Customer Reviews

Vital Idol

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This 1987 collection of club remixes extends some of Idol's hits to dancefloor length and brings the rhythms to the fore. The eight minutes+ White Wedding works especially well as this version loses none of its ominous, brooding quality while the remixed rhythms certainly turn it into a club stomper. The Uptown Mix of Dancing With Myself also works well as a dance track and I like this lively up-tempo version of Mony Mony (the old Tommy James/Shondells hit) with its hypnotic circular rhythmic patterns.

To Be A Lover is one of my favorite Idol songs but it is rather short in the original version and in this dance mix the patterns become a bit repetitive at times. Hot In The City and Flash For Fantasy are all right, but I would have preferred remixes of some other hits like Sweet Sixteen, Eyes Without A Face or Don't Need A Gun instead. This album is great for retro parties and still gets the feet moving when played at clubs, but might not appeal to all of Idol's rock/pop audience. I think it is a successful dance adaptation of his style and would have given it 5 stars if the aforementioned omissions had been included.

This collection represents Billy Idol's greatest songs, but be forwarned that these are *not* the original single version of these hit songs. For example, the wonderful "White Wedding" was only 4 minutes in the single version, but included here is the dance version which is 8 minutes. Ditto with Catch My Fall, Flesh for Fantasy and Catch My Fall. I don't know about you, but sometimes less is more, especially when the 10 minutes versions of these songs are utterly inferior to the original and familiar versions. They drone on and on with idiotic instrumentals which play on forever.

The Idol boxed set is much preferable to this collection, and contains the songs as they were originally released. Billy Idol is an under-rated singer and songwriter and the boxed set showcases his talent much better than this disc.

For anyone who doesn't have a Billy Idol CD, this is a great introduction to this rock artist. White Wedding and MONY are the best known songs of the collection but every track on this CD has a great beat and can be enjoyed play after play. My favorite Billy Idol story is that a few years ago Billy was supposedly asked by a reporter if a published report that he was "born again" was true. Billy responded that he was not "born again," he was "into porn again." How can you not love this guy! Vidal Idol will not disappoint.

I've been into Billy Idol since I was six. One of the first albums I ever bought was Rebel Yell. Two of his albums share the distinction of every song being listenable (You pop in the CD/tape and enjoy the whole album, no tracks are worthy of being skipped). I have only 7 albums that have this merit. He has a songwriting ability that has survived the late 70's, 80's and 90's and will continue to endure the ages.

I had bought Rebel Yell on cassette a year before buying "Vital Idol" in 1988 and wore Rebel out. Needless to say I was excited to get my hands on "Vital" since it was the only compilation of his work available. Sadly, I was dissapointed. I never could get into some of songs that were unfamiliar to me. I also didn't like the hideous altered version of "Flesh for Fantasy" on this album. Only when I bought his debut and Whiplash did I hear for the first time that these songs where supurb and realize that this album a pitifully poor attempt to (IMHO) make Chysalis some extra cash.

The two stars I am giving this album are in no way reflecting his work or his musical ability. Keep in mind that this album was supposed to capture Billy's masterpieces from 1982-1986. He had more than quite a few of them. However the songs on this album are few and most of his best artistic ability has been left out. Put bluntly this compilation simply insults him as an artist by implying that this album is "Vital" Billy Idol.

The songs on the album shouldn't be an insult, they are by all means excellent songs in their ORIGINAL form. However, all but three have been ruthlessly crucified by being the remixing process. Out of the five marred songs, all but one have been remixed by people other than Idol/Stevens ("Flesh for Fantasy", "Hot In The City", "To Be A Lover", and "Love Calling"). The remixed songs have "Make some of Billy's non-danceable hits into danceable ones" written all over them.

It is then IMHO (Especially to those who are only now discovering him) that your money would better spent on his "Greatest Hits" released in 2001. This superior album has obviously been better planned and has a greater quantity and better variety of his work. There are also outtakes, original demos, and acoustic versions on it. Not to mention that the majority of the songs are the original versions. Those tracks that have been altered, have been by Billy and/or Steve hands not some popular DJ.

Synopsis:
Highlights:
Mony Mony, White Wedding (full version), Dancing with Myself.
(All but the full version of Wedding are on his Greatest Hits)

Letdowns: Rebel Yell, Daytime Drama, Eyes, Sweet 16, DOA, Hole In the Wall, Don't need a Gun, and Blue Highway are absent. If they had been present they probably would have gone through the blender too.

5 out of 8 songs are re-mixed. 4 of the 5 have been re-mixed by some dance DJ. Comparing the remixes to the originals is like comparing apples and oranges.

"Greatest Hits" is a way better alternative for a few extra bucks.

If you are a Idol fan, for the love of God, buy his individual albums

The rest of the songs are re-mixed, and

This was the first Billy Idol CD I'd ever bought, and it's so good, I'm going to buy all the rest of his albums! What's not to love about this CD? Billy is wonderful and has the most amazing voice I've ever heard. The songs are great to dance to, especialy "Dancing with Myself," "White Wedding" and "Catch my Fall." If you love 80's rock and if you love Billy as much as I do, this album is a must!

Many reviews here seem to think that this is a compliation of either a) greatest hits or b) remixes done at a later date. That simply isn't the case. By the time this disc was released on CD it had already been released as an import vinyl LP 2 years earlier, which I original had, but which did not have "To Be A Lover" on it because the song hadn't been release yet. This compilation was a collection of Billy's 12" mixes. These are all 12" mixes that were released at the time of each song's popularity. Most of these mixes, in fact, were on the 12" single of Dancing with Myself in 1983! Other than that, the remix of Flesh for Fantasy is the remix from the original 12", which included the LP version as well since this version doesn't have all the vocals. "To Be A Lover", which was added to this collection in 1987 when it was re-released on CD, is the original vinyl 12" version. The reason songs such as "rebel yell" and "eyes without a face" are not included is because there were no 12" mixes released of these songs. If you want Billy's greatest hits, then by all means, get his greatest hits. If you want these unique 12" mixes that would otherwise be impossible to get in digital quality, forcing you to keep all your old 12" vinyl singles, then don't hesitate to get this disc.

And for hardcore fans who might shun this disc because they consider these versions 'inferior', just consider this. White Wedding was CALLED 'part 1' on Billy's LP, so obviously, he actually recorded a part 1 AND 2, which you have here. What's surprising about this however is that there are lyric verses on this version that are not used on the LP mix (makes sense since this is a longer version), BUT there is also a lyric verse on the LP mix that isn't on this long version!

Billy Idol songs don't really need to be remixed, so I wasn't expecting too much from this album. However, it turned out to be surprisingly good. "Catch My Fall" is easily the best of the bunch--the song gets a complete overhaul and ends up turning out better than the original. The subtle changes in "Hot in the City" also help make the song a bit cooler than it already was. There are some flaws: "White Wedding Part II" is a boring, mostly wordless addition to "White Wedding Part I" (which is the one you know); "Dancing With Myself" doesn't seem to get remixed at all; there are only eight songs on the album. Additionally, the album sleeve is absolutely pathetic: it's simply a list of all the songs on the album. This is definitely not the album to start an Idol phase off on, but if you already like Idol's music, this a sufficiently entertaining way to hear some of his old songs in a new light.

I have recently become a fan of Billy Idol and now must have all of his recordings. Not all of these songs are huge hits, but it does include about 4 that I really like and play repeatedly. Very happy with this CD and I always look at Amazon.com offerings before I think of buying anywhere else.

Those that are looking only for the songs they heard on the radio are better off looking at one of the greatest hit compilations, but for those of us who enjoy the sheer heart-pumpin' attitude of Billy's best and want more of it will certainly want this one. Some songs - such as Flesh for Fantasy - are drastically remixed and contain even more attitude (if that's possible), while others - like White Wedding, Part 2 - simply give you more of a good thing.

If you enjoy extended mixes, the unbridaled punk attitude of Billy Idol in the 80s, and a leg-thumping good time that'll make you wanna get up off yer rump and dance then this is the one to buy!

If you like Billy Idol, then you're gonna love this compilation. I used to play this over and over. I still listen to it when I want to bring back great memories. My favorite song is "Dancin' With Myself". Ok. 'Nuff said. Buy this cd if you love Billy Idol.