Find Out What Got The Jedi into Punk
Written: Apr 30 '01
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The Bottom Line: A terrific collection of this artist's best tunes.
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| tattooedjedi's Full Review: Greatest Hits [TBA] - Idol, Billy Movies |
As a young Jedi, and as a child of punk music, I can still remember how it all got started. MTV, 1984, and Billy Idol. I was eleven years old, and had done very little in those days besides play Pong and watch the fledgling television network, MTV. I would sit through all of the early videos, the Buggles, the Tom Pettys and the Pat Benatars of the world all would come on my TV screen as I sat there and watched. Then one day, as I was sitting there, a dude came on the screen that practically had Anarchy emblazoned all over him. He oozed coolness, and came off with an aggressive, angry sound for the time. As a young Jedi, I was naive to punk music. However, that day, my eyes were open. The dude on the television screen was Billy Idol and the video that would change my life was ”Rebel Yell”.
After seeing the video, I made it a point to find out everything I could about the style of music Billy was playing, and to find out everything I could about how his trademark ‘sneer’ had originated. From that point forward, my love of punk music only grew and grew. I open end my eyes to the Ramones and to Fear and to The Sex Pistols, and even to a little band from California called Suicidal Tendencies. However, in those days, it was Billy Idol, and his old punk band Generation X that really enticed me. From that point forward, my love of heavy music continued to grow, and believe it or not, it can be all traced back to Billy Idol.
During the 1980’s as he grew as a musician, as well as in popularity, he just seemed to rise and rise as an icon of coolness. From his anarchist type lyrics, to his heavy, yet dancey tunes, to his lady killing lifestyle, to his trademark motorcycle and sneer, he just seemed to have it all. Having some extremely catchy songs certainly helped, and added to his persona.
For the better part of twenty years, I have to confess to being a fan of Billy’s, and I have to thank him for providing me with foundation that I built my love of punk on.
The other day I was watching VH1, and managed to catch Billy’s Behind The Music? special. Seeing all the old videos, and listening to all the old songs once again, really reminded me of how much I actually enjoyed his music, and still enjoy it today. Come on, songs like ”Dancing With Myself” are just timeless. That song in particular, possesses for me a unique toe-tapping heaviness that really, to this day has not been recreated by anybody but Billy. His style is completely unique, and all his own, and because of that, I believe, owes him a place in music history.
Needless to say, when I heard Billy had released a new Greatest Hits compilation while watching that VH1 show, I instantly felt compelled to hustle my little Jedi bootie down to my local record store and pick up a copy, and that’ exactly what I did.
The record is called simply Billy Idol: Greatest Hits, was put out by Capitol/Chrysalis records, and contains a total of sixteen terrific tracks. Just check out this set list:
1) Dancing With Myself
2) Mony Mony
3) Hot In The City
4) White Wedding (Part 1)
5) Rebel Yell
6) Eyes Without A Face
7) Flesh For Fantasy
8) Catch My Fall
9) To Be A Lover
10) Don’t Need A Gun
11) Sweet Sixteen
12) Cradle of Love
13) L.A. Woman
14) Shock To The System
15) Rebel Yell (Live and Acoustic version)
16) Don’t You (Forget About Me)
To say this is a very impressive seventy minutes of music is mild to say the least. I mean come on, you guys definitely know, if not love at least seven or eight of the tracks on this disc just at first look. How many of us have been at a wedding or bar mitzvah and sung and danced along with Billy’s version of ”Mony Mony” and tossed in our own special words in the chorus. Only Billy can lead us to do that.
This is a collection of just plain terrific classics, that not only personify the originality of the 1980’s, but also help to postulate Billy’s legendary status. Songs like ”White Wedding”, “Hot In The City”, and “Rebel Yell” all have a timeless enjoyability factor, that leaves them listenable time and again.
Billy’s newer songs like ”Shock To The system” show how he’s progressed through the years musically, shedding a lot of the early punk elements and trading them in for the new techno and metal chords.
Then there’s the new and terrific cover of the classic Simple Minds track ”Don’t You (Forget About Me” that is as dark and foreboding as the original, and brings back memories of John Bender walking down the halls of Shermer High School. A wonderful homage to this fine song, and a fitting cover for Mr. Idol to do.
In any event, this is a compilation that definitely should be in any rock, punk or metal’s fan’s collection. The reasons don’t really need to be explained, just listened to, time and again. As a record, you can’t really ask for more. It just contains excellent songs that really helped to define a generation, and help to bring back memories of more imaginative musical times. Pick this one up, and sneer as you listen to it.
And remember, even at close to 50, Billy can probably stick kick N’Sync’s bootie.
...As always thanks for reading....
Recommended:
Yes
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tattooedjedi
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