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 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.

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.

I can't say that this release, despite it's popularity is one to be taken too seriously. While it's sometimes slick remixes and extended versions of old tracks make for an interesting listen, they bring little new out in these classic songs to make anyone hooked for more than a moment. By dance standards, these songs aren't as hot as one might think and by rock and roll standards they come across as watered down in this setting.

If you're a huge Billy Idol fan I'd get this...but it's not the casual listener.

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.