Billy Idol – The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself (2008)
I don’t usually review greatest hits collections at Hard Rock Hideout. I usually prefer to collect an artists complete catalog, and create my own greatest hits collection. It is my feeling that each album is worth a review. Unless you are a die hard fan of a particular artist, it highly unlikely you will own all of their albums or compact discs. So why review this disc?
Not only does this disc come with two new tunes (John Wayne and New Future Weapon), but it also contains the complete Billy Idol video collection. Two of the videos on the DVD are previously unreleased versions.
Billy Idol’s music speaks for itself. His hybrid version of punk, pop and hard rock has created a slew of top 10 hits all over the world, and has turned Idol into a rock icon. Billy’s right hand man, guitarist Steve Stevens is easily one of the most under rated axe slingers from the 80’s. There are many songs on this collection where he cuts loose with some very cool guitar riffs. I often feel that his talent was overshadowed by the keyboards in Idol’s music, but he is a very good player nonetheless.
Many of you may already own Billy Idol’s first Greatest Hit collection, Vital Idol from 1987, or the newer one from 2001. Even if you do, you still may want to give this new collection a look. This Deluxe edition surpasses all of the previous versions. This collection is also a great starting point for new fans to check out the best parts of Idol’s career spanning music. I love owning copies of the music videos, so the DVD is one bonus that adds a lot of value to this collection. The only negative that I found with this collection is in the CD booklet. I thought it was a little light on information, and could have had a lot more details and pictures. That is only a small problem, and the music is what is the most important thing anyway.
The deluxe edition of Idolize Yourself is available at most retailers for under $20.00. It is well worth the price in my opinion.
For more information on Billy Idol, check out his website Billy Idol.net.
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
Disc: 1 (CD)
1. Dancing With Myself
2. Hot In The City
3. White Wedding Part 1
4. Rebel Yell
5. Eyes Without A Face
6. Flesh For Fantasy
7. Catch My Fall
8. To Be A Lover
9. Don’t Need A Gun
10. Sweet Sixteen
11. Mony, Mony (Live)
12. Cradle Of Love
13. L.A. Woman
14. Shock To The System
15. Speed
16. World Comin’ Down
17. John Wayne – new exclusive track
18. New Future Weapon – new exclusive track
Disc: 2 (DVD)
1. Dancing With Myself
2. Hot In The City (Uncensored Version) – previously unreleased
3. White Wedding, Part 1
4. Rebel Yell
5. Eyes Without A Face
6. Flesh For Fantasy
7. Catch My Fall
8. To Be A Lover
9. Don’t Need A Gun
10. Sweet Sixteen
11. Mony, Mony (Live)
12. Cradle Of Love (Extended Billy Idol Only Version) – previously unreleased
13. L.A. Woman
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Hard Rock Hideout 
I agree that, for an artist like Billy Idol, having the videos made this a nice collection. It’s not great music, but there are enough good tunes on here and not enough great album tracks to make his regular releases necessary in light of this release.
I reviewed it also:
http://rnrnonsense.toomanyvoices.com/2008/07/review-billy-idol-idolize-yourself-very.html