Billy Idol
Devil's Playground

THE REVIEW

Here is the old buccaneer William Broad, known as Billy Idol, in the new millennium version, with his hair still dyed wheat-colored, showcasing his still good physical shape with a slight contraction of the abs for the camera, and, meanwhile, the usual smirk on that unchanged, invaluable roguish face, just a bit bulkier from the onset of middle age.

Even the album (not recent, mind you, it's from 2005) doesn't offer many new developments or surprises: in the process of complete restoration (both the producer and guitarist, the architects of the great successes of the eighties, Keith Forsey and Steve Stevens, return) the contribution of electronic keyboards, which were in full development and very fashionable at the time, is reduced, so now the usual, distinctive punk/pop/rock performed by our hero is conveyed by big, robust, masculine, essentially guitar-driven sounds.

The music is still the same as always: punk tamed to pop metal, abrasive only formally, in reality very attentive to the search for accessibility and commerciality... it's just that the train for Billy passed thirty years ago, and the trends and collective imagination of the two-thousands have moved on to other icons; commercial rock travels on different paths, and this album, though good, even excellent in its genre, wasn't highly noticed.

The return of the Middlesex rocker transplanted to the United States is very well put together: on drums is Brian Ticky, a true hammer whose resume includes Whitesnake, Foreigner, and Ozzy Osbourne... in short, the classic hard & heavy banger (fun fact: he keeps in shape by furiously boxing the speed bag, apparently a sport in its own right, with many fans and proper conventions!). As for the bit of keyboards present in the arrangements, the person responsible is the well-known and skilled Derek Sherinan (Dream Theater and Black Country Communion, among many various appearances in the hard and progressive field).       

The album in question is only the sixth of his career... besides making music, Billy has been involved in quite a few follies, spreading children around the world, facing lawsuits for drugs or hotel room damages, destroying his leg in a motorcycle accident in 1990 (he still limps slightly), basically living the classic and reckless rockstar life and burning many bridges in terms of artistic efficiency and reliability. This anticipated comeback (the previous album was twelve years prior) is resolute and powerful, a more than respectable recycling of his image and talent, although it certainly does not compare to his reference work, the 1983 masterpiece "Rebel Yell."

Back then, there was an unparalleled state of form in the collaboration between the three protagonists Forsey, Stevens, and Billy himself. The guitarist, in particular, excelled with rhythm patterns, decorative pads, and solos of inestimable class and uniqueness... Even here, the talented Steve does his part, as he remains one of the best rhythm guitarists rock music has produced, incredibly precise and tight, but nothing guitaristic sounds truly genius this time, as often happened in the previously mentioned work released twenty-two years earlier.

There is nothing more to add, only to try to enjoy these healthy and solid rock foundations, half punk and half hard, topped by a mocking and sly baritone voice, effective and characteristic although posed. Billy Idol can be obnoxious or intriguing depending on your choice, maybe even useless. He's a professional, a good craftsman, the inspiration isn't particularly deep, but his music is tough and enjoyable, there's dedication and even artistic intelligence, his and that of his collaborators. My thumb is up.