Those of you who won't touch (even with a 10' pole) anything Techno-like, are truly missing out here. Yes, this album has a major Techno element, but the strong guitar gives it the hard edge that we've come to expect and want from Billy. People who criticize this album, are forgetting one of the things that Billy Idol is known for: He combines elements of Rock, Pop, Punk, and Dance. That's right, folks, Dance has been there right from the start. The difference with Cyperpunk, is that it was released in 1993, when the Dance music of choice was Techno. But this is much more than a Techno album. It's a concept album containing brilliant soundscapes, and Billy's vocals are no less than top notch. Also on this album, you will find some of his best lyrics.

So what are these multiple uses that I refer to in the heading? First of all, this CD would be a great choice to play at a club where people dance. However, ironicly, it's also a great album to relax or fall asleep to. Or perhaps you just feel like jumping in the car and going for some night driving, because that works, too! And last, but not least (probably not even last), this is a fantastic album to have sex to. Billy Idol's vocals are very sensual, and many of the rythms are erotic.

Unless you hate all Techno music with a passion, you'll want to have this gem in your collection. So don't leave Billy dancing with himself! Give it a try!

In 1993, Billy Idol's 80's pop/rock punk shtick was losing its luster. As a result, he changed his approach and released 'Cyberpunk', which could be classified as a very loose concept album. The general consensus is that this is one of those albums you either really like or really didn't like. There was no middle ground. As someone who appreciated Billy Idol in the 1980's, put me down as one of the latter.

Starting with the good news, 'Cyberpunk' is more creative and ambitious than any of the previous Billy Idol albums. It boasts a fresh, new electronic/techno sound. The leadoff single, "Shock to the system" is as strong as anything else Billy Idol has ever done, sounding very much like an updated "Rebel Yell." Idol has always had good taste in cover songs and one such track here, "Heroin", makes for a very bold statement. I like it. The other thing is that Billy does put a lot of effort into delivering the best album he can, he doesn't sleepwalk through this release.

However, there are negatives that a casual Billy Idol fan will need to be aware of. The truth is, there are a lot of songs here that linger on too long. Billy Idol was, and still is, damn good at writing a three or four minute pop/rock single. Many of these songs exceed the five minute mark and some of them wouldn't be all that good, anyway, even if they were less than that. There are hardly any songs that have an actual hook, which is precisely what Billy Idol built his whole career around. The album is riddled with pointless song intros and outros lasting mere seconds, which qualify as little more than throwaway cuts.

"Adam in Chains", which was pushed as a single and video, falls flat. Many other cuts are forgettable, or just plain mediocre. Many of them don't even merit further mention. Lyrically, 'Cyberpunk' is a mixed bag. Some lyrics are legitimately introspective, better than the usual Idol fare, while others are as cliched as anything Billy has ever sung before. You will also notice there is hardly any guitar, a trademark of the old albums, on 'Cyberpunk.' This is compounded by the lack of long-time contributor Steve Stevens on guitar. His presence would have made a difference. His replacement, Mark Younger-Smith, just doesn't quite measure up.

The goal Billy Idol had was to pioneer a new hi-tech music style, hence the title 'Cyberpunk.' For that, he deserves credit for his attempt. It would have been much easier, safer (and arguably smarter) to turn up with another record like the previous release, 'Charmed Life.' In the end, this will be remembered as a commercial failure of sizable proportions, hence the low budget price on new copies.

Many members of the Billy Idol fanbase were underwhelmed, or downright disappointed, including myself. The response, or lack thereof, was enough to make Billy Idol disappear from the studio for several years. Whether or not it was just coincidence is debatable. Billy continued to record a new song here and there, mostly for soundtracks or compilation-type releases, but eventually resurfaced with a greatest hits package and live VH1 Storytellers release (supported with a sold-out tour) at the beginning of the new millenium.

With all that said, while I may never warm up to this Billy Idol album, it is a successful attempt to reinvent himself for the 1990's from an artistic standpoint. Fans of electronic music or techno may enjoy this, whether or not they were fans of Billy Idol. Members of the Billy Idol fanbase may want to sample a few tracks before committing to a purchase. This isn't for all of his fans.

You can't even begin to compare this to anything else from the Billy Idol catalog. The closest Idol has come to something like this ('Cyberpunk') would be his 'Vital Idol' album, which remixed the greatest hits, with updated 1990's beats replacing those dated remixes. If "Shock to the system" wasn't already available on the Billy Idol greatest hits album from 2001, 'Cyberpunk' might actually be a more essential buy for most listeners. That one alone is almost worth the price of purchase.

Although Billy Idol boasted that ecstasy in his machine gave him the secret to life in Wasteland, the lead track off of 1993's Cyberpunk (an album loosely based around the modern technology movement derived from several books written by William Gibson) it was met with universal derision and scorn by nearly every rock critic in America. Because of the quality of most of the material on the album, the disdain for it seemed puzzling at the time and it is equally befuddling today. That being said, however flimsy a concept may be on the surface it is the actual musical content of a record that should be the main focus of any recording.

Though the brief segues or bridges between the songs which attempt to tie the cyberpunk concept together detract from the album somewhat and are by and large unnecessary, Cyberpunk is a set comprised of consistently good and adventurous techno-rock. There may be nothing technically groundbreaking here but the negative reputation that the record has garnered over the years is certainly not deserving. For example, the lead single Shock To The System is as immediately catchy and electrifying as Idol hits of yore while investing a more technologically driven and robotic sound. Mother Dawn, the last track on the album is a highlight unto itself for its relentless R&B-flavored industrial vibe which sounds as refreshing today as it did in 1993. Other standout tracks include Neuromancer which breezes by in a hard-rocking rave, the futuristic Tomorrow People and its ominous soundscape and the potent Then The Night Comes, a track providing a link to the straight-ahead rock sound of past Idol records. Concrete Kingdom continues the marriage of heavy rock to a warped, futuristic disco pulse while also serving as one of the more distinctive songs we've heard from Idol.

However, it is that distinctiveness and Idol's attempt to produce a record wholly apart from anything he's done in the past that got him into hot water with critics and fans in the first place. Unfortunately, fans and critics alike who were expecting another Rebel Yell or an album packed with White Weddings and Cradle Of Loves missed the boat on this one entirely. Most of the songs on this, Idol's most ambitious work actually work quite well most of the time despite the presence of the overly long track Shangrila and the disruptive bridges between songs which threaten to put a halt to the album's momentum on more than one occasion. Also of note is Idol's seven minute electro-dance interpretation of the Velvet Underground's immortal track Heroin which utilizes the infamous "Jesus Died For Somebody's Sins But Not Mine" lyric from Patti Smith's 1975 pre-punk classic Gloria for the song's chorus which oddly enough, fits rather nicely within the context of the song. For those purists out there, any cover of such a monumental song is blasphemy, however, listeners will be left to draw their own conclusions as to whether Idol's interpretatation is a blazing tour de force of danceable electronic new wave or just a plain disaster.

In a way, Cyberpunk is a fully more realized and logical extension of his greatest hits remix package Vital Idol and one must wonder whether this album would have received stronger reviews had it been released under the name of an artist with a much more musically varied reputation such as David Bowie or Beck. Unfortunately, pigeon-holed artists like Idol must carry the negative weight of preconceived notions of their work much in the same way that they are liable to benefit by them. All in all, this was clearly a record that Idol had been working toward his whole career though as sad as it may be, it also became his commercial undoing. Be that as it may, take the thirteen songs on this album at face value and you'll find that Cyberpunk is much better than advertised.

I have always loved BI's music and purchased Cyberpunk long after it was originally released. At first I was disappointed. However, the more you listen to this CD the more it grabs and hooks you like a bad habit. It is a theme oriented album of Billy's vision of a cyber world gone mad. There are songs that are shocking and haunting and others that are mood altering like Adam In Chains. Listen to Adam before your next important meeting or before you hit the first tee for your Club Championship. It is truly mesmerizing. Other favorite cuts are Then The Night Comes and Mother Dawn. My 9 yr. old daughter loves to sing along with the chorus on the uplifting Mother Dawn. This is definately BI's best work to date and I don't understand why so many critics hated this album. Probably because it only includes a couple of the normal screaming BI rock 'em, sock 'em tunes like Wasteland and Shock To The System. I like his departure from the norm and only wish there was more new tunes from this underappreciated artist.

I've never been able to understand why this CD got such a non-reaction in sales. It IS a different sound for Billy Idol...still rock, but more synthesizers, more complicated, faster beats, and even some eastern sounding melodies on Love Labours On and Shangrila. In my opinion it's a good departure. His voice is still classic Billy...ranging from throaty growl to smooth, soft bass. At first I tended to skip over the un-numbered tracks, wanting to get right to the music, but after listening to the whole thing several times I feel like they add to the overall vision of a futuristic techno world gone mad. My favorite tracks are Love Labours On, Adam in Chains, and Mother Dawn...all three combine semi-soft vocals with fairly hard beats and guitar. The only track on the CD that I didn't like as much is the too long remake of Heroin.