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BILLY IDOL
VH1 Storytellers (Capitol)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
VH1 Storytellers is a series that gives an artist a chance for an even more intimate contact with an audience than the Unplugged series typically offered because, as the name implies, they're encouraged to share stories about the songs and their careers. I live in an area where the cable company splits time between VH1 and Comedy Central. We get Comedy Central at night, which means I have never seen VH1 Storytellers, except for a videotape of Def Leppard, which I found enjoyable. There was a lot of banter and stories and, of course, music. I never heard a CD from the show, so I don't know how much of the banter might have been included. Or how much storytelling from any of the shows make it to CD, for that matter.
On Billy Idol's VH1 Storyteller's CD, there's not a single word of storytelling, even though the liner notes include the sentence, and I quote, "And the stories Billy told about each familiar tune made you hear it with new ears - and love it even more." I, for one, would love to have heard a few of those stories, even in truncated form. The only time you hear Idol's voice between songs is when he says something to a band member, and you can't make out what he says. Mmm, not exactly storytelling.
And that, my friends, is my only bitch about this CD, because it's a thoroughly entertaining concert, full of solid performances and plenty of surprises. It should be billed as a duet, since Idol's long-time sidekick, guitarist Steve Stevens, has as much to do with making this CD indispensable as Idol does. Stevens, along with Earl Slick, influenced a generation of players who understand playing to the song and not the "chicks," and his abilities are on clear acoustic display most of the way. Still, he manages to take that acoustic guitar and make textured Billy Idol music emerge from it. It's really rather inspiring. Idol, for his part, is still a walking keg of gunpowder, singing gently and mournfully one moment, snarling like a caged animal the next. And this is the acoustic set!
With a full band behind them (Steve McGrath - bass, Joseph Simon - Keyboards, Mark Shulman - drums, Greg Ellis - percussion, Stella Soleil - background vocals), Idol and Stevens performed acoustic versions of classics like "Flesh For Fantasy," "Rebel Yell," and "Eyes Without A Face," and pulled off a breathtaking version of "White Wedding." Idol's terrific on all of them, but the one who reinvents the songs is Stevens, who finds an acoustic blues side to most of these and works that to great effect. What's so special about "White Wedding" is that Stevens, playing accompanied only by Idol's voice, plays almost exactly as he did back in the day (on electric). The energy is very strong, the audience is electrified and it becomes a bit of a participation thing. Shared energy, spontaneous and fun to listen to.
The final five tunes, "Dancing With Myself," "Ready Steady Go," "Blue Highway," "Mony Mony" and a cover of The Doors' "L.A. Woman" are done full-on electric and loud. Billy and Steve still rock either way you cut it: acoustic, electric, it doesn't make a bit of difference. I do wish there would have been a little bit of storytelling on a disc called Storytellers. It's a 70 minute disc, so they had another 10 minutes to play with. Could have been one, two stories in there, doncha think? Then again, I didn't see the show, and as I recall from the 70s punk era, the stories Billy could tell might make this disc require so many warning stickers you couldn't read the cover. Perhaps it's best left as it is, which is one of the best live recordings of the past few years.
Track List:
Cradle Of Love * Don't Need A Gun * Flesh For Fantasy * White Wedding * Sweet Sixteen * To Be A Lover * Rebel Yell * Kiss Me Deadly * Eyes Without A Face * Dancing With Myself * Ready Steady Go * Blue Highway * Mony Mony * L.A. Woman
© 2002 - DJ Johnson