Nice day for a white wedding, and to start again...

A year after the dissolution of Generation X, its lead singer, William Michael Albert Broad, a.k.a. Billy Idol, embarked on a solo career and released his eponymous solo debut. Some of the harder tracks recalled the wild youth of the Gen X years, but the singles indicated a polishing of that style, meaning less punk guitar, but an emphasis on carefully synced bass and drums, airy synths, and glitzy production.



"White Wedding Part 1" encompasses the successful formula, pulsing bass, Steve Stevens fiery guitar, thudding techno drum beats, airy backup vocals, and Idol's menacing deeper voice which ratcheted to its old punk fury when he screams "start again!" Though cracking the Top 40, it's an Idol and essential 80's classic.



"Hot In The City," another single, with synths and soulful backup singers adding to the lounge-like ambience of the mid-paced song. Idol's crooning is a far cry from "Your Generation," to be sure. As for "Love Calling," it's a bit of punk with some Caribbean-style rhythms mixed in with horns and rock guitar, relying on a constant drum backbeat, which is the sole thing playing, giving this song a somewhat minimalist visage.



Of the non-singles, it's kind of a potluck. "Dead On Arrival" is a return to Gen X-style Idol with its pulsing drums and bass, sounding like a poppier cousin of the Pistol's "EMI" at parts. The mid-paced "Nobody's Business" veers more towards pop rather than punk, and with its Van Halen-like synths and catchy vocal hooks, would've been a decent single, as would have "Shooting Stars." Other tracks like "Come On Come On" makes one think what Gen X could've done with this stuff, and "Hole In The Wall" is pure filler.



"It's So Cruel" is a calm and quiet ballad, with the loungy sounds of the Stones' "Waiting On A Friend" coming through. It also serves as a nice prelude to the final track, which is a familiar one-none other than Billy Idol's song with Generation X, "Dancing With Myself." It's by far the hardest driving track on here, a replacement for "Congo Man" that was on the original. BTW, thanks to Eric Andrews for this bit of info.



The album marked Idol's collaboration with guitarist Steve Stevens, whose fiery and squealing guitar theatrics would prove invaluable on the hit Rebel Yell album, and producer Keith Forsey, who helmed Idol's albums through Charmed Life. Idol's image had a lot going for him, that platinum spiked hair and that sneer that became his trademark. But the music here, while uneven in consistency, showed promise, especially in the midnight hour.

One Of The First Billy Idol Albums You Should Buy

Billy Idol's self-titled solo debut, REBEL YELL, CHARMED LIFE, and GREATEST HITS are the first Idol albums to get. The song "White Wedding (Part 1)" is, on the surface, about a girl forced to enter a shotgun marraige after becoming pregnant, but dig deeper and you'll find that it could also be saying that reliving the past will only harm you in the end. In fact, this interpretation led to my decision not to go to my old school's Thanksgiving dinner. The music itself combines punk, 70s hard rock, and 80s pop. If you buy this one and the others I've mentioned, you won't be disappointed.

Strong Start For Future "Rebel Yell" Star

After your band dissolves, like Billy Idol's old band, Generation X did, you can do one of two things: 1) make a solo record that sets you up for a solo career; 2) make a solo record that goes nowhere. Idol managed to make it into the former category, although just barely (MTV helped him out a lot). That said, this is a strong debut for an artist just starting out on a career. It includes "Dancing With Myself" and "White Wedding"--two of his biggest hits, but the rest of the album holds its own. And already Idol was willing to take some chances: a church organ-esque intro to "Nobody's Business," the bouncey, jungley vibe of "Love Calling," the horrible picture of him on the back cover. This re-release of the original album does not include any nifty bonus songs that have become a staple of re-releases; however, the album liner notes now include the Billboard chart positions of his songs for those that are into that type stuff. Idol became a huge star with his subsequent album, but if you want to hear him at one of his best moments--when he's trying to prove his chops--this is the album to pick up.