In the midnight hour, she cried more more more!

With Rebel Yell, Billy Idol released what's arguably the best of his so far five solo albums. Keith Forsey was still at the producer's helm, and Steve Stevens was doing his fiery guitar theatrics, but here, the songwriting, ferocity and singleworthiness of songs, and tight arrangements were among their best. The album itself reached #6 on the album charts.



The anthemic title track is another example of an Idol classic failing chart-wise, like "White Wedding." It stalled at #46 on the charts, though it did respectfully well on the album rock charts, peaking at #9. But this turned out to be another frantic mixture of new wave synths, punk rhythms, hard rock, and techno beats. "In the midnight, she cried more, more, more!" roars Idol in the chorus, creating another memorable lyric. This song was also reinforced by the energetic concert performance clip on MTV, where viewers got to see Stevens perform some squealing and laser-beam sounding space age theatrics with his guitar. The session take has some "tonight" instead of "last night" in "last night a little dancer came knocking at my door," as well as some rough instrumentation and different lyrics.



Until reaching #1 with "Mony Mony," "Eyes Without A Face" became Idol's highest charting song, reaching #4 on the pop charts and #5 on the album rock charts. The slow airy synths and pulsing bass, claps in this ballad, backup vocals by Idol's girlfriend, Perri Lister, who also did the makeup on Idol's first album, and Stevens grinding guitar during the sudden ferocious rock section midsong provided yet another hit for Idol. The album closer "The Dead Next Door," has a quieter ambient synth sound that kind of belongs with "Eyes"



"Blue Highway," also present here in a demo version, is a rocker perfect for some high speed driving down a highway. "(Do Not) Stand In The Shadows" is another uptempo rocker along the same lines. And the pulsing night-time feel of "Daytime Drama," with some keyboard theatrics before the first chorus, isn't a bad non-single bridging "Rebel Yell" with "Eyes."



There's a slight ominous and nocturnal club aura with the pulsing bass backbeat in "Flesh For Fantasy," the third single, which reached #29 on the pop charts and #8 on the album rock charts. The carnal hunger is felt during the chorus-"you see and feel my sex attack"-when things rise in pitch, evidenced by Idol's lusty vocals and Stevens' guitars. The session take has a slightly slower tempo in the verses, but with a quicker-paced and different sounding chorus.



The next single was the #50 pop/#24 album rock-charting "Catch My Fall," a pulsing dance tune with a sax nonetheless. Yet there are some signs of the fiercely individualism wanting some sort of support after a lifetime of experience: "I've traveled and unwound my own truth yeah/I've laid my head on the rock of youth yeah/I've trusted and then broken my own word/Just to keep me free in this mad, mad word." The demo version is more stripped down and restrained, but not bad.



A cover of Chris Spedding's "Motorbikin'" is the only new track on this expanded edition bar the demo versions and session takes. Used as a warmup track during the album sessions, this is a real showcase for Stevens' guitar and something Gen X might have done.



After releasing this classic, Billy Idol would turn that sneer of his into a whiplash smile.

More More More!

OK, let's not quibble. Under no circumstances can this be called punk. But I'm less interested in labels than in the quality of the music inside the package. And boy did Billy Idol ever deliver on this one. (Although, to be fair, a lot of the credit has to go to guitarist and co-writer Steve Stevens. His departure and the consequent lacklustre quality of Idol's future work serve to underscore the importance of Stevens' contribution). This CD would be essential if only for "Rebel Yell" and "Eyes Without A Face", two of the darned catchiest songs ever put on record in the 80s. But 20 years later even the filler (e.g. "Blue Highway", "Do Not Stand In the Shadows") holds up extremely well. I can't think of any other album that's as successful at combining hard rock and catchy pop into an unrelentingly entertaining listen. (I'd strongly recommend the original over the newer extended version. The extra material will just diminish the impact of the original nine songs clocking in at 37 minutes total).

The Adventurous Sex Filled Life of a Young Billy Idol

Aside from the chart topping rockers and ballads we've all heard on the radio, this album does not dissapoint with bad filler songs. It is great throughout because of a variety of tempos and styles. Rarely will you find a more seamless blend of punk, disco, new-wave, and hard-rock.



"Rebel Yell" immediately grabs you with its dramatic synth opening and launches you into the album with an infectious almost disco hard-rock beat. Idol's lyrics describe a sexy urban nightlife with the convenient rhyme of heaven and seven eleven. After a frantic Steve Stevens guitar-solo the song breaksdown like something washing up against a beach of phat beats.



"Daytime Drama" is a nice midtempo guitar-driven track generously drenched with synth. "Eyes Without A Face" lays down a gorgeously smooth bass groove, courtesy of Sal Cuevas, for one of the best loved ballads of the 80's with nice female backing vocals by Perri Lister. Showcasing great dynamics, an extended bridge section hits you with guitars and great lyrics. Once again Idol is able to take you into the underworld with a reality that leaves little doubt that he's lived the life he describes.



On "Blue Highway" Idol evokes the wanderlust and free-spiritedness of the American highway while confessing to the dangerousness of its appeal with "Yes, I almost died on a blue highway." Eerily, Idol would later almost lose a leg in a motorcycle accident in the late 90's.



In his preoccupation with sex, Idol gives Prince a run for his money on "Flesh For Fantasy", another sleek rock track with a nice hook.



On the sophisticated "Catch My Fall", which features saxophone by Mars Williams, Idol makes a plea for brotherly love. "Crank Call" deals with the annoyance of receiving them and what would push one to make crank calls. This is the only mediocre track.



"Do Not Stand In The Shadows" is punk rock at its best. It brims with a positive motivating high-energy. It's a rebel voice pushing you to get out from underneath whatever oppresses you but fully in the light of day free of any nihilistic tendency toward self-destruction. This is one of those great songs that radio seems to overlook.



The closing track from the original release, "The Dead Next Door" is a jaw-dropping ethereal gem of a song. In many ways the best song of the album, this is quite capable of giving you goosebumps. Idol reaches down for a deeper sense of meaning reflecting on the contrast between a wedding and death. This simple, yet powerful song is not to be missed.



The five bonus tracks are session takes and demos of the album songs in a rawer form that make this cd an excellent value. Stripped of its punchy production "Rebel Yell" reveals the spontaneous interplay between guitar and synth. "Motorbikin'" catches Idol emulating an almost Elvis-like croon, against a guitar driven beat. Devoid of saxophone, the demo of "Catch My Fall" displays a nice clean guitar sound from Stevens. Again on "Flesh For Fantasy", Stevens shows his deft playing doesn't depend on distortion. Rather he makes extensive use of delay, chorus and flanger effects here. And finally, the demo version of "Blue Highway" is in some ways better than the studio version. Here the soulful squeal of Steven's guitar blends with the synths in a way that's evocative of blue skies and the setting sun.