Billy Idol Records Album of Christmas Standards

Rock 103 Memphis ^ | November 23, 2006 | Staff

[angkor]

Idol was excellent as the lead singer for Generation X, their first album was great and virtually every song on it was top-20 hit material (in the UK anyway).

I just played a few tracks and was reminded how much they sounded like the Buzzcocks.

[dforest]

It's not a good thing when you begin to hear your voice at the grocery and on elevators. Merry Christmas, Billy!

[Yossarian]

I wonder if he'll have his signature "snarl" on his face when he sings these classic Christmas songs on video?

Would he do them any other way?

[Jhensy]

It's a laugh, but all of Billy Idol's stuff is pretty darn good (at least through the 'Charmed Life' LP). His original punk band Generation X was the goods too.

All his hits were cut-above rockers: Dancing With Myself, White Wedding, Eyes Without A Face, Rebel Yell, Flesh For Fantasy, Catch My Fall, Cradle Of Love... and lesser-known songs like Shooting Stars and It's So Cruel are flat-out great too. Steve Stevens was an excellent guitarist.

Idol's catalogue is worthy of a re-appraisal nowadays. Hell, in today's lousy music scene, it sounds like Mozart.

[bmwcyle]

He is just not Bing. I remember when Bing sang with David Bowie on Christmas. It was strange.

[RightOnline]

Still is; Stevens tours with him to this day. Great guitar player.

[Yossarian]

Although his use of drugs just seems to flow IN him. Well and then there's the Heidi Fleiss girls he was...um, enjoying.

I think he grew up.

(Well, OK, I hope he grew up.)

I think Billy has great talent, and would like to see him around for the long haul....

[DCPatriot]

I still prefer Billy Idol to Michael Bolton, who is unable to sing a song without giving himself a hernia.

[I_Love_My_Husband]

Well, for about 25 years of his life he was not there for himself. That can be damaging to his insides forever.

[Wilhelm Tell]

"Frosty the Snowman" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" are not Christmas songs! "Silent Night" is a Christmas song, especially when sung in the original German : )

I'm not a Fundamentalist by any means but I hate how Christmas Day has morphed into this vapid, noisy and very annoying month-long Winter festival. It is all one big commercial that never ends. Always at this time of year I want to go hide in a cave for a month!

[Paleo Conservative]

I wonder if he recorded White Christmas.

[Yossarian]

I wonder if he recorded White Christmas.

Yes, that's what he's singing up in post 23. To be fair, he doesn't snarl much at all - I just framegrabbed one of the few times he did.

Here's the complete song list:

• Frosty the Snowman
• Silver Bells
• Happy Holidays
• Merry Christmas Baby
• White Christmas
• Here Comes Santa Claus
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
• Santa Claus Is Back In Town
• Let It Snow
• Winter Wonderland
• Run Rudolph Run
• Blue Christmas
• Jingle Bell Rock
• Christmas Love
• Oh Christmas Tree
• Silent Night
• Auld Lang Syne

So, you get at least two religious themed songs in there.

I'm just glad someone's continuing the Christmas tradition, and not singing songs of kwaanza or ramadama-ding-dong!

[visualops]

lol that's good

Billy Idol rocks! I've always liked his music.

[Paleo Conservative]

But I wonder if his rendition of White Christmas will be anything like his rendtion of White Wedding?

[BenLurkin]

"With a rebel yell
he cried "HO HO HO"!

[Cecily]

His song "Daytime Drama" is good too. It didn't get much radio play.

[Tribune7]

LOL

[BallyBill]

I'm waiting for the "White Zombie does the Lullaby Classics" LP release.

[-YYZ-]

"Idol's catalogue is worthy of a re-appraisal nowadays. Hell, in today's lousy music scene, it sounds like Mozart."

While I wouldn't go quite that far - some of today's music, as ever, is very good - I do think there's a lot of music from the 80s that hasn't gotten the respect that it deserves. There was a lot of interesting and innovative music done in the 80s, innovations that mostly aren't seen in today's music.

[-YYZ-]

LOL, that's pretty good.