Billy Idol : "Dream Into It"

 

Cyberpunk might have been the last Billy Idol album I paid great attention to. I heard his guest spot at various points, so I was under the impression his voice had held up over the years, better than what the first few songs here are pointing towards. Though when it comes to his verse on "77," he sounds fine, so I am not sure what was going on with the mix, or on the ballad that opens the first song, where he is singing in a higher, more fragile register than what he is known for. I could care less about Avril Lavgine who duets with him on this one and don't like how far back he is mixed behind her.

Billy sounds better on "Too Much Fun" but the song is a little upbeat for my taste. I am not sure about him doing pop punk, it's a weird reversal for him, as he was a former punk rocker who made pop in the 80s. But pop punk feels like pop artists who are trying to be punk to me. Things begin to sound more like what I want from him on "John Wayne", though when he sings in this register he voice sound older than it did on the previous song, so not sure what is up with this , if he sings lower then he is on more stable footing. Allison Mosshat from the Kills joins him here. 

The more introspective "People I Love" feels like some of the shakier ground Iggy Pop was on in the 90s stylistically, but his voice sounds pretty good for his age on the chorus. "Gimme the Weight" has more of an 80s feel, and his voice sounds great, so this feels like what he needs to be doing these days, as it's true to what people want from him without being encumbered by it. As it stand right now this album is at times vocally inconsistent, but there are strong songs like this one that help balance things out. 

"I'm Your Hero" is a little more soulful than what you might expect from him. Then we get the more Leonard Cohen like whisper on the verses, which is not where he sounds his strongest. Thiey bring back the 80s sounds for "Still Dancing' which is where his voice needs to be when he is singing in a more reserved voice rather than belting it out, in other words it finds the smae effective dynamic formula as the song "Rebel Yell". I will give this one an 8.5, due to the un-balanced vocal performances, I think he needed some one at his shoulder to tell what works best as he proves he is still very capable of delivering the goods in this regard. 

pst190