for sure. Continue reading “Billy Idol – ‘Rebel Calling’ (Live Bootleg) – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)”→
A few weeks back, Lunchbox records posted on Facebook that they got in a bunch of bootlegs from Duran Duran and Billy Idol. I will be honest, I don’t care about the Duran Duran bootlegs, but the Billy Idol peaked my interest. It was around 6:30pm on a Saturday night and I mentioned to my kids we should go to Lunchbox, but we didn’t go. We did go the next day on Sunday. We left a little after 12pm and arrived just before 1pm and they were closed (Duh Duh Duh – dramatic music insert).
We forgot to check if they would be open and with the virus going around, I wasn’t sure now if they would open at all. Lo and behold, they were going to open and that was going to be at 1pm which was in a couple minutes. We were the first ones in and those Billy Idol bootlegs were still there. Apparently, there are not of ton of crazies out there buying Billy Idol bootlegs…Who knew!!!
This is a typical bootleg from the 80’s. The vinyl jacket is a basic all white cardboard with two print outs…one for the front and one for the back slid in to the clear plastic sleeve holding it all together. The front cover says: “Billy Idol in New York City: A Hardcore hero comes home.” Here’s the thing…the show is in Houston, Texas…not New York. Definitely not high quality work here ladies and gentlemen. However, that is the beauty of these releases. As you will see below, the actual vinyl doesn’t even have a label. There might have been one at one time, but after 35 years or so, there isn’t anymore. Continue reading “Billy Idol – ‘Rebel Waltz’ (Live Bootleg) – Album Review (The Billy Idol Series)”→
We are to the final studio album released in our Billy Idol Series which means we are really close to the end of the series which makes me a little sad as I have enjoyed doing this series. The next album up for review is a remix album of Billy’s hits called ‘Revitalized’ which was released in September 2018 and is 31 years after the release of his first remix album called ‘Vital Idol’.
Billy’s songs are brought into the 21st century with remixes coming from some of the best EDM artist of 2018 including Paul Oakenfold, Moby, The Crystal Method, CRAY and many more. The original album has 11 tracks where the digital version gives you an additional 4 tracks for 15 songs total.
I guess I will preface this by saying the album is full of hits songs and the remixes are all worth a listen, but nothing beats the original songs and actually nothing is better than Vital Idol. These songs are good and give us a look at them in a new, modern light. For fans it is fun and a must have for the collection; however, nothing groundbreaking here like Vital Idol was.
On November 25th, 2016, Black Friday or another Record Store Day, Billy Idol released a special edition 3 LP vinyl Live Album!! The release were highlights from his 2014-2015 Kings & Queens of the Underground Tour. I say it is highlights because the songs are from various different shows from around the world and not one full show. I am sure he went and grabbed the best versions of each song.
The album was limited to only 2000 copies, each hand-numbered and exclusively on vinyl as the only physical release. The album is available digitally as well (which also comes with the Vinyl version. It is a beautiful set and the sound is amazing. Here’s the only problem. I was unable to snag a copy during its initial release. I am keeping a watchful eye on eBay and Discogs to find a reasonably priced one for sell and then I will grab it. So, this review is really just a review of the digital release.
BFI? What does that stand for? I think it is Billy “Fucking” Idol. I also think BFI is the name of his label as well. Whatever it stands for, BFI Live is fantastic. The sound quality of each recording is crisp, clear and loud! Was it cleaned up in the studio…probably, but who cares. It is still live for the most part and that is all that matters. It captures the essence fo a Billy performance and that is all you really want anyway. Okay, I guess it is missing a little of the roughness that happens during live shows so that might be the only negative.
The release has 16 tracks from 10 different cities including Houston, Vienna, Munich, Atlanta and even Council Bluffs (wherever that is). The setlist is greatest hits set live basically. It is everything you would want to hear and expect to hear at a Billy show.
He does 3 songs off the latest album and they are “Postcards from the Past”, “Can’t Break Me Down” and “Save Me Now”. Two of the first three songs are off the new album which is smart as people tend to go to the bathroom or get a beer (or both) when a song comes on they don’t really know. When the show opens up, the crowd is so energized, that isn’t going to happen.
It is a high energy show and Billy and Steve Steven show no signs of slowing down. The songs are kept pretty much to their original format with the exception of a few lyric changes such as “LA Woman” (the Doors cover) being changed to “Portland Woman” and Billy asking “Nashville to Dance” on “Dancing With Myself”. Billy and the crowd seem to be having a wonderful time.
Steve Stevens sounds really great with his guitar work especially on Flesh for Fantasy and the one song I didn’t know when looking at the track listing. It was “Dementia” which turned out to be a wonderful Steve Stevens guitar solo. I didn’t know guitar solos actually had names other than “Guitar Solo”. Seriously though, the song is actually off Steve’s solo album “Flamenco a Go-Go” from 2000. Kinda nice Billy let him highlight one of his own songs.
The songs cover most of Billy’s career with even a song from his Generation X days, “Ready Steady Go” which Billy seems to love to still play and Steve adds a whole new magic to it with his playing. You also get the story behind the song “Sweet Sixteen” which Billy tells with such enthusiasm. Before that story, a woman screams “I Love You!!!” and immediately Billy responds back “I Love Me Too! That makes two of us”…it was a very funny moment I am glad they left in.
And let’s talk about how he ends this album. The album ends with 3 of his most iconic songs and I could imagine the crowd going nuts and loving everything about it. He ends with “Rebel Yell”, “White Wedding” and “Mony, Mony”…what an amazing way to go out.
All-in-all, this is a hell of a live set and since Billy has only released one other live album (VH1 Storytellers), I will take what I can get. I loved this set and I am eager to go out and find the physical copy after listening to this. With 16 songs and 1 hour and 40 minutes of music…it is simply wonderful. I will give this a 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars and only deducting because it is too clean…I mean I don’t think Billy misses too many notes and I don’t think that is possible (I have never seen him live so can’t say for sure). If you are out and about and come across it (somehow), grab it. You won’t be disappointed.
If you want to check out the other reviews I have done so far for the Billy Idol Series, click the links below:
I wasn’t going to do any greatest hits, but with this one I changed my mind. Billy has only had a handful of official greatest hits packages and although they cover the hits, none are really that great. So, I thought I would help your search and give you what I think might the best of the greatest hits albums he has released.
The one I think is the best is the 2008 release, ‘The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself’. It isn’t that much different than the 2001 release simply titled ‘Greatest Hits’. In fact, there are 14 songs that are the same and almost the exact track list order. With the “Greatest Hits’ package from 2001, you get a live version of “Rebel Yell” and the Simple Minds cover of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” which is a really good cover. Those two are great to have, no doubt. However, I do prefer the ‘Idolize Yourself’ version better.
Why do I like this version better than the prior release? There are actually 5 reasons.
First: It is the most current, so you get a song from “Devil’s Playground called “World Comin’ Down”. The song is an uptempo rocker about the troubles in the world and the pressures you feel as a result. It is a song that gets you moving and with Steve Stephen’s speedy guitar riffs and Brian Tichy’s heart-pounding drums you never catch your breath.
For the last half of the 90’s, Billy didn’t release anything. After the failure of the ‘Cyberpunk’ album (which was awesome) and the issues with the label, Billy sort of vanished from the music scene. He did have the single for the movie “Speed”, he made a memorable cameo in the movie ‘The Wedding Singer’, but outside of that, there wasn’t much else.
In 2001, that started to change. VH1 aired a ‘Behind the Music’ on Billy and a greatest hits compilation was released that had a cover of Simple Mind’s song “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” which had moderate success. Heck, the greatest hits album sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. alone. VH1 also decided to film a VH1 Storytellers with Billy and along for ride was Steve Stevens which was a reunion that was long overdue.
I am not going to critique the VH1 Storytellers show, but the CD that was released. The CD came out on February 22, 2002 and is only the songs that were played and not any of the stories. For that, you need the DVD.
Mid-way through the tour for Whiplash Smile, there was a new head at Chrysalis Records named Mike Bone. He wanted to immediately make his mark with Billy and suggested putting a compilation together of Remixed songs along with a live version of “Mony Mony”. Billy was on board and while on tour, they recorded the live version, slapped a bunch of remixes together and bam…you had an album.
All this above was from Billy’s book, ‘Dancing With Myself’, but doesn’t make sense to me. As the time in the book was around 86/87 and this compilation had already been released in 1985 in the UK. In September 1987, ‘Vital Idol’ was released in the US. Plus, my version doesn’t have a “Live” version of “Mony Mony”. At least it doesn’t sound live. Not sure Billy’s memory was correct in the order of things as the book doesn’t mention the UK version and the live take of “Mony, Mony” was on the greatest hits collection that came out in 1988 not the 1987 version of Vital Idol. Sorry, not completely true as a 1988 Japanese version of Vital Idol does have the live version. Confusing.
The UK and US version also differed ever so slightly. The UK version had one less song and the track order was different. The US version had a remix of a track off Whiplash Smile which the UK version was out before that album was even released so it wouldn’t have it.
Billy Idol was loving his time in New York and it showed in his writing as the album seemed to be inspired by what he was doing in the city. After the mild success of his 1981 E.P., Don’t Stop, he and the band went to work on the debut album simply titled ‘Billy Idol’. It is his album and he is the main focal point so why not call it ‘Billy Idol’.
Released in 1982, Billy was discovering who he was as an artist and what it was like to now be the main focal point. His meeting of Steve Stevens seemed to be a match made in Heaven…well rock & roll heaven anyway. Steven even contributed a couple writing credits on this release. The two together would become one of the great teams in music. You have McCartney & Lennon, Elton John & Bernie Taupin and now you have Idol & Stevens…okay, that is stretching it too far, but you know what I mean.
When the album was originally released in 1982, the album cover looked like this…
I don’t have this cover, yet, but I will find it one day and get a hold of it. I don’t like this one as much as the alternate cover I have. It is a little too feminine compared to the toughness of the one I have with the black leather jacket (not that there is anything wrong with that). The new cover fits the attitude and the snarl so much better.
I have been a fan of Billy Idol since the day I heard (and saw) “White Wedding” on MTV back in the very early years of the station. The music and his image with that Elvis curling of his lip had me from day one. So, when Amazon had the book for the Kindle for $2.99 I had to get it and finally sat down and read it. The book came out in October 2014 by Simon & Schuster and obviously tells the story of his life. It is an autobiography which is why I wanted to really read it. It is straight from the man himself not someone taking stories from various sources who might have even been there.
The book covers his life from a child when they moved to the U.S. and then back to the U.K. all the way up to his last album (and my favorite Billy Idol album) released in 2014, ‘Kings & Queens of the Underground’. I am actually playing it as I am writing and I will do a review of that one someday. The book covers all the bands, the sex, the drugs, the albums, the sex, the drugs, the ups & downs, the sex, the drugs and so much more. Did I mention it covers the sex and the drugs?
He freely talks about his sexual escapades and what rock & roll biography doesn’t which is why that is really the least interesting thing about the book. The drugs are typical for a rock & roll biography as well, but for this part, it is important in his life story. It was interesting to hear how messed up he was during the recording of the albums, the tours and his life in general. At times, his commentary about being high painted this very vivid image and he takes you on this stranger journey momentarily and you realize just how fucked up he really was. It is amazing he is still alive.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 